Turning a snub into an asset

WESTS Tigers coach Tim Sheens was straight to the point when asked about the Origin snub of his powerhouse front-rowers Aaron Woods and Keith Galloway.

WESTS Tigers coach Tim Sheens was straight to the point when asked about the Origin snub of his powerhouse front-rowers Aaron Woods and Keith Galloway.

"It's important for these two guys to handle the disappointment with a strong performance on Friday, otherwise the NSW selectors were right in not picking them," said Sheens, who never thought he'd have Woods and Galloway available for tonight's clash against the Storm.

Instead of training with NSW at WIN Jubilee Oval yesterday ahead of Origin II, Woods and Galloway boarded a plane to Melbourne with their Tigers teammates.

Galloway told The Daily Telegraph at the airport his younger teammate in particular was unlucky not to have got the call-up.

"The Blues team they picked was pretty good, but I thought Woodsy was the real unlucky one," Galloway said.

"He's been consistent all year, while I've missed a large chunk of footy at the start of the year, but starting to get fit now. It would have been nice for us to be there. Tim Grant deserves to be there, he's been a good player for a number of years, so good on him.

"We've won six in a row and will try to make it seven against Melbourne. It will still be tough, even without their rep players."

The Tigers are $1.47 favourites against a Melbourne team without their own Origin stars Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater.

Woods and Galloway have really stepped it up in the past month, which has helped the Tigers rocket up the NRL premiership ladder.

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