Following the convincing 32-6 win over the Eels, it did not come as a surprise that Wests Tigers head coach Benji Marshall named an unchanged side to take on the Dolphins in Redcliffe this Saturday.
It’s fair to say there wasn’t a poor or average performance from a single player in the big victory at Parramatta on Sunday afternoon.
Indeed, most of the 17 players had exceptional games.
Among the standouts were three who did not play in the round one loss to Newcastle in Campbelltown seven days earlier: fullback Jahream Bula, centre Starford To’a, and hooker Api Koroisau.
All three made substantial contributions to the Tiger cause.
But it was new recruit Sunia Turuva who was sporting the biggest smile in the NRL on the weekend after scoring a sensational hat-trick against the hapless Eels.
The Jarome Luai and Lachlan Galvin halves combination got another workout, and while it wasn’t flawless it was good enough to get the team home for their first win of the season.
Young Galvin also seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself out there, trying things, some coming off and others not, but a big contributor to the seven out of 10 team performance.
Fans will be praying that the club can find a way – and the money – to make sure Galvin is a Tiger for most of his career, if not for life.
Benji Marshall was on the money afterwards when he cautioned that one win is no reason to get carried away.
The NRL is a marathon after all.
The match with the Dolphins will kick off at 5.30pm this Saturday.
TEAM LIST
Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Starford To’a
5. Jeral Skelton
6. Lachlan Galvin
7. Jarome Luai (c)
8. Terrell May
9. Api Koroisau (c)
10. Fonua Pole
11. Samuela Fainu
12. Alex Seyfarth
13. Alex Twal
INTERCHANGE:
14. Tallyn Da Silva
15. Royce Hunt
16. Jack Bird
17. Sione Fainu
