Round 21 Tigers v Storm

WESTS TIGERS V STORM - FRI 31 JULY, 7.35PM LEICHHARDT OVAL | BUY TICKETS

Wests Tigers
1 James Tedesco
2 David Nofoaluma
3 Kevin Naiqama
4 Tim Simona
5 Pat Richards
6 Mitchell Moses
7 Luke Brooks
8 Aaron Woods
9 Robbie Farah (c)
10 Keith Galloway
11 Curtis Sironen
12 Dene Halatau
13 Sauaso Sue

Interchange
14 Kyle Lovett
15 Jack Buchanan
16 Ava Seumanu***ai
18 Manaia Cherrington

Coach: Jason Taylor

Storm
1 Cameron Munster
2 Marika Koroibete
3 Will Chambers
4 Tohu Harris
5 Matt Duffie
6 Blake Green
7 Cooper Cronk
8 Jesse Bromwich
9 Cameron Smith (c)
18 Felise Kaufusi
11 Kevin Proctor
12 Kenny Bromwich
14 Dale Finucane

Interchange
10 Tim Glasby
13 Ryan Hinchcliffe
15 Mahe Fonua
17 Christian Welch

Coach: Craig Bellamy

Wests Tigers stun Storm at Leichhardt

Fri 31 Jul, 2015, 9:31pm
By Jack Brady, National Correspondent, NRL.com

Led by fan favourite James Tedesco, the Wests Tigers showcased why they were happy for Marika Koroibete to depart the club having pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season following their 34-16 victory over the Melbourne Storm.


In his first game back at Leichhardt since leaving for Melbourne midway through last season, Koroibete seemingly looked to bring the pain to his old team in the early stages of the game after he scored two tries inside of 16 minutes.

However thanks to the likes of Kevin Naiqama and David Nofoaluma, the Tigers turned it back on Koroibete after scoring four tries down the Storm winger's side.

Proving their former teammate's defence was a weak point in the Storm's armour, the Tigers ultimately ran out 18-point victors in front of a vocal 7,000-strong Leichhardt Oval crowd, to also celebrate local junior Aaron Woods's 100th NRL game.

Following the match, coach Jason Taylor said he felt a strong performance wasn't far away.

"It was very good, very pleasing. It was a really strong performance," Taylor said.

"We were behind early and that wasn't great but I knew the guys weren't going to give up. We have gone to another level the past few weeks - it hasn't looked like it on the scoreboard - but the last fortnight against two of the absolute top teams we have had some really great periods and we were really strong for most of the game on the back of that."

With the Tigers down 10-0, and after being denied in the 21st minute when Naiqama put one down in the lead up to a potential Nofoaluma try, Tedesco's star rose just that little bit further up when he raced away to score the Tigers' first of the evening in the 28th minute.

It could've been a completely different story for Tedesco who looked to have suffered another serious knee injury midway through the second half, before jumping back up and scoring the match-sealer in the 69th minute.

The Tigers would hit the lead for the first time though in the 31st minute when Naiqama forced an error from Koroibete under the high ball in a move which saw back-rower Dene Halatau pounce on the loose ball to score.


Naiqama had one of his own with 55 seconds remaining in the first half when a simple backline shift caught Koroibete and centre Tohu Harris napping, to extend the Tigers' half-time lead to eight.

After conceding a drop out from the second half kick, the Storm bounced back in the best way possible when Cooper Cronk put prop Jesse Bromwich over to cut the Tigers' lead back to two.

But Pat Richards did his best to cause further punishment for the Storm when he scored out wide in the 53rd minute to push the Tigers' advantage back out to six points.

The Tigers would heap further punishment on Koroibete and the Storm when Naiqama linked up with Nofoaluma thanks to a magical flick pass down the Fijian's side in the 60th minute, while Tedesco's second try nine minutes later sealed proceedings.

Wests Tigers 34 (James Tedesco 2, Dene Halatau, Kevin Naiqama, Pat Richards, David Nofoaluma Tries; Pat Richards 4 Goals) defeated Melbourne Storm 16 (Marika Koroibete 2, Jesse Bromwich Tries; Cameron Smith 2 Goals) at Leichhardt Oval. Crowd: 7,419. Half-time: Tigers 18-10.

Melbourne, 'we have a problem': Bellamy

Sat 01 Aug, 2015, 7:11am
By Jack Brady, National Correspondent, NRL.com

Disturbed Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy didn't hold back following his team's uncharacteristic 34-16 loss to the Wests Tigers, assessing his Storm team had a "problem" and were "soft".


Asked about his team's precarious placing on the NRL Telstra Premiership ladder and how the 18-point loss will affect it, Bellamy labelled it a "minor disappointment" in comparison to the way his team performed.

After 16 minutes the Storm were up 10-0 and were flying, in particular winger Marika Koroibete, but what followed in the final three quarters was a Tigers ambush which Bellamy's men failed to respond to.

"I'm sure the other teams around us [on the ladder] at the moment they'd be doing handstands. But for me, the table looks after itself when you perform well and when you don't perform well it's not going to be kind to you," Bellamy said post-game.

"The last 60 minutes against the Tigers they scored 34 points to six. That's the most points we've had put on us all year, so we have a problem. We didn't respect the footy, and along with not respecting the footy, we just didn't defend well after that.

"After they scored their first try I don't think we touched for about 10 minutes [after that] so we played really poorly and they played really well. After the start we had, it just shows to me that we became a bit soft.

"We didn't want to keep working hard like we were. Subconsciously everyone tried to leave it to their teammates. We didn't have the ball, but we didn't try and back it up with any sort of defence."


Conceding three penalties and three errors more than their opponents, Storm captain Cameron Smith was just as disappointed in Melbourne's performance.

Detailing how he sat his team down during the captain's run to describe how much of a danger game it was for the side, Smith said considering how each team is placed on the ladder they should have put the Tigers to the sword.

"[With the Tigers] being at the bottom of the ladder, I told [our boys] they had nothing to lose. Absolutely [playing bottom-eight teams] are dangerous games for us, but if we're fair dinkum and if we played to our capabilities then we should never lose these games," Smith said.

"No disrespect to the Wests Tigers but if we played to our capabilities then we should've come away with the two competition points."

Another danger game looms next Sunday afternoon when they face the cellar-dwelling Titans, where another loss will almost certainly guarantee the Storm will drop out of the top six.

- - - Updated - - -

Tedesco the star the Tigers need

Sat 01 Aug, 2015, 7:19am
By Jack Brady, National Correspondent, NRL.com

Tedesco the star the Tigers need
Following his show-stealing performance in the Wests Tigers' 34-16 win over the Storm, exhilarating fullback James Tedesco proved why he has now become the poster boy of the club's efforts to revisit their glorious past.


In the years following their 2005 Premiership win, the Tigers have had martyrs such as Benji Marshall, Brett Hodgson and to a degree current captain Robbie Farah suffer as individuals in their efforts to help the club's cause.

In Tedesco they have another genuine star who is bound for higher honours next year. He is fresh, unaffected by external factors at the club and a kid who is simply loving his footy in a largely inexperienced spine.

His two tries and two try assists against the Storm were just another testament as to why Farah fought tooth-and-nail to convince the 22-year-old to backflip on the Raiders after he signed with Canberra last year – something the veteran rake is still thankful for doing.

"Can you see why [I did it]? He's a special player and I'd hate to think how much worse we'd be going if we didn't have him here this year," Farah said.

"He's only going to get better and he might be already one of the best fullbacks in the competition. But he's been outstanding for us this year and I'm glad he's still at the Tigers.

"He's a threat every time he gets the ball – he has genuine pace out the back, he's an instinctive player, he always seems to turn up in the right spot and he has good hands."


With the Tigers burying a five-game losing streak against Melbourne thanks hugely to the form of Tedesco, the Camden Rams junior himself shied away from his performance.

Just one example of the Tigers' youthful roster, the well-spoken Tedesco subconsciously revealed tendencies of a 200-game veteran rather than highlight the mere 40 games he's actually played.

Talking of how the memorable win will help boost the Tigers' confidence, Tedesco too emerged as a future leader of the club especially when referring to how his side kept themselves motivated after going 10-0 down against premiership heavyweights Melbourne.

"In previous games we'd talk about staying positive when things weren't going our way, and with starts like that after they scored two tries against us we'd usually have our heads down if it were earlier on in the year," Tedesco said.

"But to have a comeback against a team like the Storm, it was a great effort. We'll be confident off that so hopefully we'll have a good end to the year.

"Personally I'm still building every week. Especially when it comes to plays out the back and trying to set up my outside man. I was lucky enough to get a few tries and a few assists but I think the boys up front really set it up for us.

"They are pretty hard to contain Melbourne, they have a lot of dangerous players but yeah, we did well."

As for the rich Raiders contract he reneged on just one week after signing it last year? Let's just say Tedesco is happy to have stuck around, even if it means playing in a team which is still very much searching for its identity.

"Even though we aren't where we probably want to be ladder-wise I'm still glad I could stay and I'm happy to be playing with the Tigers," Tedesco said.

"I enjoy everyone's company, I enjoy coming to training and we have stayed positive obviously through these tough times. If we can keep this group of players then there's only going to be good times ahead."