Match Discussion: Round 21 vs Warriors @ Go Media Stadium, Penrose / Aotearoa

[Tiger Ted]

They r a team u can rely on to make numerous dumb errors however it’s an area we r the best at & excell in so we should gift them an easy victory.Like last wk when souths wouldn’t have beaten any other team I’ve no doubt at end of this game will b saying the same about the warriors.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Warriors left edge pairing of Graham-Toufa and Kosi very inexperienced. Toa and Staines should have plenty of ball their way. More I look at it more chance I give us.

 

[Pezz70]

agree

I’d have matamua in there somewhere and would probably have Alaimalo over Luke but overall happy with the team. They might not win but will be good to watch the kids have a crack instead of the plodders.

really looking forward to seeing how Latu goes.

I’d have Alimailo in. Don’t care who plays on the other wing. Benji has done a bit of changing sides in the last few weeks and Lualilii did not handle the left side at all (I’d have dropped Lualilii this week if Alimailo is fit, he had a shocker and was all over the park, Samuel was on the wing quite a bit because Luke was roaming, Luke being selected this week makes me think Benji was experimenting with him roaming). Benji did the same thing with the halves (changed sides) two weeks ago and that wasn’t great either and centres, although centres were force by injuries.

I think the side this week will have a 50+ scoreline put up against them, there’s a bit of potential in the side but there’s probably only 2 fellas in the whole side that would be guaranteed playing NRL at this point in their careers at any other club

 

[Pezz70]

Warriors left edge pairing of Graham-Toufa and Kosi very inexperienced. Toa and Staines should have plenty of ball their way. More I look at it more chance I give us.

I think Toa is even money to start right side centre and Faatape will be left. I can’t see any reason why Benji would change them from the sides they’ve predominately been playing. Benji has to stop playing around with this changing sides thing, while players should be able to play both sides they get so used passing left to right or right to left, and defence is the same it’s ludicrous to swap them around.

 

[Tigerm]

YOUNG HALVES GIVE TIGERS FANS GLIMPSE OF FUTURE

They may not be the youngest halves pairing in NRL history - that honour goes to Denny Lambert and Scott Prince for the Cowboys in 1998 - but make no mistake, new Tigers halves pairing Latu Fainu and Lachlan Galvin are young.

Very young. Both are 19 and have played a combined 20 games of first grade, all of which came this year.

By comparison, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin - the Warriors halves this weekend - have played 157 NRL matches.


Make no mistake, Benji Marshall could have headed in a different direction in his halves this week. Either Jayden Sullivan or Api Koroisau could have lined up in the No.7 jersey instead of Fainu, who’s NRL appearances have all come off the bench.

Instead, Marshall has taken a gamble and shown faith in the 19-year-old Fainu, widely considered by many to be the best half in his age group.

And while it is a gamble which may not pay off in the short-term, there is every chance that in blooding Fainu into the No.7 Marshall made his own at the Tigers he is showing his side’s fans what the future holds.

In Galvin and Fainu, contracted until 2026 and 2027 respectively, the Wests Tigers possess two of the finest young halves in the NRL, with Galvin particularly proving to be not only one of the NRL’s best young stars, but also one of its best halves this season.

Granted Jarome Luai will arrive at Concord next year, leaving Fainu to develop his game in reserve grade or off the interchange bench.


But the Blues Origin star will be 28 when he arrives, hardly a spring chicken, and will be able to impart a wealth of playmaking knowledge he’s accrued alongside Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses onto Fainu and Galvin.

In the long term, this development under the wing of serial winner Luai will only serve to improve the Tigers’ young halves, to the club’s benefit.

If all goes well Fainu and Galvin will be the Tigers halves pairing in five or six years time, when they’ll still both incredibly only be in their mid-20s.

That is a frightening prospect for the rest of the NRL, and an exciting thought for Tigers fans who haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years.

As for how they go this weekend, Marshall has given his side a strong, but not impossible, test against the Warriors.

The last time Fainu and Galvin partnered each other in the halves was in high school. The next time they do so will be in Auckland.


Round 21 will be a challenge for most NRL halves, let alone a rookie, but their future won’t be decided by a single contest.

However, Tigers fans will be hoping they perform better than Prince and Lambert back in 1998, when they lost 62-0 to the North Sydney Bears.

This weekend the Tigers will be praying history doesn’t repeat, or rhyme, for their young No.6 and No.7.

Kevvie’s shock Cobbo call explained; Benji gambles on Tigers future: Teams Talking Pts

Kevvie’s shock Cobbo call explained; Benji gambles on Tigers future: Teams Talking Pts

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Someone2]

This is f**ken awesome.

Don’t know how awesome it will be if does a ACL over there and tigers have to pay to sit in the sidelines for most of the 2025 season

 

[Tiger05]

Don’t know how awesome it will be if does a ACL over there and tigers have to pay to sit in the sidelines for most of the 2025 season

That won't be good but not paying his wages for a period of time definitely is good.

 

[Tigerm]

Coaching Insider: Round 21 vs Warriors

Benji Marshall chats to media before the team's captain's run at Eden Park, ahead of Friday's match against the Warriors at Go Media Stadium, Auckland.

www.weststigers.com.au

 

[simmo1]

We seem to usually reserve our worst performances for the Warriors and I expect this Friday to be no exception.

 

[WA Tiger]

Lockyer lost his first test match from a dropped ball against the kiwis..Luke seems nervous as fk in all his interviews.. Benji May benefit from persistence.. I only saw the highlights of the try he was involved in but especially his speed and also timing was a big factor

 

[Tigerm]

Team Update: Round 21 vs Warriors

Wests Tigers have trimmed their squad to 19 players ahead of Friday's Indigenous Round match against the Cowboys in Townsville.

www.weststigers.com.au

The pack and bench look OK, still need a dominating forward, imo.

 

[Tiger05]

Team Update: Round 21 vs Warriors

Wests Tigers have trimmed their squad to 19 players ahead of Friday's Indigenous Round match against the Cowboys in Townsville.

www.weststigers.com.au

The pack and bench look OK, still need a dominating forward, imo.

I reckon Matamua should get more game time but that pack and bench look good. RTS at fullback is a concern though.

 

[Tigerm]

Don’t want to be too unkind, but he’s been another complete disaster
And I put it all on the players, it’s bullshit to say it’s the club or the coach.

 

[Perth Tiger]

Don’t want to be too unkind, but he’s been another complete disaster
And I put it all on the players, it’s bullshit to say it’s the club or the coach.

Yeah, you could tell from his attitude from as soon as he signed with those ridiculous interviews which could of ended straight away if he gave a clear answer about leaving Parra he was going to phone it in and leave at the first chance.

Contrast that to Luai and I hope we get a different result

 

[Nutz]

We've got this!

 

[Nutz]

We seem to usually reserve our worst performances for the Warriors and I expect this Friday to be no exception.

We beat them in the trial

 

[Tigerm]

No possession, no territory and a shit load of stupid mistakes. What else can go wrong.

 

[Nutz]

No possession, no territory and a shit load of stupid mistakes. What else can go wrong.

Who was saying we don't need to tighten up the middle.

 

[WA Tiger]

Who was saying our backs are good enough?

 

[Nutz]

Look how good we look when we get on the front foot.
The backs are finding more room with those fast raids in the middle and edges...it's not hard to understand WA.