The Wests Tigers have finally ended their 16-year drought against the Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval, but the win may have come at a high cost.
Although it was mainly positive for the home side in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,153, the Tigers will be sweating on the availability of two key members of their spine.
Co-captain Api Koroisau will be sweating on news from the match review committee after he was sent to the sin bin for a hip drop tackle.
Meanwhile, fullback Jahream Bula failed to finish the match after departing the field with a left shoulder injury.
Competing at the self-proclaimed ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, the Tigers couldn’t have asked for a better start as a magical kick from Korisau allowed Luke Laulii to cross in the corner.
Adam Doueihi doubled the lead, but after Koroisau was sent to the sin-bin for a hip drop tackle, the Raiders took advantage of having the extra man.
With the newly-formed halves combination of Daine Laurie and Ethan Sanders, the Raiders made it two tries to Kaeo Weekes and Matthew Timoko within ten minutes.
But once it returned to 13-on-13, it was all Tigers in the second 40 minutes.
Targeting the injury-plagued Ethan Strange, Taylan May went over first, making it four tries in four matches at Leichhardt Oval.
Doueihi soon followed, notching up 500 points with the Tigers after an out-of-this-world pass from Samuela Fainu before Laulilii made it a double for himself.
Front-rower Royce Hunt put the icing on the cake with a stunning solo try which showcases his speed and step past Weekes in the back field.
With the win, the Tigers eclipsed their record points through seven games.
There was a fiery end to Thursday’s contest as Sunia Turuva and Tom Starling exchanged words and yanked at each other’s jerseys before being separated.
BIG HITS
Strange injury for Origin smokey
Departing the field within the opening minutes of the contest with a left ankle injury, it looked as though Ethan Strange’s Origin chances may have come to an end.
Many feared the worst for the young five-eighth, but he miraculously returned before the half-time break and finished out of the game.
Tigers sweat on Api
The Wests Tigers will be sweating on the availability of co-captain Api Koroisau after he was sent to the sin-bin for a hip drop tackle on Noah Martin.
Koroisau was then placed on report again in the 52nd minute for another dangerous shot.
He could face time on the sidelines if deemed serious by the match review committee, but it’s worth noting that Martin remained on the field.
He had a guilty hip drop charge in round 5, another dangerous contact charge for a cannonball tackle in round 2 and a tripping charge in round 3.
If ruled out, Tristan Hope will come into calculations and Koroisau will join Kai Pearce-Paul (concussion) and potentially Jahream Bula (shoulder) on the sidelines.
AD for NSW?
Will Adam Doueihi play for the NSW Blues? Since taking over the halfback role, Doueihi has yet to put a step wrong and has continued to press his case for selection with another magnificent performance.
Doueihi finished the match with two tries, two line-breaks, one line-break assist and a field goal for good measure.
Big Red’s nervous wait
Corey Horsburgh was placed on report for a high tackle early in the second half. He has two unrelated charges in the past 12 months.
STAT ATTACK (via Fox Lab)
– Tigers snap a three game losing streak against the Raiders at Leichhardt. 33 points is their most against them there as a joint venture. Raiders’ biggest loss at Leichhardt since 1987.
– Only the third time the Tigers have won five of their first seven matches of a season. First since 2018.
– Raiders have conceded 30 points or more in nine of their 12 losses since the beginning of last season.
– Tigers won the second half 23-0. Only the Tigers third nil second half since the start of last season.
– Adam Douehi scored his fifth career try double and landed his second career field goal.
– Luke Laulilii scored his second try double of the season – both at Leichhardt.
– Fox Lab POTM was Alex Twal, who led from the front for the Tigers in a powerhouse performance. He had a hand in two tries, ran for over 150 metres for just the 10th time in his career and made 46 tackles.