Wests Tigers head south to Melbourne this weekend in one of the toughest road trips in the NRL.
But the round 10 match against the Storm on Sunday (2pm kick off) also represents an opportunity for Benji Marshall’s team to match it with one of the competition’s heavyweights.
They had an opportunity to do the same against the Broncos in Brisbane a few rounds back, but their defence let them down.
It almost cost them the game against St George in Magic Round on the weekend, and generally it’s fair to say the defensive effort has been inconsistent after nine rounds.
But it will have to be pretty close to perfect this Sunday if the Wests Tigers are to have any chance of beating the Storm and making it three games on the trot.
That kind of feat hasn’t happened for years, and I guess even the fact that it’s a possibility signals the solid improvement in the side this season.
Five wins from nine games – and two losses by just two points – shows that Marshall and his coaching staff are on the right track.
But against the might of Melbourne Storm it will take one hell of a defensive effort to win this game.
If they pull it off it could be the kind of effort that defines their season.
WESTS TIGERS TEAM V STORM:
1. Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Brent Naden
5. Charlie Staines
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
18. Tony Sukkar
