The Tigers have blown the Rabbitohs away on a wet Friday night at ANZ Stadium, coming away with the chocolates to the tune of a 34-18 demolition.
Rugby League’s Most Famous Left Knee
The knee of Greg Inglis was talk of the town in the offseason – it gave the star fullback grief through 2016 and many were wondering if it would continue to in 2017. It very much has, with Inglis having to take a leave in the second half after appearing to aggravate it early in the first. Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer both had some choice remarks for the Rabbitohs medical staff while he was still in play, bewildered why they’d let him play on. Scans revealed it’s an ACL injury and the Goanna is likely out for six months.
Tedesco Unstoppable
193 metres is a good night out for a fullback. You add on a couple of try assists, even better. Finding paydirt for yourself as well makes it one to remember. Two linebreaks and a treble of assists and you’re left with James Tedesco’s insane numbers. A candidate for the job of NSW fullback, Tedesco seems to not be able to slow down – his stocks just keep rising, much to the delight of Jason Taylor. Matt Moylan and Jarryd Hayne, who also have their eyes on the spot, will have to beat those numbers if they want to stay in the race; before Tedesco does and puts an even higher stake on the claim.
Farah Return not the Focus for Tigers
Tigers players said after the game their focus wasn’t on the next stop of the Robbie Farah drama saga, instead having their eyes firmly on a holistic game, and how well did that serve them. Farah played well with two offloads, three breaks and thirty four tackles (second only to John Sutton) though couldn’t get his team to victory. That said, there are some bright signs in the hooking department for the Rabbitohs with Farah and Damien Cook providing somewhat of a one-two punch.
Tigers’ pack is Building
The Tigers have been on the end of criticism the past few years about having a small, ineffective pack that hasn’t given their young backs fair play or a stable base to work off; the renaissance of Chris Lawrence, the signing of Elijah Taylor and the new growth in Sauaso Sue and Ava Seumanufagai (try saying it ten times really fast) has gone a way to remedying this, finally giving the Tedescos and Naiqamas platforms for them to work their magic. Look out for the re-emergence of Jamal Idris.
