NRL 2016: Wests Tigers young guns dominate in big win over Manly Sea Eagles

THREE tries, two straight wins, one Blues jumper. James Tedesco, come on down. The fullback led Wests Tigers to an epic victory over Manly at Leichhardt Oval.

THREE tries, two straight wins, one Blues jumper.

James Tedesco, come on down.

The Wests Tigers fullback is now ready for his calling in rugby league. A NSW State of Origin jumper.

Tedesco scored three tries in a another scintillating performance during Wests Tigers stunning 36-22 win over Manly at a thunderous Leichhardt Oval.

The club many tipped for rugby league’s wooden spoon are now unbeaten after two round and equal competition leaders.

And right in the middle of it is Tedesco, who made nine tackle busts and ran for 146 metres.

Each time Tedesco touched the ball last night, it looked as though something was going to happen. Only the truly special players have that ability, that anticipation.

Asked was Tedesco now ready for Origin, Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor said: “Yeah, absolutely. We talked about that this time last year and I didn’t think he was ready. But he played every minute of every game last year and, in my opinion, that’s a really easy decision. There’s not many better finishers in the game.”

Tedesco too thinks he is ready.

“I will just take it one game at a time at the moment. I have had a pretty happy start to the season so far — I just want to continue that form,” Tedesco said. “If I do get the call-up I will take it with both hands. This year, coming into the pre-season, the body was feeling good. That was definitely a confidence boost coming into the start of the year.”

James Tedesco of the Tigers scores a try.

Two wins and it would seem that Taylor can indeed coach after all. He has be forced to overcome unprecedented adversity to have his team humming along nicely after two games.

Wests Tigers claimed last week Taylor had the full of support of the board. Maybe this time they were telling the truth.

It was an extraordinary game last night, Wests Tigers leading 16-2 before Manly powered back to level the scores before the home side kicked away again.

Defeat anchors Manly to the bottom of the NRL table after two straight losses. Manly’s Trent Barrett is still waiting for his first win as an NRL coach.

James Tedesco signalled his Origin intentions with a three-try domination of the Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval.

Wests Tigers had all the momentum early, lost it, and then wrestled it back. They showed plenty of ticker and gumption.

“It was tough game and the boys dug deep,” said Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods, who ran for 190 metres. “In the past, we would blow those games because we get a bit erratic at times. When we were in the huddle (at 16-all), we just said we have to stick with what we know best.”

Manly firebrand Marty Taupau was jeered after his shock departure from Wests Tigers to Brookvale during the off-season. It appeared to rattle Taupau at times, other times he ripped holes in the Tigers right edge. He also scored a try.

Chris Lawrence of the Tigers is tackled by Apisai Koroisau, (left) and Lewis Brown.

Wests Tigers looked dangerous each time they went wide, Manly failing to number up again as they did against Canterbury in round one. Manly’s comeback was snuffed out through Wests Tigers tries to David Nofoaluma (58th minute) and Tedesco (70th and 77th minutes).

The ‘Tigers, Tigers, Tigers’ chant could be heard right across Leichhardt last night. The boisterous crowd gave their beloved Tigers a standing ovation as they left the field. And they deserved it. The Tigers actually did a lap of honour.

“I thought in patches we were a hell of a lot better than last week, in other areas we let ourselves down again,” said a calm and composed Barrett. “Until we can get that consistent 80 minutes of footy we will find ourselves in that position again. There were some good things but other things we need to address.

Luke Brooks of the Tigers is tackled by Lewis Brown of the Sea Eagles.

“We just didn’t help ourselves again with fourth-tackle penalties, I think we had five of them. Twenty-two points should be enough to win. We need to be more resilient on our tryline. We had opportunities to win the game but we came up with, let’s be honest, some pretty ordinary plays in the clutch. We are all in it together, there’s no easy fix, we just have to keep working hard.”

Lyon added: “The defence just wasn’t up to scratch.”