WT v Sharks Trial *Live Game Thread...

Observations ..defensive structure is 100% on last season and are working together ,the guys are very rusty and need more time together , there is certainly some depth in the club . There are a few I was disappointed in but it is a trial,the team is going to get there fair share of wins this year but it will not be all rosy..we supporters will have to be patient ,Teddy is back big as every fingers crossed…Moses picked up a leg knock and went off ,only injury that I saw.
Lower grades the NYC have some work to do they have some promising types in the forwards,looks like they will go OK without being over optimistic
Reggies ..Drinkwater and Rowe played well ,again a few were very lack lustre and will have to show more IMO to keep there spots,not a bad performance once they go going.
All in all the club certainly has the feel of change the defensive structure in the reggies was good as well seems all grades are on the same wave length .Left tonight thinking there are going to be some real higlites but realistically some low lites as well,might get an 8th spot but if they can get to 9th /10th it would be a good season .Very happy sitting here tonight I think JT might be the man!
 
Pleasing no injuries…not much to take out of tonite, long way to go and plenty of improvement in them...a pretty stock standard affair
 
@happy tiger said:
@innsaneink said:
Pleasing no injuries…not much to take out of tonite, long way to go and plenty of improvement in them...a pretty stock standard affair

Were you at the game Ink ??

Yeh
Teddy took a while to get involved but is class….Naquaima highlites our lack of real speed...tho simona's intercept he looked quik coz no one chased....I feel like we played tonight to get to the 5th tackle....particulalrly in the first half...got a bit more adventurous and had more ball in the 2nd half....refs calls all seemed to go their way
 
It was a pretty dour affair in the first half. We were definitely flat but seemed to kick it up a notch in the second half while the Sharks seemed to fall off the pace a little bit. Refs didn't help by taking 60 seconds each time a scrum went down. It was Hoeter who scored our last try also.

One thing I am worried about is our lack of speed. Naqaima, Simona and Teddy are all zippy but we lack that gamebreaker out wide IMO. Forward pack is solid and Taupau looks like an absolute beast. I was impressed with Naqaima and Hoeter, they did plenty of dirty work tonight and it's clear Taylor wants us to get in the grind with teams and wear them down.

Drinkwater will make a very handy depth player too if Brooks or Moses are injured. His kicking game is very good and he's a first rate goalkicker, he strikes the ball very cleanly.
 
Match Report: NRL Trial vs. Sharks

Dan Talintyre
Sat 21st February, 08:43PM
\
\
Wests Tigers have delivered a strong second half performance to run down the Cronulla Sharks 22-8 in their trial match this evening at Campbelltown.

Despite trailing 8-0 at the break, the successful return of fullback James Tedesco and composed kicking game of Luke Brooks saw the hosts run in 22-unanswered points on the night to close out 2015 pre-season with another impressive victory.

After a tight opening quarter that saw few chances fall the way of either team, it was the visitors that opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with Gordon stepping back on the inside to plant the ball down on the line next to the posts.

He was unable to convert his own try, however, leaving the score at 4-0.

As Tedesco made his way on to the field for the first time since his injury, the Sharks continued to pepper the Wests Tigers’ line and would eventually break through again — Gordon getting his second try of the night in the 34th minute as he capped off a well-executed move between Jeff Robson and Wade Graham.

Both teams would threaten to post more points before half-time but would be unable to do so — leaving the score at 8-0 heading into the half-time sheds.

Cronulla would start the second half as they ended the first, but their energy and keenness in attack would soon come against them as Tim Simona took a cut-out ball from Robson 90m with an intercept try that would put Wests Tigers back into the match.

A successful conversion from Moses reduced the score to 8-6 after 50 minutes.

The crowd would soon be brought to life with a magic moment from Brooks and Tedesco, the halfback flicking back on the inside for the fullback, who then chipped Barba before racing through to score under the posts. A successful conversion from Moses would give his side their first lead of the night as the 3,000-strong crowd applauded a strong comeback by the boys.

Wests Tigers would extend their lead in the 64th minute as Dene Halatau reacted quickest to dive on an error from Sosaia Feki in the in-goal and ground the ball.

Moses again added the extras to push the hosts’ lead to 18-8.

As both teams experimented with new combinations in the final quarter of the match, it would be Wests Tigers who crossed for one final try as the siren sounded.

Josh Drinkwater kicked perfectly into the corner for Delouise Hoeter to score his first try of the match and ensure Wests Tigers a 22-8 victory on the night.

The win guaranteed a perfect day for Wests Tigers, who recorded victories in all seven grades (including junior representative teams), and they’ll be looking to continue that strong form when they take on the Gold Coast Titans in Round 1.

Wests Tigers will return to Campbelltown Sports Stadium on March 16 when they take on the St. George-Illawarra Dragons in their first home match.
\
\
NRL FULL TIME — Wests Tigers 22 (Simona, Tedesco, Halatau, Hoeter tries; Moses 3/3 goals) def. Cronulla Sharks 8 (Gordon 2 tries).
 
@innsaneink said:
@happy tiger said:
@innsaneink said:
Pleasing no injuries…not much to take out of tonite, long way to go and plenty of improvement in them...a pretty stock standard affair

Were you at the game Ink ??

Yeh
Teddy took a while to get involved but is class….Naquaima highlites our lack of real speed...tho simona's intercept he looked quik coz no one chased....I feel like we played tonight to get to the 5th tackle....particulalrly in the first half...got a bit more adventurous and had more ball in the 2nd half....refs calls all seemed to go their way

Thanks Ink

Thoughts on Rowdy ??

I agree with your 1st half comments , completions are important but the last tackle option are just as important

Sounds like our last tackle options improved in the 2nd half also
 
@willow said:
It was a pretty dour affair in the first half. We were definitely flat but seemed to kick it up a notch in the second half while the Sharks seemed to fall off the pace a little bit. Refs didn't help by taking 60 seconds each time a scrum went down. It was Hoeter who scored our last try also.

One thing I am worried about is our lack of speed. Naqaima, Simona and Teddy are all zippy but we lack that gamebreaker out wide IMO. Forward pack is solid and Taupau looks like an absolute beast. I was impressed with Naqaima and Hoeter, they did plenty of dirty work tonight and it's clear Taylor wants us to get in the grind with teams and wear them down.

Drinkwater will make a very handy depth player too if Brooks or Moses are injured. His kicking game is very good and he's a first rate goalkicker, he strikes the ball very cleanly.

Great to hear we are looking at getting in the grind with sides , but if our last option plays don't improve it won't help
 
@innsaneink said:
Rowdy was solid imo…good game - safe

Agree. Definitely looks fitter but there wasn't a lot of space out there tonight so it's hard to say what he's like if he gets in the clear. I don't think Simona is as quick as he was 2 years ago when he was regularly scoring long range tries. I could be wrong though, it's deceptive seeing them live V tv.
 
Woods was very active, looking for the ball like nearly all forwards, IMHO MOM performance.
All forwards played well except Sironen and Halatau. Kapaw had his trademark crashing runs, Galloway was solid. Another great game by Saumanifagai. Santi tackled everything that moved :slight_smile: Sue made a few good runs and one nice offload.
Lawrence finally looked for the ball, he made some good meters.
If SImona is slower, he is still faster than any anchovies players, he was gaining meters in that intercept with every 10 m.
JT is our best attacking weapon, if he stays healthy we are a different team.
Everyone contributed, and the only disappointments were Sironen and Halatau.

In NSW cup I liked Drinkwater and Fiagatusa, Cherington again proved that he is better option than Luani. In Drinkwater we could have another serious goal kicker :frowning:

In NYC Te Martin and Liddle, they won as the game in the second half.

The common theme from all three games is that we totally outplayed opponents in the second half :slight_smile:

Go Tigers :sign:
 
Compared to the corresponding trial against the Sharks last year i left with a very different feel.

Last year i was pumped and knew we could compete with the big boys again. I wasnt surprised the way we gave it Manly and Souths early on in the year.

This time however is completely different. The changes are much more subtle and while they may take longer to take effect they could well be more permanent.

A couple of things i noticed included Sirronen and Sue used exclusively on each side of the field and each playing like an 80 minute role.

The defensive line seemed to work more as a unit and less as individual tacklers.

The attack needs a lot of work, it looks like all they have done all off season is defend. No rhythm and cohesion with the halves and key link men.

Taupau playing the modern day lock role.

Kick to the corners, kick to the corners, kick to the corners, kick to the corners, kick to the corners, kick to the corners…...........
 
I've always been one to think trial form means nothing, so while it's always pleasing to win, I'm more satisfied with the fact Tedesco came through unscathed, and by all reports picked up from where he left off last yr, and also the fact we've had no injuries during the trials. When was the last time we went into round 1 without 3 or 4 on the sidelines? There's Noffa, but his injury was carried over from last yr, so I'm not counting him
 
@InBenjiWeTrust said:
Woods was very active, looking for the ball like nearly all forwards, IMHO MOM performance.
All forwards played well except Sironen and Halatau. Kapaw had his trademark crashing runs, Galloway was solid. Another great game by Saumanifagai. Santi tackled everything that moved :slight_smile: Sue made a few good runs and one nice offload.
Lawrence finally looked for the ball, he made some good meters.
If SImona is slower, he is still faster than any anchovies players, he was gaining meters in that intercept with every 10 m.
JT is our best attacking weapon, if he stays healthy we are a different team.
Everyone contributed, and the only disappointments were Sironen and Halatau.

In NSW cup I liked Drinkwater and Fiagatusa, Cherington again proved that he is better option than Luani. In Drinkwater we could have another serious goal kicker :frowning:

In NYC Te Martin and Liddle, they won as the game in the second half.

The common theme from all three games is that we totally outplayed opponents in the second half :slight_smile:

Go Tigers :sign:

What was wrong with Sirro? Made good metres, defended strong. Guess haters gotta hate!!!!!

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.2.0_
 
@GNR4LIFE said:
I've always been one to think trial form means nothing, so while it's always pleasing to win, I'm more satisfied with the fact Tedesco came through unscathed, and by all reports picked up from where he left off last yr, and also the fact we've had no injuries during the trials. When was the last time we went into round 1 without 3 or 4 on the sidelines? There's Noffa, but his injury was carried over from last yr, so I'm not counting him

we were pretty much 100% last year werent we?
 
Simona had Barba and Gordon chasing him from the start of his run.

_Posted using RoarFEED Android 1.2.1_
 

Latest posts

Staff online

Back
Top