Tigers Stay Alive
The Tigers have produced an unexpected victory in New Zealand to keep their finals hopes alive. Following the injury to James Tedesco several weeks ago and a thrashing at the hands of the Panthers last week, the Tigers season seemed all but over, however they brought their A game on Sunday afternoon against the Warriors. In order to make the top eight, the Tigers will be hoping the Titans lose to the Cowboys next Saturday, and then they must beat the red-hot Raiders in order to qualify. The odds seem unlikely, however the Tigers have extended their season by at least one more week.
Same Old Warriors
They came into the season as one of the premiership favourites after signing some high profile recruits, however the 2016 season has provided the same old nonsense that Warriors fans will surely be sick of by now. Each season the New Zealanders have possessed more than capable players, however they have not featured in the finals since losing the grand final in 2011. The Warriors have had some issues such as the season ending injury to star fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, however there is no excusing what has now become their trade mark rocks and diamond style of play. On their day they can be one of the most lethal sides in the competition, and something needs to be changed to ensure they are on their game more often than not.
Woods Leads the Way
The Tigers needed someone to step up for them, and captain Aaron Woods did so in a big way. The representative front rower laid on his sides first try with a great short ball to Sauaso Sue. 6 minutes later he pushed through for a 4 pointer of his own, putting his side into the lead. His monster first half saw him run for 147 metres.
Bunker Should be Able to Rule on Forward Passes
The Warriors were denied possibly the try of the season on the half time siren, and although the try being disallowed was justice, the decision highlighted the importance of the bunker being allowed to rule on forward passes. The final pass for the try clearly travelled forward, and despite the referees somehow missing this, the try was sent to the bunker to check for any issues in a frantic play that saw the ball travel from side to side. The try was eventually over-turned after the officials highlighted a questionable obstruction ruling that seemed to have little impact on the try as Jordan Rankin was unlikely to stop the ball from being questioned. Fox sports commentators insisted after the game that the referees simply used that as an excuse to disallow the try due to the controversy that would come from awarding such an obviously forward pass. With the bunker possessing such high class technology and an array of camera angles available, the rulebook should be updated to allow forward passes to be ruled on.
Scoreboard
Wests Tigers 36
Tries: S Sue (2), A Woods, J Addo-Carr, M Moses, K Naiqama
Goals: J Rankin 6/6
New Zealand Warriors 24
Tries: B Thompson, S Kata, S Mannering, T Lolohea
Goals: I Luke 3/3, M Hingano 1/1
