Tuqiri to be recalled with Utai expected to be axed.

[Footy_Head_Goodness]

No doubt Tuqiri is a better option than Utai bt Utai has been great all year and well worth the small amount we probably paid for him. Great buy and 1 I wasnt totally for it at the time. Id keep him on the bench. Mckinnon is a wasted bench spot. Brown should stay in the team. He deserves his spot but not sure how he stays in the team at full strength though.

 

[Guest]

Lote Tuqiri to sit Eels clash out
Christian Nicolussi From: The Daily Telegraph August 16, 2011 12:00AM

WESTS Tigers coach Tim Sheens is likely to hold injured winger Lote Tuqiri back one more week before he is re-introduced to the club's blistering finals' charge.

Lote Tuqiri looked sharp as he completed a field session at Concord Oval yesterday and did not look impeded by the quadriceps injury which has kept him out since round 20.

And while his teammates seem convinced Tuqiri will be back on deck for Sunday's clash against Parramatta, Sheens last night said he was likely to adopt a more conservative approach with his dual international.

"I've ordered another scan to see where his leg is at, but he's unlikely," Sheens said.

"He's run really well but chances are I'll leave it another week. It was a fairly significant tear, and unless he's 100 per cent, I don't want to risk him tearing it again."

Other than Chris Lawrence and Tuqiri, the Tigers have few casualties as they shoot for a sixth straight victory in the run home to the finals.

Scheduled to play Parramatta, Gold Coast and Cronulla - three teams in a fight for the wooden spoon - there is a real belief the Tigers could sneak into the top four and secure a home final.

But Sheens said three weeks was a long time in the NRL, and he was only focused on the Parramatta clash.

"Had you asked anyone three weeks ago it would have been hard to say how we've gone, and you wouldn't have thought the Dragons have gone how they've gone. Three weeks is a long time in the NRL," Sheens said.

Tuqiri has had a frustrating season with a broken arm in round three and an ankle injury in his round 13 comeback game against Newcastle. But his experience will be a welcome boost out wide for the Tigers when he returns.

Workhorse Chris Heighington said it would be great to have Tuqiri back on the paddock, and "The Great One" lifted confidence levels among his teammates.

Heighington said the one scenario clubs did not want to find themselves in was finishing eighth and travelling to Melbourne to play the Storm.