Canberra Raiders have beaten the Wests Tigers 46-6 to post first win

IT’S only three rounds into the new season but Jason Taylor is already walking the coaching tightrope after the Tigers were smashed 46-6 by the Raiders.

Jordan Rapana runs to score a try against the Tigers.

IT’S only three rounds into the new season but Jason Taylor is already walking the coaching tightrope.

After an impressive first up 34-18 win over Souths, the Wests Tigers have since conceded 82 points in their last two games.

And in those 160 minutes of football, one of the NRL’s most exciting attacking teams have only managed to score one single try.

That came via an early intercept to David Nofolauma that put the Tigers 6-0 up after just 11 minutes.

The problem for the Tigers is that the next eight tries were all scored by the green machine.

Three in the first half, five more in the second.

The afternoon finished like a train wreck for the visitors.

Jordan Rapana makes a break to score against the Tigers.

It ended up 46-6, on the back of the 36-2 pumping the Tigers copped last weekend off Penrith.

And some of the defence was as embarrassing as it must have been concerning for everyone at the club.

So what is the problem?

Is it to do with the fact Taylor is fighting to save his job at the same time the club is trying to secure the futures of off-contract stars Aaron Woods, James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks?

“No, not at all,” Taylor said, when asked if the off-field issues were becoming a distraction.

“We had a really good week at training.

“We were ready to go.”

But once Canberra got their nose in front, the floodgates opened.

From 6-6 at the 35th minute, tries to Josh Papalii and Blake Austin before the break sent the Tigers to the sheds trailing 18-6.

Papalii crossed untouched off a nice ball from Aidan Sezer.

Then from the second tackle after the restart, the Raiders shifted right and Jordan Rapana turned on the gas.

From deep inside his own end Rapana raced 50 metres downfield before putting over a clever crossfield chip and a wall of Raiders went after it.

Nick Cotric celebrates after scoring his first try in the NRL.

Blake Austin won the sprint to bag his team’s third try.

It was magic for the home team, but like a knife through the Tigers’ hearts, with the second half then a one-sided avalanche.

Rapana finished with a double, while Whitehead, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker and Jack Wighton also crossed.

As for the Tigers?

“I thought we were good for the first 30,” skipper Woods said post match.

“Like JT said, the halves controlled the first 30, getting the repeats.

“Little silly errors just before halftime let in two tries back to back.

“It just felt like last week again.

“We are not good enough at the moment to get ourselves out of it and as a team we have to be tougher and stronger for those situations.”

But that goes directly to the problem that’s been the problem for too long.

For years we have been waiting for the brilliant young Tigers to arrive, and still the finish line looks so far away.

And while Taylor was downplaying the influence of outside noises, in Fox Sports commentary Steve “Blocker” Roach said it straight.

Roach was asked if he was in charge of the club, would he be keeping Taylor on?

“Well, I think I’d probably say, ‘mate, this might be your last year’,” Roach replied.

Tigers players watch on after a Raiders score another try.

And how else could a Tigers legend respond after watching Sunday’s collapse?

To make matters worse the Tigers now have to back up against the table-topping Melbourne Storm next Sunday at Leichhardt.

You can only imagine what the locals will be saying if the Tigers don’t come up with a vast improvement at home.

Canberra have now scored an astonishing 158 points against the Tigers in their last three games.

The Raiders annihilated the Tigers 60-6 in the corresponding match last year with 11 tries, before piling on nine more in the 52-10 pummelling that knocked the Tigers out of the finals race.

This is Taylor’s third year in charge since taking over from Mick Potter.

And after watching what was dished up, fans are entitled to ask if this team is really going forward?

“It is disappointing,” Taylor said.

“We were working so well and defending really well.

Luke Brooks in action against the Raiders.

“Really good periods of defending our tryline particularly early in the game.

“But then we are just coming up with defensive errors that are letting tries in in a fashion that is too simple.

“And so we go in at halftime 18-6 down after doing really well for the majority of the first half.

“It is about us getting back in the fight and controlling the ball so we can make the opposition tackle us.

“The boys talked at halftime about how we were making good progress in the middle of the field and Canberra were struggling plenty of times.

“But in the second half we never got them to a point where they were pressured because we just didn’t play enough sets.

“It is our defence that let us down today.”

Fulltime CANBERRA 46 (J Rapana 2 B Austin N Cotric J Croker J Papalii E Whitehead J Wighton tries J Croker 7 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 6 (D Nofoaluma try M Moses goal) at GIO Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Alan Shortall.