NRL 2024: Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall says his side lacked effort in 58-6 drubbing at the hands of the Sharks

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall called his team out for their poor attitude, with another crushing loss for the club inching them closer to a third-consecutive wooden spoon.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 12: John Bateman and Aidan Sezer of the Wests Tigers react after a Sharks try during the round 19 NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and Wests Tigers at PointsBet Stadium on July 12, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has torn his side’s performance against the Sharks to shreds, with the rookie boss going nuclear after his side capitulated to lose 58-6 to keep them rooted to the foot of the table.

The Tigers have shown signs of life at times this year, but a third wooden spoon in a row is starting to look more and more likely, with the joint venture conceding 138 points in their past three games against top-four sides.

They were completely outplayed against a Sharks side that had lost five of its past six matches and were without star halfback Nicho Hynes, with Marshall calling out their poor attitude after the game.

Benji Marshall called out his team for their attitude against the Sharks. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“I’ve got to apologise to our fans,” he said.

“When you take the field, you’ve got to choose the right attitude, and tonight they ran harder and tackled way harder than us and it showed on the scoreboard.

“We haven’t seen that (lack of attitude) all year.

“If it was a weekly occurrence then I’d probably know more, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it this year.

“When you take the field, you’ve got to take the right attitude with how hard you want to tackle and how hard you want to run. They ran harder and tackled harder than us and had way more energy than us.”

Api Koroisau was sin binned and suffered a calf injury. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The Tigers’ loss was made worse with skipper Api Koroisau coming off with a calf injury, while Alex Seyfarth and Stefano Utoikamanu also left the field with head knocks.

Their discipline and lack of defensive pressure were exposed badly at times, with Koroisau sent to the sin bin for a ruck infringement, taking their tally to a staggering 14 players marched from the field this season.

Koroisau was furious with referee Adam Gee, but Marshall said the first-half ruling had no impact on the contest.

“It doesn’t matter now,” he said.

“They scored 56 points. We talked all week about having a defensive attitude, but that was nowhere. Sin bin or no sin bin, it didn’t matter.”