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Match Discussion: Round 7 vs Brisbane @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Leumeah / Dharawal

Who will win? Round 7: Wests Tigers v Brisbane

  • Wests Tigers 13+

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Wests Tigers 1-12

    Votes: 5 50.0%
  • Draw after Golden Point

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • Brisbane Broncos 1-12

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Brisbane Broncos 13+

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

AKA Das Hassler

Juniors
Messages
257
I think Luai will hurt us in attack. Benji needs to put him in cuffs, have him play straight and focus him on putting the ball through the hands rather than running it. Jock ain’t flash but he did his job well. Good
Problem to have, Luai is a good player and brings a lot to the team in terms of competitiveness, he gives 110%, but I think when the team is under the pump he can tend towards holding the ball too long and tries too hard to make things happen rather than sticking to the game plan. It’s the best side we’ve put on the paddock this year I just worry a bit about cohesion given the outside backs haven’t really played together this year

I reckon it's a safe bet that Jarome knows exactly what Benji does and DOESN'T want from him this first game back. It's a good situation to have where we have 4 first grade halves where the team can ( reasonably) seamlessly pick up where they left off with them in any combination when the need arises...hard to coach against as well when we have halves coming off the bench.
 

WA Tiger

First Grade
Messages
6,032
Jerome has shown a propensity for just not getting it right. It’s like an on the day thing with him. Regardless if he knows, it’s about can he do it and does he have a system down pat that is foolproof, or is it more hit and hope..

Obviously loyalty is at play with his selection.
If the losing coach at halftime is literally shot and dragged out of the park legs first, jock would be playing..you do not ever, regardless of the sport, decade played, level of skills change a winning team. Especially in the manner of the knights win and especially with Luai’s some good days and some bad days tendencies. I’m getting flashbacks of “ came to a screeching halt” to bring us back down to earth courtesy of Mam, and a couple of others. You can have the best forwards and outside backs but if the brains trust is dysfunctional, it’s all over.The good news is that, if that does happen it’s not a bad thing for us, but it will be newsworthy.
 
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AKA Das Hassler

Juniors
Messages
257
Jerome has shown a propensity for just not getting it right. It’s like an on the day thing with him. Regardless if he knows, it’s about can he do it and does he have a system down pat that is foolproof, or is it more hit and hope..

Obviously loyalty is at play with his selection.
If the losing coach at halftime is literally shot and dragged out of the park legs first, jock would be playing..you do not ever, regardless of the sport, decade played, level of skills change a winning team. Especially in the manner of the knights win and especially with Luai’s some good days and some bad days tendencies. I’m getting flashbacks of “ came to a screeching halt” to bring us back down to earth courtesy of Mam, and a couple of others. You can have the best forwards and outside backs but if the brains trust is dysfunctional, it’s all over.The good news is if that does happen it’s not a bad thing for us, but it will be newsworthy.

Yep fair enough...all possible but with Madden on the bench we should be good either way...I doubt Benji would hesitate...gotta win whatever it takes
 

Nutz

First Grade
Messages
8,976
I reckon it's a safe bet that Jarome knows exactly what Benji does and DOESN'T want from him this first game back. It's a good situation to have where we have 4 first grade halves where the team can ( reasonably) seamlessly pick up where they left off with them in any combination when the need arises...hard to coach against as well when we have halves coming off the bench.
For the Broncos game, I don't think our Achilles heel will be our halves, imo its more about the team falling off in intensity and not completing sets. We need to starve the dangerous Broncos ball.
The quick tempo game suits us but the top teams are starting to faulter a bit. Cowboys for example.
Whether that's due to mental or physical fatigue I'm unsure, but to safeguard this we may have to revert to more conventional type of footy, doing the 1 percenters, completions, tackles, handling etc.
It's been said that we appear to be one of the fittest clubs, can we keep it going? 🫰
 

Speedy Gonzales

Juniors
Messages
1,188
The crazy thing is we haven’t even been full strength all year yet. This team we are fielding tomorrow will be our best yet, give or take a couple niggles

still concerned about the fitness Sam Fainu, hopefully he pulls up fine for the captains run
 

Tigerm

Coach
Messages
15,302

The guys on fire, he'd have to be on crutches to miss this one.
IMO, this game will tell us a lot about where we are going this season.
 

Tiger05

Coach
Messages
11,425

The guys on fire, he'd have to be on crutches to miss this one.
IMO, this game will tell us a lot about where we are going this season.

Every game is important because we need wins while we are performing well. We also need wins at our home grounds to reward the fans.

I hope Samuela plays but I hope it's the right decision.
 

Tigerm

Coach
Messages
15,302

I really hope Herbert can produce last week's form and Ta May brings his game to this one, I give us a huge chance.

But would love to see Madden get on and kick the winning goal against his old team and Madge who has punted him twice.
 
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Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,327
Adam Reynolds knew a Wests Tigers revolution was coming. He almost became a part of it
Christian Nicolussi
April 18, 2026 — 9:45am

Adam Reynolds started to spot the good things happening at Wests Tigers about 12 months ago.

That was around the same time his old teammate and Tigers coach Benji Marshall had reached out about joining the club on a two-year deal worth around $1.5m.

From what he’d learned by playing against these Tigers a few times, Reynolds knew a handful of the younger players oozed talent, and they just needed game time and experience.

Marshall explained to Reynolds why he thought he would be the perfect halves partner for Jarome Luai. It was not lost on him that he had the opportunity to reunite with Api Koroisau, whom he won a premiership with at South Sydney more than a decade earlier, and someone Reynolds described as “one of the most underrated players in our game”.

Former Tigers CEO Shane Richardson flew to Brisbane and went to Reynolds’ home to pitch him the idea of finishing his career in Sydney.

Naturally, Reynolds started to keep closer tabs on the Tigers than most other clubs.

But a deal with the joint venture club didn’t eventuate and the Brisbane skipper re-signed with the Broncos for one more season. He captained the team to a premiership last season and is now in pursuit of another before he hangs up the boots.

He could not bring himself to uproot the family again, and he loves his new life north of the border.

Two years after Reynolds was cheered by Tigers fans in the eastern grandstand at Campbelltown when he cramped, then leapt to his feet to make a try-saving tackle, there will be no such love for the Broncos and Reynolds at the same venue. It will be standing room only on the hill.

The halfback told this masthead the Tigers were never going to remain at the bottom of the NRL ladder for too long, especially with Marshall in charge.

“It was only a matter of time before Benji got the boys firing,” Reynolds told this masthead.

“Benji saw the game in a different way to most when he was playing. He’s one of the smartest tactical players I’ve ever come across.

“Benji was also great with team morale, and I knew he’d galvanise this group and get them playing the sort of football good enough to win games and challenge for premierships.

“I spoke with Benji a few times last year about joining the club. He thought I’d be a good fit, and I thought the same. ‘Richo’ [Shane Richardson] also flew up and came to my home and pitched the idea.

“They both spoke about where they saw the club going. They spoke about how I could work with Jarome.

“When you play against people, you can sense where they’re at in their careers, and where they could end up.

“I didn’t know how long it would take a few of those Tigers boys to turn into good footy players, but it was never going to be far away.”

Reynolds noted the Tigers were now excellent at making sure they turned up for each other in defence. As for their attack, it all starts with chief architect Koroisau.

“He’s their heartbeat, everything starts with him, he’s crafty, tough, and you can tell the boys playing with him,” Reynolds said.

Koroisau replaced the suspended Isaac Luke in the 2014 grand final win over the Bulldogs, played finals’ football with Manly, and then won two premierships with Penrith before he landed at the Tigers.

For his part, Koroisau denies success has seemed to follow him in the NRL.

“I don’t know about that. I also won two wooden spoons in my first two years here,” he said this week.

“What I have liked about us this year is our composure. We’ve been under pressure, we’ve been down by 10 points in games, but we haven’t panicked. We don’t look to change things. We’re happy to stay in the grind.

“I also like the overall culture we’ve built. The boys are training really well, they come out every day, cross that white line, switch it on, and switch off the outside [noise] as well.

“That has to be driven by the senior boys. I take my hat off to Alex Twal, who has been massive for us, [and] Terrell May and Adam Doueihi. Those guys have taken the reins with that [leadership] stuff, and that’s really helped me and ‘Romy’, and so we’re not trying to do too much.”

Koroisau is even having an impact on the next generation of Tigers, including Latu Fainu, who has never forgotten the one key lesson from the co-captain he likens to a big brother.

“He always tells us to ‘pay the price’,” Fainu said about Koroisau.

“What that means is get the work done; at the start of the game, get in the cycle, do your job, and the points will come later. Whatever you’ve got to do, that’s your job.”

Koroisau is in the form that has him back in the Origin conversation. The Tigers welcome the return of Luai from a knee injury, as well as centre Taylan May (shoulder), whose individual match-up against Kotoni Staggs will be one of the highlights.

Marshall said on Thursday it was tough to drop Jock Madden, who had done an impressive job in the halves while Luai was out.

Samuela Fainu (knee) trained strongly, Heamasi Makasini is back on the left wing, where he trained all summer – and did his best to mimic All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu by running over the top of Dylan Edwards in the trials – and Patrick Herbert, who played his first game in four years last weekend, has retained his spot in the centres.

Michael Maguire, who was sacked by the Tigers midway through 2022, returns with the Broncos, and loves nothing more than having his teams written off before kick-off. The last time the Broncos started outsiders against the Tigers, they were thrashed 48-0 during a Leichhardt Oval horror show in 2020.

But this latest contest smells of a ‘Madge’ ambush.

The Broncos’ list of absentees cannot be ignored. Walsh has a fractured cheekbone. Ben Hunt has a knee injury. Hooker Corey Paix is out with concussion. Pat Carrigan is suspended. Even Reynolds suffered a grade-two strain to his adductor a few weeks ago, and will do well to play through the pain.

The good times look set to roll on in Tiger Town. The opposition No. 7 always knew they were coming.

 

Nutz

First Grade
Messages
8,976
Adam Reynolds knew a Wests Tigers revolution was coming. He almost became a part of it
Christian Nicolussi
April 18, 2026 — 9:45am

Adam Reynolds started to spot the good things happening at Wests Tigers about 12 months ago.

That was around the same time his old teammate and Tigers coach Benji Marshall had reached out about joining the club on a two-year deal worth around $1.5m.

From what he’d learned by playing against these Tigers a few times, Reynolds knew a handful of the younger players oozed talent, and they just needed game time and experience.

Marshall explained to Reynolds why he thought he would be the perfect halves partner for Jarome Luai. It was not lost on him that he had the opportunity to reunite with Api Koroisau, whom he won a premiership with at South Sydney more than a decade earlier, and someone Reynolds described as “one of the most underrated players in our game”.

Former Tigers CEO Shane Richardson flew to Brisbane and went to Reynolds’ home to pitch him the idea of finishing his career in Sydney.

Naturally, Reynolds started to keep closer tabs on the Tigers than most other clubs.

But a deal with the joint venture club didn’t eventuate and the Brisbane skipper re-signed with the Broncos for one more season. He captained the team to a premiership last season and is now in pursuit of another before he hangs up the boots.

He could not bring himself to uproot the family again, and he loves his new life north of the border.

Two years after Reynolds was cheered by Tigers fans in the eastern grandstand at Campbelltown when he cramped, then leapt to his feet to make a try-saving tackle, there will be no such love for the Broncos and Reynolds at the same venue. It will be standing room only on the hill.

The halfback told this masthead the Tigers were never going to remain at the bottom of the NRL ladder for too long, especially with Marshall in charge.

“It was only a matter of time before Benji got the boys firing,” Reynolds told this masthead.

“Benji saw the game in a different way to most when he was playing. He’s one of the smartest tactical players I’ve ever come across.

“Benji was also great with team morale, and I knew he’d galvanise this group and get them playing the sort of football good enough to win games and challenge for premierships.

“I spoke with Benji a few times last year about joining the club. He thought I’d be a good fit, and I thought the same. ‘Richo’ [Shane Richardson] also flew up and came to my home and pitched the idea.

“They both spoke about where they saw the club going. They spoke about how I could work with Jarome.

“When you play against people, you can sense where they’re at in their careers, and where they could end up.

“I didn’t know how long it would take a few of those Tigers boys to turn into good footy players, but it was never going to be far away.”

Reynolds noted the Tigers were now excellent at making sure they turned up for each other in defence. As for their attack, it all starts with chief architect Koroisau.

“He’s their heartbeat, everything starts with him, he’s crafty, tough, and you can tell the boys playing with him,” Reynolds said.

Koroisau replaced the suspended Isaac Luke in the 2014 grand final win over the Bulldogs, played finals’ football with Manly, and then won two premierships with Penrith before he landed at the Tigers.

For his part, Koroisau denies success has seemed to follow him in the NRL.

“I don’t know about that. I also won two wooden spoons in my first two years here,” he said this week.

“What I have liked about us this year is our composure. We’ve been under pressure, we’ve been down by 10 points in games, but we haven’t panicked. We don’t look to change things. We’re happy to stay in the grind.

“I also like the overall culture we’ve built. The boys are training really well, they come out every day, cross that white line, switch it on, and switch off the outside [noise] as well.

“That has to be driven by the senior boys. I take my hat off to Alex Twal, who has been massive for us, [and] Terrell May and Adam Doueihi. Those guys have taken the reins with that [leadership] stuff, and that’s really helped me and ‘Romy’, and so we’re not trying to do too much.”

Koroisau is even having an impact on the next generation of Tigers, including Latu Fainu, who has never forgotten the one key lesson from the co-captain he likens to a big brother.

“He always tells us to ‘pay the price’,” Fainu said about Koroisau.

“What that means is get the work done; at the start of the game, get in the cycle, do your job, and the points will come later. Whatever you’ve got to do, that’s your job.”

Koroisau is in the form that has him back in the Origin conversation. The Tigers welcome the return of Luai from a knee injury, as well as centre Taylan May (shoulder), whose individual match-up against Kotoni Staggs will be one of the highlights.

Marshall said on Thursday it was tough to drop Jock Madden, who had done an impressive job in the halves while Luai was out.

Samuela Fainu (knee) trained strongly, Heamasi Makasini is back on the left wing, where he trained all summer – and did his best to mimic All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu by running over the top of Dylan Edwards in the trials – and Patrick Herbert, who played his first game in four years last weekend, has retained his spot in the centres.

Michael Maguire, who was sacked by the Tigers midway through 2022, returns with the Broncos, and loves nothing more than having his teams written off before kick-off. The last time the Broncos started outsiders against the Tigers, they were thrashed 48-0 during a Leichhardt Oval horror show in 2020.

But this latest contest smells of a ‘Madge’ ambush.

The Broncos’ list of absentees cannot be ignored. Walsh has a fractured cheekbone. Ben Hunt has a knee injury. Hooker Corey Paix is out with concussion. Pat Carrigan is suspended. Even Reynolds suffered a grade-two strain to his adductor a few weeks ago, and will do well to play through the pain.

The good times look set to roll on in Tiger Town. The opposition No. 7 always knew they were coming.

He's showing signs of wear and tear. I'm glad he became a pony and stayed in Brisbane.
 

WA Tiger

First Grade
Messages
6,032
Adam Reynolds knew a Wests Tigers revolution was coming. He almost became a part of it
Christian Nicolussi
April 18, 2026 — 9:45am

Adam Reynolds started to spot the good things happening at Wests Tigers about 12 months ago.

That was around the same time his old teammate and Tigers coach Benji Marshall had reached out about joining the club on a two-year deal worth around $1.5m.

From what he’d learned by playing against these Tigers a few times, Reynolds knew a handful of the younger players oozed talent, and they just needed game time and experience.

Marshall explained to Reynolds why he thought he would be the perfect halves partner for Jarome Luai. It was not lost on him that he had the opportunity to reunite with Api Koroisau, whom he won a premiership with at South Sydney more than a decade earlier, and someone Reynolds described as “one of the most underrated players in our game”.

Former Tigers CEO Shane Richardson flew to Brisbane and went to Reynolds’ home to pitch him the idea of finishing his career in Sydney.

Naturally, Reynolds started to keep closer tabs on the Tigers than most other clubs.

But a deal with the joint venture club didn’t eventuate and the Brisbane skipper re-signed with the Broncos for one more season. He captained the team to a premiership last season and is now in pursuit of another before he hangs up the boots.

He could not bring himself to uproot the family again, and he loves his new life north of the border.

Two years after Reynolds was cheered by Tigers fans in the eastern grandstand at Campbelltown when he cramped, then leapt to his feet to make a try-saving tackle, there will be no such love for the Broncos and Reynolds at the same venue. It will be standing room only on the hill.

The halfback told this masthead the Tigers were never going to remain at the bottom of the NRL ladder for too long, especially with Marshall in charge.

“It was only a matter of time before Benji got the boys firing,” Reynolds told this masthead.

“Benji saw the game in a different way to most when he was playing. He’s one of the smartest tactical players I’ve ever come across.

“Benji was also great with team morale, and I knew he’d galvanise this group and get them playing the sort of football good enough to win games and challenge for premierships.

“I spoke with Benji a few times last year about joining the club. He thought I’d be a good fit, and I thought the same. ‘Richo’ [Shane Richardson] also flew up and came to my home and pitched the idea.

“They both spoke about where they saw the club going. They spoke about how I could work with Jarome.

“When you play against people, you can sense where they’re at in their careers, and where they could end up.

“I didn’t know how long it would take a few of those Tigers boys to turn into good footy players, but it was never going to be far away.”

Reynolds noted the Tigers were now excellent at making sure they turned up for each other in defence. As for their attack, it all starts with chief architect Koroisau.

“He’s their heartbeat, everything starts with him, he’s crafty, tough, and you can tell the boys playing with him,” Reynolds said.

Koroisau replaced the suspended Isaac Luke in the 2014 grand final win over the Bulldogs, played finals’ football with Manly, and then won two premierships with Penrith before he landed at the Tigers.

For his part, Koroisau denies success has seemed to follow him in the NRL.

“I don’t know about that. I also won two wooden spoons in my first two years here,” he said this week.

“What I have liked about us this year is our composure. We’ve been under pressure, we’ve been down by 10 points in games, but we haven’t panicked. We don’t look to change things. We’re happy to stay in the grind.

“I also like the overall culture we’ve built. The boys are training really well, they come out every day, cross that white line, switch it on, and switch off the outside [noise] as well.

“That has to be driven by the senior boys. I take my hat off to Alex Twal, who has been massive for us, [and] Terrell May and Adam Doueihi. Those guys have taken the reins with that [leadership] stuff, and that’s really helped me and ‘Romy’, and so we’re not trying to do too much.”

Koroisau is even having an impact on the next generation of Tigers, including Latu Fainu, who has never forgotten the one key lesson from the co-captain he likens to a big brother.

“He always tells us to ‘pay the price’,” Fainu said about Koroisau.

“What that means is get the work done; at the start of the game, get in the cycle, do your job, and the points will come later. Whatever you’ve got to do, that’s your job.”

Koroisau is in the form that has him back in the Origin conversation. The Tigers welcome the return of Luai from a knee injury, as well as centre Taylan May (shoulder), whose individual match-up against Kotoni Staggs will be one of the highlights.

Marshall said on Thursday it was tough to drop Jock Madden, who had done an impressive job in the halves while Luai was out.

Samuela Fainu (knee) trained strongly, Heamasi Makasini is back on the left wing, where he trained all summer – and did his best to mimic All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu by running over the top of Dylan Edwards in the trials – and Patrick Herbert, who played his first game in four years last weekend, has retained his spot in the centres.

Michael Maguire, who was sacked by the Tigers midway through 2022, returns with the Broncos, and loves nothing more than having his teams written off before kick-off. The last time the Broncos started outsiders against the Tigers, they were thrashed 48-0 during a Leichhardt Oval horror show in 2020.

But this latest contest smells of a ‘Madge’ ambush.

The Broncos’ list of absentees cannot be ignored. Walsh has a fractured cheekbone. Ben Hunt has a knee injury. Hooker Corey Paix is out with concussion. Pat Carrigan is suspended. Even Reynolds suffered a grade-two strain to his adductor a few weeks ago, and will do well to play through the pain.

The good times look set to roll on in Tiger Town. The opposition No. 7 always knew they were coming.

After taking a “can’t lie “pill.
Reynolds : I couldn’t lower myself to go from the Broncos to the tigers. That would have been a step in the wrong direction. With the things that were going on their another wooden spoon was on the cards.Anyway I didn’t think Benji could even coach so yea nah Thanks.. better not lose today. Esp not a whipping please
 
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Nutz

First Grade
Messages
8,976
Famous last words.
L36-26
2024: 6 wins, 7 losses
2025: 13 wins, 9 losses
2026: 2 wins, 2 losses
“I said past his prime, not washed — there’s a difference.”
However, apart from being a premiership winning captain, in the last few years he hasn't impressed me that much and injuries are more frequent now.
I'm more than happy with how things have panned out.
I've got the voodoo needles ready for the pony's game.
 
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