NRL 2021: Tigers v Dragons, ‘Ugly’ Tigers finally fire up in bid to save coach Michael Maguire

The job of NRL teams is not to turn up every now and then when a club is under siege and the daggers are out for the coach.

Well done Michael Maguire. Well done Wests Tigers.

That’s what you call winning ugly.

It sure beats losing ugly.

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But now let’s see if they can back it up against Gold Coast at Campbelltown this Saturday.

Because this is the job of NRL teams.

Not to turn up every now and then when a club is under siege and the daggers are out for the coach, and so the players turn it on as though it’s an up yours to all the critics.

Zac Cini celebrates with team mates after a try on debut (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The fact is if the Tigers had been playing with the same spirit, effort and determination as they showed against St George Illawarra all season then maybe all this talk about Madge fighting to save his job wouldn’t have started in the first place.

But that’s where the frustration comes from because they are the Jekyll and Hyde of the NRL and have been for a decade now.

Everyone is sick of it.

Because the reality is they are not hopeless.

They do have some very talented players, and they can certainly score points.

And despite leaking an average of 31 points a game over the first seven rounds, they also showed on Sunday they can defend.

In the second half the Dragons did not score.

It was the first time since round 10 last year that the Tigers have conceded single figures over 80 minutes.

And while it was the type of match with so many errors that it had you scratching your head wondering how these blokes get paid the money that they do, at least the Tigers scratched and fought harder than the Dragons to eventually take home the two competition points.

Adam Doueihi led the way admirably.

Adam Doueihi was strong for the Tigers (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The big five-eighth has been the Tigers’ best all season and he was again the standout on Sunday with daylight second.

That’s not to say Daine Laurie doesn’t give it everything every week, and if he keeps improving he is going to be some sort of player in years to come.

Zac Cini also deserves a rap for what he did on debut.

The former Australian Schoolboy took his own personal fan club to Wollongong and what about the memories they all took home.

But will the overall effort be there again in round nine?

Because it is not too late to salvage this season.

Even though it was only their second win of the season, they are now just one win adrift of the eighth placed Titans and four other teams locked on six points that sit ahead of the 14th placed Tigers.

In the next month the Tigers’ run of games is about as good as it gets.

After the Titans it’s the Knights followed by the Warriors and then the Dragons again.

Every one of those games is winnable.

If they lost on Sunday it would have been their worst start to a season in the joint venture’s history.

Instead, we are now talking about them being back in top eight contention.

That is how crazy this competition is.

And the Tigers are back in charge of their own destiny.

MATCH REPORT: TIGERS ROAR FOR UNDER-FIRE MAGUIRE

— Matt Encarnacion

Michael Maguire may have started this week hanging onto his job by a thread.

Now it might be on the strength of an unlikely mullet – as well as the play of Adam Doueihi – after the Wests Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 16-8 victory over St George Illawarra.

Doueihi was the shining light in a dour game littered with poor attacking play, handling errors and missed tackles, with the Tigers five-eighth clearly a class above his counterparts.

The Lebanese international played a hand in all three of the Tigers tries on Sunday evening, and mastered a fierce southerly by nailing two clutch sideline conversions.

But while Doueihi has emerged as Maguire’s go-to man this year, the embattled coach may just have unearthed a new cult hero in winger Zac Cini.

Tigers got nuts over Zac Cini’s try (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Zac Cini of the Tigers scores on debut (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The Penrith junior – and his estimated 100 raucous entourage in the south-east corner of WIN Stadium – stole the spotlight with a debut to remember.

Called up for the injured James Roberts (shoulder), the 20-year-old with the wild blonde mullet claimed his maiden try, was denied another, and even produced a trysaver in the first half.

His effort, combined with Doueihi’s classy play and a strong effort from Daine Laurie, was enough to ease the pressure on Maguire for at least a week.

They jump one spot above Brisbane to 14th on the ladder.

On the flip side, the honeymoon period is well and truly over for his counterpart in Anthony Griffin, who watched his side miss a whopping 42 tackles compared to 16.

After winning four in a row, the Dragons have now dropped three in a row and are fast resembling the side that cost Paul McGregor his job last year.

The signs were ominous early for the Tigers, when a Zac Lomax penalty goal to open the scoring was quickly followed by Cody Ramsey finishing off a left-side swing.

Cody Ramsey scores (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

But the Tigers responded through Tommy Talau, who latched onto a David Nofoaluma tapback to keep the visitors within two at the break.

It was the impetus they needed to pile the pressure on after halftime, keeping the Dragons scoreless in the second half while scoring through Cini and Joseph Leilua.

BEN HUNT BACK FROM BROKEN LEG

Making his anticipated return following a four-week absence with a broken leg, Hunt looked dangerous in attack, particularly when linking with his halves partner in Corey Norman.

And while the former Kangaroos representative also pulled off a trysaver on Luke Garner just before halftime, he had nine of the Dragons’ 42 missed tackles.

Suspected broken thumb for Zac Lomax, scans to assess in coming days. If break confirmed usual recovery time is 4-8 weeks for adequate bone healing, if surgery required doesn’t always mean maximum recovery time. Lomax returned in 4 weeks after surgery on a broken thumb in 2019

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) May 2, 2021

LOMAX INJURY BLOW

Such was the form Lomax was in, the Dragons three-quarter was being mentioned as a possible bolter for a spot in the NSW State of Origin backline.

But any chance of an unlikely call-up have seemingly been shattered by a suspected fractured thumb early in the first half while defending his line, which could result in a month on the sideline.

CINI SEES NRL

Cini impressed early with a line break, while also cutting Billy Burns just short of the tryline.

But he quickly made a name for himself in the second half, sending his supporters in raptures when he was on the end of a Luke Brooks kick, only to be overturned by the bunker.

But he didn’t have to wait long for his maiden four-pointer, when he finished off a set piece play, with Joseph Leilua sealing the win with a try in the 65th minute.