‘Total disrespect’: Sea Eagles acts say it all as Tigers put out of misery

The Wests Tigers season is mercifully over for the club's long suffering fans but not before an absolute shellacking at the hands of Manly.

Twice the Sea Eagles dished off tries. Photo: Fox Sports

The best thing you can say about that West Tigers season is that it’s over.

The Tigers have wrapped up a second straight wooden spoon season having been thrashed 54-12 by the Manly Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park.

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While the traditional joke is that when a team has 50 put on them that they can’t win the grand final, there’s certainly no team who has won a grand final after twice having 50 put on them like the Tigers have in 2023.

And to be honest, it’s been many weeks since the Tigers have looked like potentially avoiding the wooden spoon let snapping their finals drought, which will stretch into a 13th season since their last finals campaign in 2024.

Although there were certainly some questionable forward pass non-calls and fans had some issues with bunker decisions in the Sea Eagles’ 10 try to two win, it was hardly even a contest by halftime.

Another long night for the Tigers. Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images

The rot started inside the first minute when Manly fullback Tolutau Koula ran around opposite number Jahream Bula to score in the 40th second of the match.

By halftime, it was 26-6 to the Sea Eagles and the match had all the intensity of a training drill, not that you could really blame either side as both were looking forward to holidays as of full-time rather than finals action.

But the second half was all one way traffic as the Sea Eagles piled on the points.

In a sign of how easily the Sea Eagles cut through the Tigers defence, Manly scored four tries in eight minutes midway through the half to put the game to bed.

And it was so easy that twice Sea Eagles players gave up their own tries to hand their teammates a four-pointer.

In the 56th minute, Daly Cherry-Evans did all the work and was just running under the posts to make his conversion attempt easier when he passed for Jake Trbojevic to score in his 200th match.

“Oh he’s given it to Jake, what a moment,” Andrew Voss said in commentary.

“Daly Cherry-Evans has served it up for the 200 man Jake Trbojevic to score.

“That is a lovely moment between two Manly greats.”

Voss also felt like Trbojevic may have called for the ball.

“I think he may have demanded it in goal,” Voss added.

“It’s a great sport, the mateship, the fact that that is Daly Cherry-Evans, one-club man, 305th game, passing to Jake Trbojevic, one-club man 200th game … brilliant moment for the Manly club right there.”

Cherry-Evans passed for Jake Trbojevic. Photo: Fox Sports

Jason Saab dished it off for Gordon Chan Kum Tong. Photo: Fox Sports

But six minutes later, interchange hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong scored his first try in the NRL in his second match after Jason Saab had streaked away from a Koula line break.

“Who wants to scored?” Voss said in commentary.

Corey Parker added that the Sea Eagles were in “party mode” but it was more a sign of how easily the Sea Eagles were cutting through the line.

"They're in party mode" - Manly continue their party tricks as Chan Kum Tong is on the end of this one👏

📺 Watch #NRLManlyTigers on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/B1ijnGXtqA
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— Fox League (@FOXNRL) September 1, 2023

The total disrespect being shown to the Tigers by Manly players passing to a teammate over the tryline is disgusting.
And I'm loving it. #NRLManlyTigers

— Ross Martin (@RossMartin1960) September 1, 2023

Manly just playing with us, it's so embarrassing to see all their attackers following the play whilst out defenders don't react and chase... 👎#NRLManlyTigers

— Andy Hayward (@RepZero99) September 1, 2023

The @WestsTigers defence is that embarrassing that the Manly #SeaEagles have been able to hand off two over the line gimmie tries tonight.#NRLManlyTigers

— .H.Ɔ.ꟼ (@IWasBornIn1975) September 1, 2023

Just blow full time now, this game has become a joke. Missing defence, forward pass after forward pass after forward pass just ignored. One of those nights where you wonder why you bother watching #NRLManlyTigers

— Matt Trodden (@trods2906) September 1, 2023

While the Tigers did put in some effort to close out the match, scoring the last try and not conceding another after the 64th minute, the side will want to put the wretched season behind them.

Some of the non-efforts show just how big a job Tigers new coach Benji Marshall has on his hands from next season.

Speaking after the match, Marshall said he felt the Tigers had been “just hanging on for the last three weeks”.

“I said to the boys in there, in a tough season, you just have to take away whatever it is for yourself, the learnings, to not be in this position again,” he said. “There’s always something you can do, sacrifice more, give more, train harder or whatever it is for yourself, find something.

“As coaches, we need to be better as well. As a club as a whole, we just need to get it right.”

For long suffering Tigers fans, lets hope this is finally rock bottom.