NRL: Tigers turn it on to upstage Eels on Easter Monday

Much has been made of the future of the Wests Tigers in recent weeks with their head coach, Michael Maguire, along with their highest-paid player, Luke Brooks, under immense pressure to deliver wins for the club. Since their opening round loss to the Storm, Maguire has assured fans relentlessly that his side was on the doorstep of an incredible performance.

A $9 underdog with most online bookmakers, the Tigers tore a page from the Michael Maguire textbook for Rugby League, toughing out a win they were never expected to get. With a lower possession rate, less run metres and more tackles made than Parramatta, the Tigers were exceptional in multiple effort areas of the game.

Wests started full of energy against their cross-town rivals, repelling multiple sets in a row from Parramatta, only to hit back through the sheer strength and determination of second-rower Luciano Leilua and score the first try of the match. Parramatta would strike back through captain Clint Gutherson, but two tries in three minutes to veteran winger David Nofoaluma gave the Tigers an eight-point lead at the 25th minute.

The Tigers tackled at a higher efficiency rate, playing the ball at a faster rate and making fewer errors than Parramatta to ensure they controlled aspects of the game they could to ensure a win was attainable. Incredibly, the Tigers fought through 46% possession with a 73% completion rate to take the lead at half-time.

Three moments in the Tigers game stood out as clear highlights, points that showed the players were standing up for their coach. Two kick chases, one by Daine Laurie in the 62nd minute, but more notably another in the 38th minute forced a line drop out for Parramatta and showed the Tigers would not go down without a fight. The third moment was the scrum in the 46th minute where the Tigers ambushed the Eels and won back possession, leading to a converted try and taking the lead to 10 points.

Another try for Parramatta would come through Marata Niukore in the 68th minute, but the Tigers were not deterred.

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Jackson Hastings played arguably the greatest game of his NRL career, touching the ball 88 times in total while directing the Tigers around the park and kicking the Eels into submission. Hastings forced two drops-outs by the Eels in eight kicks, playing a key role in building the pressure that would break Parramatta.

The final act of the Hastings show came in the 79th minute, kicking a two-point field goal with only six seconds on the clock to ensure the first win for the Wests Tigers of the 2022 NRL season.

“The clubs under pressure the coach is under pressure, there’s only one way you show someone you care, that’s go out there and put a performance on,” said Hastings following his last-minute heroics.

Hastings was brought back to the NRL from the Wigan Warriors in the English Super League for this exact reason, to be an experienced head that leads the team around ensures the win when the whips get cracking. Hastings did exactly this and unlocked halves partner Brooks, who orchestrated two line-break assists and two try assists to begin justifying his huge price tag at the club.

Honourable mentions go to enforcers Zane Musgrove, Alex Twal, James Tamou and Joe Ofahengue, who all had over 12 runs each for over 110 run metres each, paving the way for Brooks and Hastings to pull the strings with the ball and create points on the scoreboard.

All eyes turn to Saturday, April 23, when the Tigers will return to CommBank Stadium to take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who have as many wins as losses in the 2022 NRL season. There’s one question NRL fans the competition over will have to wait for the answer: Can the Wests Tigers get two wins in a row and resurrect their season?

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