It’s hard to know what to make of the Wests Tigers after their 22-12 loss to South Sydney at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday night.
It’s a fact that they were in the fight for much of the 80 minutes and Souths scored the match winning try with barely two minutes left in the match.
This was after young half Lachlan Galvin spilled the ball over the try line, which would have given the Tigers the lead.
This crucial error, and a couple more in the first half, re-ignited the debate on social media over the future of the young star.
Naturally some fans were angry with the 19 year old and called for his immediate axing from first grade, while others basically said the club should boot him out immediately.
I have no doubt some of these comments by fans were emotional reactions to another defeat and not personal against the youngster.
It’s true he made mistakes during the Souths game, but it’s also true that he makes mistakes all the time, simply because he’s trying things.
But his defence was quite good, both on the line and in general play.
What happens to him is up to head coach Benji Marshall, who will have some extra time up his sleeve because the Tigers have a bye this coming weekend, before returning to action with a trip to Townsville to take on the North Queensland Cowboys in round 13.
But while Marshall has some big decisions to make in the next fortnight, he should give his magnificent co-captain Api Koroisau a decent rest break.
Koroisau, pictured above, played a fair dinkum captain’s knock, scoring both Tigers tries and generally leading by example.
His heroics were the main reason his team stayed in the fight. If every single player selected put in as much extra effort as him, the Wests Tigers would be much higher on the ladder – and the fans much, much happier.
Nobody at Wests Tigers deserves some success more than the magnificent Api Koroisau. Let’s hope his teammates can somehow repay him over the next 15 weeks.
