Wests Tigers win Foundation Cup 19 to 8

[farahfan]

got back from the game and was pleased with the teams performance.

lui was a gun, he is really going for the opportunities when he sees them

lawrence has to be in origin if tonights performance was any indication of things to come this season

mckinnon had another disappointing game tonight imo, not the standard of footy you would expect of him. between him, brown and moltzen i wouldnt know who i want.

fifita made metres like a beast and is still hard to take down, hope he has worked on his fitness so he can play more minutes this year

around the 68th min mark moltzen came out of a tackle and limped back to position. hopefully its nothing as he played the rest of the game but he never really tested it out after that

 

[Guest]

Best trial performance I have seen from the Tigers against the Roosters. Looked a little shaky at the start but settled into a nice rhythm and once they scored through Farah, never really looked like losing to be honest. The speed of the game has definitely slowed with the play the ball area being heavily scrutinised. Scrums also seem to take an eternity to pack down with the whistle being blown plenty of times.

No bad players among the Tigers tonight, the forward deserve a wrap. The Tigers are no lightweights these days, but the Roosters marched out a pretty sizeable pack and they never got on top of the Tigers who defended the ruck well and scrambled well when they needed to. There wasn't a great deal of flash play among the backline but there were several clever pieces on the left side. Kicking game was superior to the Roosters who clearly missed Carney but it was definitely the Tigers night tonight.

The only injury concern appeared to be Al Schirnack who seemed to roll his ankle. Anyway, I'll give a brief wrap on the players:

1\. Wade McKinnon - Much better than last week although still not really threatening in attack. Came up with a couple of good saves at the back throughout the game and will probably start the season at fullback given he was ok tonight.

2\. Lote Tuqiri - Pretty good once again. Didn't see much ball in the first half but went close to scoring a couple of times. Defensively he was good.

3\. Blake Ayshford - Had an excellent game in defence, never looked like getting beaten in the first half although I noticed the Roosters had more success in the second half. Seemed to work well with Utai although I reckon Mitch Brown would be a much better option outside Blake. Good game.

4\. Chris Lawrence - Limited opportunities in attack but looked more threatening in the second half with more ball. Defensively he was excellent and came up with several great tackles.

5\. Matt Utai - Defensively he is a liability. His lack of height definitely counts against him in defending cross field kicks and he lacks genuine speed which the Roosters exploited twice in the second half with the winger Luilai smoking him down the sideline. Came up with several decent runs though and definitely had a go out there. The Tigers have better options at the moment though and the right wing should go to either Mitch Brown, or Beau Ryan who sat in the sideline again tonight.

6\. Benji Marshall - Never took the game by the scruff of the neck tonight and took a backseat to Lui. Passing game was good for the most part and his goalkicking was good. Defensively he was ok and the fact that he was reasonable quiet, yet the Tigers still won comfortably was a good sign.

7\. Robert Lui - MOM tonight for sure. Played a dominant role in attack tonight and also defended well. Attracted 3 defenders in offloading to Farah for his try and then threw a nice short ball to put Fulton over. Capped it off with a nice solo try late in the game and then calmly potted a field goal. Will definitely start the season at halfback.

8\. Bryce Gibbs - Only played in the first half and defended well but quiet in attack. Hopefully not injured and did not notice him sporting any ice on the sideline.

9\. Robbie Farah © - Pretty good game but bombed a certain try with the line open in the second half. Fortunately it did not cost the Tigers and otherwise he defended really well and kicked well.

10\. Keith Galloway - Played good minutes but not at his best tonight. Always seems to take the big unit a few weeks to get some good form up though so I'm not too concerned about him not being at his best tonight.

11\. Liam Fulton - Didn't do a whole lot in attack, but his defence was excellent and he really cleaned up well around the ruck and made several good one-on-one tackles.

12\. Simon Dwyer - His first run was great, splitting the Roosters open up the middle, but otherwise he has some work to do. Gave away a couple of penalties and dropped a sitter of a pass cold in the second half. Played big minutes but has some work to do.

13\. Chris Heighington - Decent game from Heighno tonight. Busy in attack and defence and pulled off a very nice shot on Rhys Pritchard late in the game.

14\. Aaron Woods - Will probably be wearing the 14 jersey in round 1\. He might be young in age but he's old school in style, playing a solid no nonsense game with good go forward. Again outshone Fifita IMO with a mistake free game and good workrate.

15\. Tim Moltzen - Good to see him back but clearly needs game time and confidence which will take time. Might jag the utility backline spot on the bench but I don't think he will displace McKinnon just yet, and certainly not Lui. Pulled up fine which was the main thing.

17\. Sean Meaney - Minimal game time at hooker once again which doesn't make sense. Did nothing wrong but doesn't offer the same level of service as Farah which is understandable.

18\. Alan Schirnack - He has really trimmed down and barely looked bigger than Farah. Definitely looks to be headed for the backrow which is where he played tonight but rolled his ankle and left the field in the second half. Hopefully it's not serious.

21\. Geoff Daniela - Got limited game time in the second half but looks like he'll be trotting out for BRET in round 1.

22\. Mark Flanagan - Limited game time in the second half and defended well but too small for the backrow. If he had more pace he'd make a decent centre but I don't think he will be a regular in FG this season.

31\. Junior Moors - Better than last week although still did not get many minutes. Will definitely go well for BRET and will offer depth in the pack in FG.

41\. Andrew Fifita - Looks a lot fitter and showed much improved line speed in defence. His attack was not the best tonight, he tried to angle his running too much to use his fend and it didn't work against the Roosters who kept a straight line against him. He needs to follow Woods and go straight and hard up the middle and look to use his fend if he can get one-on-one with someone, then he will be much more effective. Not bad though and had a good workrate.

Pleasing signs overall with Ellis, Payten, Brown and Ryan all sitting this one out. The Majority of the squad looks settled now IMO, with only the right wing and make up of the bench the only real question marks. Depth of the squad looks great though and the team played a hell of a lot better than last week with good structure, good intensity and decent execution which will only get better.

The Tigers look well placed for round 1 against the Bulldogs that's for sure.

 

[tigergirlz]

Just got home. Agree with a lot of what was said. Would like to acknowledge an awesome defensive effort by Ayshford who covered for Utai when the Roosters were attacking. Mitch Brown may be good at no. 5\. What do others think? Thought Fulton had a good game and was taking directions from the runners.
A BIG MONKEY OFF THE BACK!!
Congratulations to the Tigers mascot who put in a 1st grade performance.

 

[steven_tiger]


Holy cow! Look at the size of Woods! :righton:

 

[Original_Magpie]

How did Utai go?

 

[Kul]

Just reviewed the footage I captured.
Great news! Three tries and the field goal got caught! Am uploading now

@original magpie: utai was mostly poor

 

[habibsta33]

by the way the boys looked great in the all white strip. i really hated them at the start but its growing on me and it looks great. it especially suits big lote

 

[Guest]

How did Utai go?

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5\. Matt Utai - Defensively he is a liability. His lack of height definitely counts against him in defending cross field kicks and he lacks genuine speed which the Roosters exploited twice in the second half with the winger Leilai smoking him down the sideline. Came up with several decent runs though and definitely had a go out there. The Tigers have better options at the moment though and the right wing should go to either Mitch Brown, or Beau Ryan who sat in the sideline again tonight.

Don't know what else to add to that really. He wasn't terrible but he wasn't good either. Made several bustling runs but defensively you wouldn't want him in there for round 1 and I'd be giving the spot to Brown or Ryan.

 

[Kul]

by the way the boys looked great in the all white strip. i really hated them at the start but its growing on me and it looks great. it especially suits big lote

funny, i'm exactly the opposite. In fact I think lote looks the worst in it due to his darker skin
oh well, each to their own
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Video update: 4% uploaded. It's going to take about an hour to do.

 

[Guest]

Ever-present Lui's the halfback Tigers dream about
Josh Rakic
February 27, 2011

ROBERT LUI, take a bow. You are the answer to the Wests Tigers' longstanding halfback woes.

The 21-year-old might have more important things on his mind, such as an April court appearance, but you wouldn't have known it last night as the stocky halfback set up two tries, scored another then booted a field goal in the Tigers' 19-8 win over the Roosters in the Foundation Cup.

The Roosters, while trying in attack, missed their star half Todd Carney, and were unable to convert several promising opportunities.

Apart from Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello, Lui contributed more in attack than any other player on the field, having a hand in all of the Tigers' attacking phases and setting up first-try halves for skipper Robbie Farah and forward Liam Fulton.

It might have only been a trial but on first impressions there's little reason that the Roosters or Wests Tigers won't make the NRL semi-finals, their probing attack and shifting defence setting both apart from most others in trials so far.

Mitchell Pearce was dangerous for the Roosters and Benji Marshall looked every bit the team leader for the Tigers. Both of their first-round opponents, the Bulldogs and the Rabbitohs, have something to worry about.

In fact, all 16 NRL coaches may too, with referees cracking down on several minor infringements.

including Roosters' skipper Braith Anasta punting a drop-kick just inches over the try-line.

Fiery Roosters prop Jared Warea-Hargreaves may also have something to worry about, after Lote Tuqiri complained of hair-pulling in a second-half tackle.

The Roosters made an early play for try-of-the-season at the 10th minute through winger Joseph Leilua after the ball went through seven pairs of hands and the entire span of the field off a Mitchell Pearce bomb inside the Tigers' 40.

The ball was batted back by Mitchell Aubusson to Sam Perrett, who got a ball away for a rampaging Nate Myles, before the Queensland forward snuck a magic ball to the kicker, who got the ball away to Jake Friend then Kane Linnett before Leilua crossed on the far right.

It was the ball-starved Tigers who scored next when skipper Robbie Farah latched on to a sneaky off-load from Lui inside the attacking 10 and crossed under the posts. Marshall converted the extras to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead at the 24th.

And Lui was it again on the ensuing set of six after Roosters No.6 Mark Kheirallah put the ball over the deadball line from the re-start.

Lui broke the line in the Roosters' attacking zone before getting a sneaky ball for Liam Fulton to cross on the right.

Leilua made it a double after the break when he crossed again out wide to keep the scores at 12-8 with 29 minutes left in front of 6893 fans.

And with 10 minutes remaining it was Lui who bamboozled two defenders to cross under the posts.

 

[Kul]

that reporter is very generous to the roosters

 

[cunno]

How did Gibbs go KS?

Gibbs went well for his first game, he was tired and I saw him walking a few times, he also had a cut on his left knee and it looked to be giving him some pain. On that note I also saw Shirnack limping as was Moltzen.

Aaron woods did not look out of place against the roosters pack, I had the binocculars on hm and he was giving the roosters forwards a bit of curry, in one tackle he made on Myles, Myles got up and tried to have a shot at woods who just shrugged him off and ran to the play, I thought that typified his tough performance.

Sauce looked like he wanted to have a big game so he gets good marks for effort but he didn't reach his best, he needs to be careful with tackling low and letting the opponent get the ball away also he threw a couple of wild off loads which weren't really needed. Once he hits form he will be an asset.

The Bulldog Dwyer has looked out of sorts imo in the last two games compared to last year, I think he is trying too hard, trying to capitalise on getting a run first up instead of starting from the bench, once he settles into his game he'll be right.

Blake picked up his game after the roosters scored their first try (the roosters player put his foot in touch which was missed) and had a very solid game. Pity Chris lawrence doesn't see more of the ball. Loti was very busy as usual while Fulton seemed to be happy to spread the ball in attack rather than run too much, but defended well. Benji didn't really do any more than he had to while Farah started to try a few different plays later in the game.

Overall the WTs combined well for this time of the season whilst the roosters were pretty ordinary.

 

[KingOvKingz09]

:righton:

 

[steven_tiger]

Man… I can't get over the size of Woods. The boy is massive!

 

[Danos]

:righton:

Benji doesn't look pleased.. must not have been happy with his game.. he is his harshest critic afterall.

 

[Demps]

YES! So Lui was the star tonight huh…
A lot of you will have to eat your words re: comments you made about Moltzen being the better player and so on.
Can't wait to see the footage, already impressed with what I am reading!
Hopefully some of the lads who got negative reviews really step up when it comes time.

I think theres still a few question marks over some people's heads.
Is Wade McKinnon first grade material?
Where will Moltzen play now after it's certain Lui will be the HALFBACK?
Does Utai have the tools to even be on the field?
Lotes got it sewed up so who will be the other winger?

Interesting times ahead I believe...

 

[Guest]

Myles faces trouble for hit

* James Phelps
* From: The Sunday Telegraph
* February 26, 2011 10:39PM

WITH their biggest name facing a drink driving conviction, the Roosters' woes continued last night with Queensland Origin forward Nate Myles in danger of being suspended for a dangerous tackle on Tigers fullback Wade McKinnon.

With Todd Carney at home, the Roosters were beaten by the Tigers in a lacklustre clash.

In a further blow to the Roosters, who could be without Carney for their round one clash with the Rabbitohs, Myles is likely to have a case to answer after a lifting tackle on McKinnon.

Tigers halfback Robert Lui stole the show as the Tigers ran away with a confidence-boosting win. He scored a try, set up two and kicked a late field goal.

The Tigers were given an early opportunity when Roosters skipper Braith Anasta was penalised for not taking his drop kick restart from behind the goal-line.

The raid amounted to nothing, and it was the Roosters who posted first points when Joseph Leilua scored a spectacular try.

Mitch Aubusson plucked the ball from the sky and popped it down for Mitchell Pearce. It went through another five set of hands before Leilua dived over in the corner.

Pearce then allowed the Tigers to go deep on attack when he was penalised for a high tackle on Matt Utai.

After working their way to within metres of the line, Lui put Robbie Farah over in the 22nd minute to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead.

The Tigers were in again just two minutes later, capitalising after Roosters rookie Mark Khierallah kicked the ball out on the full. Lui ran to the line and sent back-rower Liam Fulton crashing over.

Roosters wrecking ball Jared Waerea-Hargreaves made an immediate impact when he was brought on to the field, carrying three defenders and off-loading the ball to put Pearce in the clear.

The Rooster looked to have capitalised on the break when Jake Friend dived over, but the referee ruled an obstruction.

Farah ignited a tepid second half in the 47th minute when he broke through the line and was collected by Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello.

The impact knocked the ball loose and the Roosters turned defence into attack, with Leilua making a 50m run down the sideline.

He was stopped short but scored on the very next set when a smart ball from Kane Linnett found the winger.

The Tigers protested, with McKinnon coughing the ball up after being up-ended by Myles.

The Tigers bounced backed when Marshall streaked down the wing and found a red hot Farah supporting in the middle.

But with the line beckoning, Farah dropped the ball and bombed a certain try an so was not able to improve on his one try for the match.

The Roosters almost hit the front in the 60th minute but Willie Mataka was collared by desperate Tigers defence.

 

[KingOvKingz09]

:righton:

Benji doesn't look pleased.. must not have been happy with his game.. he is his harshest critic afterall.

yeaah looks like a robot :laughing: ….
... i just noticed...gibbs isnt in there ?? :question: :question:

 

[habibsta33]

by the way the boys looked great in the all white strip. i really hated them at the start but its growing on me and it looks great. it especially suits big lote

funny, i'm exactly the opposite. In fact I think lote looks the worst in it due to his darker skin
oh well, each to their own
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Video update: 4% uploaded. It's going to take about an hour to do.

really?
i think "white looks great on black" to quote Wendell Sailor

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Nice hit out. Lui was excellent. Great to see him step up as both Robbie and Benji were fairly quiet - this was the most pleasing aspect for mine.

Woods again played well, just needs a bit more leg drive IMO. Fifita looks much leaner and fitter, defensively his line speed looks much improved from last season. I'd have both of them in my side.

Dwyer has poor hands, needs improvement here.

Also, I thought McKinnon was average and I think Brown should be the fullback, but can't see Sheens doing that.

Utai - good with ball in hand, hits the line hard, but defensively he is a liability.