Macarthur region fans will be saying goodbye to two special players this Friday night when the Wests Tigers host the North Queensland Cowboys at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
It will be the last game in Tigers colours at Campbelltown for Aaron Woods and Camden’s James Tedesco, who move on next year, to the Bulldogs and the Roosters respectively.
There are no formal farewells planned at this stage, which are more likely to take place in round 26 when the team returns to Leichhardt Oval the following Sunday for the final match of 2017 against the NZ Warriors.
Hopefully most fans will be generous to these young men, who have put their bodies on the line for several years now.
But just as some are leaving, new faces are emerging as coach Ivan Cleary continues to build for the future.
Cleary has named young Bayley Sironen on the bench.
It means that Sironen will become Wests Tigers player number 207 when he runs on the field on Friday night.
Sauaso Sue will become the 20th Wests Tigers to play 100 games for the club when he takes to the field on Friday night.
But unfortunately for Macarthur fans local hero Chris Lawrence is still out injured and won’t take part against the Cowboys.
Vice captain Elijah Taylor will also miss the game with a shoulder injury following last week’s 22-18 loss to the Sydney Roosters.
The team is:
1. James Tedesco
2. David Nofoaluma
3. Esan Marsters
4. Kevin Naiqama
5. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak
6. Tuimoala Lolohea
7. Luke Brooks
8. Aaron Woods (capt.)
9. Matt McIlwrick
10. Tim Grant
11. Michael Chee Kam
12. Josh Aloiai
13. Matt Eisenhuth
Interchange:
14. Alex Twal
15. Sauaso Sue
16. Bayley Sironen
17. Jack Littlejohn
18. Joel Edwards
19. Ava Seumanufagai
20. JJ Felise
21. Watson Heleta
