The Giant-killing Wests Tigers have toppled NRL premiers Melbourne on their own turf, with Luke Brooks scoring a last-ditch try to claim a 10-8 victory.
After their opening-round defeat of premiership heavyweights the Sydney Roosters, the Tigers showed no fear against the Storm on Saturday night to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
The Tigers tossed aside the script for Storm superstar Billy Slater’s 300th NRL match to rattle the home side from the opening whistle and nailed the win with Brooks’ try in the 78th minute.
In a frantic first half, the Tigers beat Melbourne at their own game – out-defending the tightest team in the competition.
Frustrated by their inability to get across the line, the Storm’s error count grew alongside their penalty count.
Like the Roosters game, it was a tryless first half and a scoreless match until Esan Marsters kicked two penalty goals in the final two minutes of the half for a 4-0 lead.
That was extended to 6-0 in the 57th minute before the Storm finally made it onto the scoreboard.
Tigers prop Ben Matulino was sin-binned for a professional foul and Melbourne took advantage of the numerical advantage to send the ball wide to winger Suliasi Vunivalu, who dived across in the corner.
It was the highlight of Vunivalu’s otherwise below-par night, with the Fijian flyer guilty of a number of schoolboy errors.
Smith shanked the conversion and, with his team still trailing, was forced to rely on two penalties for the champions to go ahead in the 72nd minute.
It looked like Melbourne would hold on for the win but the Tigers wouldn’t be denied, with Matulino making amends as he found Brooks on the charge for his match-winning try.
Melbourne Storm 8
Wests Tigers 10
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Great effort by the Tigers.Cleary has got them working like a pack of hyenas, not one outers. They have a solid goal line defence, some great offload merchants, the guile of Marshall and this without the injured Reynolds. If the Knights and Tigers keep on keeping on, both Cleary and Brown should be nominees for coach of the year.Simples.
Steve Edmed
Guest
Go the tigers
TC123
Guest
It's tough when you support a successful team like the Storm. It makes the occasional loss hard to deal with.
BigTooledTiger
Guest
The pass was a mile forward. Slater passed the ball 2 metres before the 10 m line and A-C caught it 2 metres in front of the 10m...Matulino shouldn't of been binned Smith took a dive he was barely touched and he ran into Matulino....Refs tried their best but it didn't work...Go you Tigers !
Concerned Observer
Guest
Nat was right, you are a storm fan! Was wondering where you’d gone because the cowboys lost a game and I was looking for your scintillating insight into how every single team in the NRL is overhyped and only you were the one who knew it But here you are! Bravely defending the current champions of the NRL and pushing forward how those evil tigers cheated their way to victory. Well, I always knew the storm were overhyped and all it took was this one game early in the season to prove it! ?
Griffo
Guest
Was the tigers try from a forward pass? Looked like it might have been but I wasn't watching the game that closely. I thought the tigers would have picked up a lot of confidence from last week's win. Last night will only add to it. They'll stay in the contest in a lot of games with defence like that but they will need to work on their attack. Against teams with more organised attacks one try may not be quite enough to win.
DP Schaefer
Guest
Renegade, A bit of both, but my big money is on the Dogs being a bit rubbishy.. They have the Aussie props and one of our top state 2nd rowers, state & international backs and Kiwi 5/8. Really poor showing so far.
Birdy
Guest
Nup, no blow out scores Bart, But we will be watching for those borderline illegal tactics the Broncos are famous for. I can't believe they actually moved the goal posts to stop the cows from scoring the winning try. No complaints from anyone, it's the Broncos.
Fred
Guest
The Tigers will be premiers in 2018! I'm already partying like it's 2005!
Bart Simpson
Guest
Tigers will need back it up this week against Bennies Colts - I Don't think they can or will they be given the same leverage of being able to give away penalties to slow the game down. The Sin Bin could get some frequent Tiger visitors I would say. I Don't expect Benny to fall for these same Tigers tricks as easily as the Roosters/Storm did and he will have a much more attacking game response to this tactic. Bronco's to win by 40 or so
Doc79
Guest
18-8 penalty count? 10-8 scoreline. The NRL have let it come to this by not binning for repeat and deliberate infringements especially in the attacking 20. Then, unbelievably, you have people complain when the pioneers of this tactic lose when it is used against them. I love free flowing rugby league.
souvalis
Guest
Agree,it’s nigh on insulting to the Tigers grit and determination to palm the two victories off with ‘their opponents played poorly..’. It definitely wasn’t luck..Belly was gracious enough to admit they were outplayed on the night...
Peter Phelps
Guest
All teams are doing it to a greater or lesser degree. I am not getting at the Tigers here just trying to explain why the penalty count being what it was is not an indication of bias. The strategy increasingly being used and that was certainly used by the Tigers this season is that if defending in your own 10 metre then giving away silly penalties is not so silly. That is the deliberate foul play of pushing the envelope or call it what you will. It did work because they got penalties against them yes but that is better than points against them on the board. I agree the Tigers put in the effort and deserved their win.
Renegade
Roar Guru
I don’t think the opposition have played poorly, the tigers were the better side in both outings... Ivan has instilled some defensive grit that the tigers have never had.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Fair point, it could just be the tigers are well coached or the dogs defence is rubbish? We’ll know more in the coming weeks.
Nat
Roar Guru
I just Googled that journo's name with NRL and check out the Herald Sun headline 14 hrs ago "NRL 2018: Wests Tigers fall short in Billy Slater's 300th NRL game" Seems the article was written before FT
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
It's probably the worst match report I have ever read. Were it not for the picture above the story you could be left wondering who the Storm played.
Hugh Jarse
Roar Rookie
Anybody read the 'report' on this game in today's Sunday Telegraph? There is not one reference to a tigers player, and the only mention of the team was something like 'The tigers were brave.' I have no idea who Gilbert Gardiner (the alleged journalist) is, but it smells like an article that was pre-written and had to be quickly edited after the fact. Probably some AFL numpty from Melbourne.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Must admit I was shocked by that decision - the refs certainly went off script there. I've see many a team win a game with a forward pass out to the wing
Nat
Roar Guru
Well done Tigers. I guess Reynolds better get used to the impact player profile for a while, which considering the energy he plays with, very well could be a good thing from a points scored perspective. Similar to the Saints, their defence has been exceptional but Benji's influence reading attacking plays and his bombs has kept his team in the hunt even with a less-than-effective attack. Maybe the occasion overwhelmed Billy but Vunivali also dropped his lollies and that kept the pressure on. Another good win by the Tigers and next Thusrday, the two losing sides should put on a redemption cracker.