Wests Tigers know they have a long way to go before being genuine title contenders

WESTS Tigers are still struggling for identity and while solid in effort, Sunday’s loss to Gold Coast reinforced there is plenty of work ahead.

BEHIND the grandstand before Sunday’s game Robbie Farah, the injured captain and arguably the most recognisable Tiger, found the stairs on his way to the coaching box.

He walked past the security checkpoint and made it as far as the second landing when the security guard noticed he had slipped past her and, with no eye for royalty, she called out to the interloper.

“Hey,” she said, “where’s your pass?” Farah was momentarily stunned. “I’m a player,” he said.

With that the guard nodded and the skipper, his arm in a brace, climbed the stairs to watch his team show how much more work they have to do.

TITANS TOO STRONG FOR TIGERS

The Tigers are still struggling for identity, in more ways than one. It wasn’t billed this way at the box-office, but Sunday’s game was a top of the table clash between the Tigers and Gold Coast, the ugly ducklings of the NRL.

News_Image_File: Tigers’ Adam Blair walks off the field after the Tigers loss.

Both began the round on 10 competition points, the surprise packets matching it at the top with heavyweights Canterbury and Manly.

Normally when teams at the pointy end of the competition meet its analysed until all the fun has gone out of it, but barely was mumble was made about this game as NRL fans focused on more attractive clashes like the three games played on Anzac Day.

All week the Tigers and Titans struggled to make it downpage. And unfortunately they lived up to the lack of interest as the Titans won by six lengths on a heavy track.

Both teams showed a more grit than grandeur, and while solid in effort, reinforced there is plenty of work ahead.

News_Rich_Media: Michael Potter believes his side didn't invest enough into the game and the result reflected that.

“It didn’t look like it to me, a top of the table clash,” Tigers coach Mick Potter said after the game.

Potter was pragmatic.

“It looked like they were better than us and the scoreboard reflected that,” he said.

“We’re a week to week proposition.”

His explanation was simple and straight.

News_Image_File: Tigers Ava Seumanufagai gets a handful from the Titans.

Through the first eight rounds of the competition, they have built a reputation as enforcers but on Sunday the Gold Coast took their reputation and raised them one.

Normally slow starters themselves, the Gold Coast Titans came out hard and quite simply thumped harder than their opponents.

An early penalty attempt indicated their intentions early: they were here for the grind. And so they were. Note Myles was sin-binned midway through the first half but it barely ruffled the Titans.

Same when Albert Kelly went off with injury.

By then the Titans were already in the grind and they simply continued going about their business.

News_Rich_Media: Gold Coast head coach John Cartwright praises his side's courage in their 16 point win over the Tigers

There was nothing flash, and it hardly had the feel of the two best teams in the competition going at it, as the ladder suggested. While players often feel slighted at the lack of recognition, coaches tend to go the other way.

They don’t want to be spoken of as contenders until it is absolutely necessary.

With accolades comes expectation, they realise, and expectation has killed more coaching careers than scatterbrained playmakers.

Potter used the loss to bring the message back to team.

News_Image_File: Tim Simona of the Tigers is placed on report.

To win, the Wests Tigers need to work together.

The Tigers need to maintain intensity, and control the ruck speed.

“If we’re just a little bit off we won’t come up with the result,” Potter said.

“Take nothing away from the other team.

“We don’t want to discredit what the other team’s done, but we showed that we’ve got some work to do.”