The Wests Tigers may have lost their match against the NZ Warriors 32-22 tonight but they gained admirers for a spirited display that had them in the game right to the very end of an exciting round six clash
Cruelled by an 11-5 penalty count – and their own poor completion rate – the Tigers should have been out of the Mt Smart Stadium contest by half time, but Jason Taylor’s boys do not throw the towel in.
Wests were the first to score through Tim Simona, who bagged a double by fulltime, but the Warriors blasted the visitors from across the ditch in a 15 minute blitz when they scored four unanswered tries to race to a 20-6 lead.
The Tigers didn’t know what hit them during this critical phase, but held their composure and managed to go to the break just eight points behind at 20-12 after scoring a converted try when they finally got some possession.
Fullback James Tedesco dummied and went through for a brilliant try, with Pat Richards converting.
They were the first to score in the second half, reducing the deficit to just two points.
The score stayed at 20-18 until the 70th minute when the Warriors scored out wide to take a six point lead, but four minutes later the never say die Tigers were back in the hunt through a Pat Richards four pointer.
Luck deserted the Tigers on a couple of occasions when they were close to grabbing an unlikely victory but their former forward Bodene Thompson scored for the locals with a minute to go and it was all over red rover.
The Wests Tigers, now three wins from six matches, host Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval 3pm next Sunday in round seven of the NRL and no doubt the players will be looking forward to returning to the iconic suburban ground.
Coach Jason Taylor won’t be too sentimental about where they will play; he will just want the vital two premiership points.
Warriors 32 (Vatuvei 2, Townsend, Lolohea, Johnson, Thompson tries; Johnson 4 goals);Wests Tigers 22 (Simona 2, Tedesco, Richards tries; Richards 3 goals) at Mt Smart Stadium.Crowd: 13,781.
