Wests Tigers fans are divided over Heamasi Makasini being left out of the team for this Thursday’s round 8 clash with the Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval.
The talented backline player has played every match in the opening seven rounds of the 2026 NRL premiership competition.
But when his name was missing from the team list for Thursday’s blockbuster it created a bit of a furore in the past 24 hours.
Some fans believe Makasini was punished for making a couple of mistakes towards the end of the game against the Broncos on Saturday night.
Others were supportive of him being left out for this week as a bit of a break from the demands of first grade footy on young, emerging players.
Mostly, these were knee-jerk reactions from Wests Tigers fans disappointed with the 21-20 loss to the 2025 premiers.
The truth is the Tigers had enough ball inside the Broncos red zone to score a few tries and seal the win and the two premiership points.
And this aspect of the game brought out more knee-jerk reactions from those who jumped on the coach for breaking up the Adam Doueihi-Jock Madden combination to allow for the selection of million dollar man Jarome Luai, who was returning from injury.
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t was probably Benji Marshall’s conclusion.
The fact is the Broncos deserved their one point win because they were smarter than the Tigers at the business end of the match.
And as Benji pointed out, it was a short turnaround to the Raiders clash, which will be played in the sold-out Leichhardt Oval cauldron.
Beware of the Raiders, though, who have had a mixed start to this season.
Benji Marshall, who will be eager to see his side bounce back with a strong performance, did not make many changes when he named his squad.
Starford To’a suits up in the centres for the first time this season, while Patrick Herbert shifts to the bench, and Luke Laulilii comes in for Makasini on the wing.
The forward pack remains unchanged, with Terrell May, Samuela Fainu and Api Koroisau coming off strong performances against the Broncos, with Alex Twal also clocking over 70 minutes at lock.
Tristan Hope is an inclusion on the interchange bench, with Latu Fainu, Jeral Skelton and Tony Sukkar making up the reserves.
WESTS TIGERS LINEUP:
1.Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Taylan May
4. Starford To’a
5. Luke Laulilii
6. Jarome Luai
7. Adam Doueihi
8. Terrell May
9. Api Koroisau (c)
10. Fonua Pole
11. Samuela Fainu
12. Kai Pearce-Paul
13. Alex Twal
INTERCHANGE:
14. Jock Madden
15. Sione Fainu
16. Royce Hunt
17. Alex Seyfarth
18. Patrick Herbert
19. Tristan Hope