TIGERS
Question mark hanging over Tigers; big change Kevvie must see: Final verdict on every club
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ENNIS: I really like their recruits and what they’ve brought to the club. Obviously the ‘05 band’s back together - Sheens, Marshall, Farah. They had a good energy about them, they had Chris Heighington, who’s a great connector. He’s a great clubman and he was back running the blue shirt for them at Belmore the other day. So they’ve brought some guys in there that know what success looks like at that club.
And then they’ve recruited guys, like Api Koroisau who I think’s going to be enormous for them, (Isaiah) Papali’i who’s a world-class back-rower, along with John Bateman who I think brings a real unorthodox, unpredictable, ferocious competitive edge to their back row.
My only question mark is ... what Koroisau was able to do for Daly Cherry-Evans at Manly and the pressure he took off him, what he instantly did for Nathan Cleary and Jerome Lui at Penrith. Can Brooks and Doueihi capitalise on what he does in the ruck? If they can and take their opportunities on the back of what he creates, then I think the Tigers certainly climb the ladder.
CRONK: Yeah, I don’t think they play finals but they get up the ladder. They’ll finish 10th, 11th, 12th, something around that mark. I won’t say 9th, Tigers fans.
I liked their performance in the last preseason game. Jeez, they were skilled and athletic. They were passing the ball and that whole mindset that Sheens, Farah and Benji have coached and played with was there to be seen. They were throwing the ball around, backing their skill - the execution of the pass was the best I’ve ever seen from the Tigers.
For them to actually reset the base, I think the example is the Cowboys. They slept and breathed defence, defence, defence all summer, and that’s the thing that’s shot them up the ladder.
Fox Lab predicted finish: 17th
Not sure how they have come to that conclusion?