NRL 2020: Wests Tigers 20 New Zealand Warriors 26 | Match Report
Wests Tigers finals chances have taken a huge blow after their seventh loss of the season, going down to a brave New Zealand side who stood up after four players returned home.
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Hell hath no fury like a disappointed Michael Maguire and even an almighty halftime spray from the Tigers coach could not stop his side slumping to a 26-20 defeat at the hands of the Warriors.
The Tigers got out to an 8-0 lead with two early tries but went off the boil badly afterwards as the Warriors outhustled, outenthused and outplayed them at the SCG.
It’s a hammer blow for the joint venture’s hopes of ending the longest finals drought in the NRL - this loss keeps them on the outside of the top eight looking in as the race for the playoffs heats up.
“I keep talking about an 80-minute game, we played about ten minutes there,” Maguire said.
“We’ve all got to own it, every single one of us.
“That was not a Wests Tigers performance anymore. It’s not acceptable in and around club and the boys understand what’s acceptable and what we’re doing moving forward.
“This is the expectation. We need to be winning games, simple as that.”
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SLOPPY TIGERS
It was easy to see why Maguire lashed out at a chair in anger during his speech at halftime.
When Moses Mbye opened the scoring after a wonderful offload from Luciano Leilua and David Nofoalouma added the joint venture’s second soon thereafter it seemed a repeat of the 48-0 belting of Brisbane two weeks ago was in the offing.
But what followed for the remainder of the match was uninspired attack, questionable defense and a lack of attention to detail. Basic errors were their undoing throughout and they showed little of the ferocity or fight of last week’s valiant effort against Parramatta.
Maguire indicated a poor attitude was behind his team’s lacklustre display and admitted it was frustrating after the progress the club seemed to have made in recent weeks.
“If you’re going to play NRL you need to do it all the time,” Maguire said.
“I spoke about it (attitude) at halftime, but I could see it in the first half. We scored two tries and all of a sudden they’re walking down the park.”
The Warriors pulled back to 8-8 via a soft try to Karl Lawton and a Kodi Nikorima penalty and even though the Tigers went to the break up 14-8 after a try to interchange forward Sam McIntyre, Maguire gave them both barrels in the sheds.
It wasn’t enough, with the Warriors running in three tries in the second stanza to grab a lead they never surrendered despite the Tigers pulling one back through winger Tommy Talau.
It was one the Tigers will not care to remember, and it’s doubtful Maguire will let them forget it before next week’s clash with the Knights.
BRAVE WARRIORS
Every victory the Warriors get this season is a gift - they have been away from home for months and lose players every single week.
But it’s a credit to the players and interim coach Todd Payten that they have never let their effort waver, and their reward was stirring wins like this one which was made all the more impressive given they recently had four players - including star wingers Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu’a recently return home.
“I’m really happy, really proud,” Payten said.
“That pride in performance has been building for a while. Over the last four or five weeks there’s been a lot of improvement in the effort areas.
“I think the players around the group are starting to hold each other accountable. We’ve had four guys go so everyone here has had to dig in and they’ve done that.”
It would have been easy to pack things in at 8-0 down, but the Kiwis refused to yield and stormed over the top of the Tigers in the second half.
Centre Peta Hiku grabbed a double and lock forward Tohu Harris was immense again, churning through 153 metres from 16 runs and scoring a rare try to boot.
Harris has been a tower of strength this season and deserves to be rated among the best locks in the NRL.
RTS UNDER DURESS
Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was immense once again, running for a game-high 234 metres from 24 carries.
Payten single out his star fullback for praise, revealing how hard Tuivasa-Sheck had found it to be separated from his young family.
“I see that every week from Rog. He’s probably doing it the toughest out of all of us, he’s the only Kiwi over here without his family,” Payten said.
“I know he’s not content. He’s really muddled with his feelings, he’s always on the phone, it’s tough for him.
“I made the decision to bring my family over and I grabbed him and said it was a weight off my shoulders and he should think about doing the same.”
SHOULD BROOKS RETURN?
Maguire hasn’t been shy about shuffling his spine around this season and halfback Luke Brooks has spent the last three matches coming off the bench.
A return to the starting side might be what the Tigers need to get their finals campaign back on track - perhaps it was much due to desperation as anything else, but their attack looked more dangerous when Brooks got more involved in the latter stages of the match.
Billy Walters is all effort and Benji Marshall remains one of their best attacking weapons, but it appears room must be made for Brooks sooner rather than later.
WESTS TIGERS 20 (Tries: Mbye, Nofoaluma, Macintyre, Talau & Goals Mbye: 1/3, Marshall 1/1) NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 26 (Tries: Lawton, Hiku 2, Harris & Goals: Nikorima 5/5) at Sydney Cricket Ground.
BULLY BASHERS: YOUNG STARS EARN CULT STATUS
Debuts don’t come much tougher than having a rampaging Nathan Brown baying for your blood.
But now rookie Shawn Blore is on a collision course with New Zealand Warriors Jack Hetherington, who emerged as a cult hero when he stood up to Sydney Roosters ‘bully’ Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in their narrow loss last weekend.
Wests Tigers prop Blore made headlines in his first NRL game last week as he found himself in a running battle with Parramatta’s Nathan Brown, clashing three times in 60 seconds in a rousing display.
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In his first interview since that clash, the 20-year-old described it as “by far the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Of the 28 tackles the Tigers rookie made that night, the standouts came in a sequence where the rampaging Eel targeting Blore.
“When he took that last carry at me it was the best tackle I’ve ever made — or definitely my favourite one,” Blore said.
“It was the most tackles I’ve ever made in a game, especially in that short a time, and the body feels like it’s been hit with a bat.
“That little blue at the end with Nathan Brown was awesome, it just topped it off for me.
“I grew up watching him play, so I thought it was pretty cool that he even wanted to argue with me. I just thought that was awesome.”
Blore made a beeline for Brown after full-time to shake his hand, something an enraged Waerea-Hargreaves refused to do with Warriors forward Hetherington following their run-in.
“Jared is a bully, he’s been a bully for quite a long time and it was good to see Jack stand up to him,” Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga said.
“I love to play against Jared and I respect him, but it was good to see Jack stand up to him.
“He’s a loose unit, Jack. I’ve played against him for years in the 20s, and he’s always down for a fight. I don’t know how many times he’s been suspended but it’s a few.”
Hetherington, whose loan deal from Penrith was extended for another four games this week, will start for the Warriors against the Tigers on Friday night, while Blore will again come off the bench.
The youngsters’ battles were reminiscent of the one-on-one battles of league’s past and nobody enjoyed it more than legendary enforcer Mark “Spudd” Carroll.
“Nathan Brown is one of my favourite players. He’s the heart and soul of Parramatta, I call him the Energiser Man — he just puts those batteries in and goes flat out,” Carroll said.
“You always pick out the big dog in the pack and take him on. That’s what Blore did. It was thrilling, I was on the edge of my seat watching.
“It was fabulous viewing, but my favourite part was at the end when the young kid ran over to him and wanted to shake his hand and say thank you. That’s what rugby league is about.
“As soon as the game is over you go and find your opposition you just bashed the s**t out of and you go shake their hand. I did it with Paul Harragon every time.
“‘The Smiling Assassin’ I’m going to call him. That smile at the end was infectious.”
Blore was playing his first game in 18 months, making his return from a knee reconstruction in what promises to be a notable career.
But the 20-year-old wasn’t expecting his call-up last weekend.
“Madge, he got me good man. He told me all week ‘nah, you’re close but you’re not in’ and then Tommy Mikaele had some trouble with his knee,” said Blore, who Brad Fittler selected in his Emerging Blues squad in 2018.
“He still told me ‘we’re not looking to play you’ and the day of the captain’s run he got up and said ‘I’ve never done this before’ and he looked me dead in the eye and said ‘Shauny, you’ll be debuting’.
“I was holding back the emotions, started tearing up, and all the boys got behind me, a few of them got up and started shaking my hand and embracing me.
“It was awesome. I had to cover my face. I was crying that much.”
Blore’s future is as an edge backrower, but right now he’ll play wherever Tigers coach Michael Maguire needs him to.
“As long as I get minutes I’ll play anywhere, hooker, on the wing. I’ve got no hops though, I can’t get up,” Blore said.
For his part, Blore isn’t calling anyone out — but if they come at him, he’s ready to “take his shot”.
“I don’t go into games picking people out. If it happens it happens, but I don’t go into games looking for trouble,” Blore said.