Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks has silenced a few of his doubters by leading his side to an upset 34-6 NRL win over South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.
With the Tigers missing their NSW State of Origin stars Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods, Brooks stepped up on Friday night, scoring a scintillating solo try and setting up another to ease the pressure on coach Jason Taylor.
After winning just two of their previous 10 matches and losing their last four, questions were being asked about the club’s young halves combination of Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
However, they rebounded in a big way against the premiers.
New Zealand Test back-rower Martin Taupau provided plenty of aggression up front as well as scoring two tries, while fullback James Tedesco was also instrumental, crossing for two tries as well as making two line breaks.
Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds made his comeback from a broken thumb but his side – missing Greg Inglis (Origin) and Issac Luke (knee) – were badly beaten in the middle of the field.
The Tigers went up 12-0 after 10 minutes after an early onslaught spearheaded by young guns Brooks and Tedesco.
Tedesco created the overlap before mopping up Tim Simona’s grubber for their first four-pointer before Brooks sent Taupau over four minutes later.
Brooks undid some of his good work when he kicked out on the full, gifting the Rabbitohs field position which led to Bryson Goodwin strolling through some paper-thin defence to make it 12-6 at halftime.
The Tigers should have been in front by more but David Nofoaluma failed to hold onto a Tedesco pass with the line wide open and in the shadow of the break Ava Seumanufagai crossed but Manaia Cherrington’s final pass was called forward.
It didn’t matter in the end though, as it was all the Tigers in the second half.
They piled on four tries, starting with Brooks in the 44th minute, cutting open the Souths defensive line before showing great pace to beat Alex Johnston to the line.
The Tigers sealed the win when Taupau powered his way over four defenders before Nofoaluma and Tedesco put the icing on the cake.
Tigers captain Dene Halatau suffered a bicep strain in the first half and did not return. He said he will have scans over the weekend but did not know how serious the injury was.
Taylor said his side had drawn a line in the sand after four straight losses and it was the kind of win they could build on in the second half of the season.
“I think the guys got to the point tonight where they had just had enough,” he said.
“We were close in the last couple of weeks but we’d just had enough.
“The energy in the warm up was different, there was another level of intensity, we realised that’s where we needed to get to.”
South Sydney coach Michael Maguire said his side lost on the back of their poor start and their poor attitude allowed the Tigers forwards to roll over them.
“Prior to tonight I thought we’d been turning in the right direction,” Maguire said.
“We got a lesson out of tonight about how we’ve got to turn up every single week.
“The Tigers turned up with a lot of energy and right from the start of the game.”
Mike from Tari
Guest
Tigers made the breaks & backed up the break then passed the ball around, Souths made the breaks, not one player backed up to carry on the play & when they got the overlap, they turned it back inside, Johnson at fullback ran sideways too much, they lacked plan B, the Tigers were terrific.
Niall
Guest
I think Moses is best suited to fullback at the top level
The Barry
Roar Guru
No one doubts Brooks' ability - he needs to start stringing a few of these games together. He was very good against the bulldogs five weeks ago but nothing since and then a cracker last night. Tough for him with a rookie 6 & 1 outside him.
The Barry
Roar Guru
That fend was awesome. I gathered my kids round the screen to watch it this morning. Ka-pow from taupau.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah I know Steve. Fancy a team lifting when they play the defending premiers? That's real strange - it's never happened before.
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Souths get the rub of the green ? Do you have statistical evidence, or just your opinion ? I've been to many Souths games over the years, and like many supporters from any club I sometimes feel that " we wuz robbed". After I cool down, I realise that what comes around goes around. Sometimes it goes our way, sometimes not. But obviously we have a problem with having a coach like Michael Maguire who keeps calm and controlled after games. Maybe he should be more like Hasler/Toovey/Stuart and rant and rave about the referees after a loss to show that Souths were ripped off and creating the impression that the other team gets the refs favour. Most games "with ref errors " against us have faded into the past - but a couple stick in my mind. The first was the Good Friday game this year where the impression was given that Souths were helped to a win by biased/incompetant refereeing. Yet each and every ref decision that the 'Dogs fans complained about was proven to be the correct decision. But the interesting point is, one of the Bulldogs tries was scored on an (illegal) 7 tackle set. So the 'Dogs should not have been leading 17 - 16. Where were the headlines about that ?Where was the bottle throwing ? Non-existent, so the impression remains that Souths were helped by the ref. Maybe Maguire should have called for an investigation after the game. Another one is a favourite of mine because of the unusuality. A couple of years ago in the first round we played the Roosters and the history books show that they scored a miracle win with 2 tries in the last 5 minutes. Happy Roosters press conference with Captain and Coach smiling and backslapping each other on the great win. We were at the game and after the second last try was scored, the clock was stopped. That's fine, the only problem was it was not restarted when it should have been. It was finally restarted, but gave the Roosters an extra 30 seconds. They scored the winning try with 19 seconds left. The impression was that the Roosters won legally. Did the Roosters get the rub of the green ? Maguire kept a stoic face and just said " We have to work harder." So therefore there were no screaming headlines, giving the impression that it was a legitimate win. I have used the word impression a lot, because that's what the pro-Souths bias is -- impression. Last night's game, yes we played poorly and deserved to lose, while the Tigers played with a lot of energy and enterprise. We'll have to work harder.
Critta
Guest
Thought the Tigers display was very good last night. Their weak point is Mitchell Moses. He will be a very good player once he learns to defend. last night he was involved in some 20 odd tackles but only actually made one. he fell off many tackles and was brushed aside with ease. Once he learns to tackle he will develop nicely. Having two inexperienced halves is costing the Tigers but in saying that they looked good against Souths. They could be higher on the ladder if not for some close loses. Not a Tigers fan just an observation.
The eye
Guest
I was just really happy to see them throwing the ball around again.. Taupaus fend on Johnston won him the man of the match and the moment of the year but Tedesco was clearly best on ground.. Absolutely no way Laurie could have made AJ 19th man..perhaps the worst defensive display for a fullback so far this year..dismal. Lodge had one of his best games since joining the club and Santi and Lovett deserve contract upgrades,if they can repeat last night..more than a few more times,soon.
ferret
Guest
Great win by the Tigers. THe Bunnies were very disappointing and, like Bennett said last year, very predictable (in attack). Whereas last year they had San Burgess and Teo to enforce their power game in their absence they've come back to the field in 2015. With a backline containing Reynolds, Keary, Johnston and Walker (and Inglis), that's a lot of talent and they should be carving up other teams.
littleredrooster
Guest
Souths have had the rub of the green for too long...years now and only ONE premiership. Its good to see a team with almost as many supporters like the Wests Tigers match the whingeing Rabbits fans for free kicks..for offside play. however the Rabbits were REALLY woeful, and dont have many riffs any more, just barge, shepherd and gang tackle. Madge is a good coach, however he is guilty of bringing blokes back too early still carrying nigglies. Inglis has a bodgie knee thats chronic now and Reynolds is also a "crock" who spends a lot of time each season in his suit in the stand . In their desperation to try and make the "Cinderella story " come true this past three years, Souths will regret their non adherence to the full recovery of injured players, Madge allowing them to come back needled up. Their boring predictable play is wearing thin. It is evident now that the NRL are looking to covertly support their next Cinderella story...the only difference is, that the Cows wont need as much help as Souths.
curaeus
Guest
Upset? Six tries to one is no upset! The Tigers only problems are their comparative youth and inexperience. I believe Taylor's coaching is starting to turn what was a flashy but defensively fragile team into a very real threat to the more established sides. Still a work in progress though. I'll be happy if they pay like this for the rest of 2015 whether or not they make the finals. Tedesco, Brooks, Moses, Cherrington and Co will be a much more potent force in 2016 with this year's experience under their belts. Cherrington is Robbie Farah Mark 2
steveng
Roar Rookie
Yeah Souths played the worst that I've seen them play in 3 years and they should have lost by more points. It's very strange that teams like the Tigers always up their game against the Rabbits but then go back to playing the low football that they play week in and week out. How can you have picked the Tigers beating the Rabbits after their performance against the Titans and their previous performances of the year.