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New season, same problems for Wests Tigers

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14th March, 2021
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Not for the first time in his tenure as Wests Tigers coach, Michael Maguire was forced to admit his side shot themselves in the foot during their 30-12 loss to Canberra.

Sunday was meant to be the start of a new era of hope for the Tigers, after a big pre-season trial win and much optimism about their new attack.

And briefly in the first half it looked spot on, after Jacon Liddle scored first and they had the Raiders making errors early on at GIO Stadium.

But, as so often is the case, the Tigers became their own worst enemies.

They finished the match with 11 errors, eight of them coming early in sets.

Their missed-tackle count reached 30, while their biggest error came straight after halftime in the form of a cheap Luke Garner penalty for contact on Jack Wighton after a kick.

The Raiders scored two plays later, the Tigers had just two play-the-balls in the first ten minutes of the second half and the game was never really back in their grasp.

“We definitely shot ourselves in the foot at times,” Maguire said.

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“We didn’t help ourselves out in the second half at all. We definitely went away from a few things that we’ve been practising and spoken about

“If you spend that much time tackling, fatigue comes into the game. 

“And that’s what we’re all trying to do to each other, the ebbs and flows of the game comes back on you and sure enough that the period hurt us.

“But still you got to dig through those, you’ve got to find ways.”

There were still positives for the Tigers.

Their first-half defence was good, while Luciano Leilua looks threatening on their left edge.

And Daine Laurie had moments where he looked dangerous in his first game for the club, with his maturity not to push balls he didn’t need to just as impressive.

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“The more he plays, the better is going to get,” Maguire said. 

“He’s still finding his way as you do when you’re early in your career. But he saved a number of tries in the first half. 

“He returns a ball with speed. 

“And if we create the opportunities I know this team can with the ball then Daine is definitely going to be a highlight in what we do.”

© AAP

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