Round 20: Wests Tigers v Warriors preview
Inconsistency personified as the Tigers look to boost an unlikely finals charge against the Warriors
Ah, the good old Tigers v Warriors matchup. It's been one of the hardest to tip for a long time, evidenced by the fact that in the 32 matches played between them since the Tigers' inception in 2000, they each have 16 wins and 16 losses. Unfortunately, this isn't due to any prolonged period of dominance. Since their 2011 semi-final matchup, which the Warriors won in a thriller, the Tigers haven't been back to the finals, while the Warriors have made it just once for a first week exit.
The Warriors look to have thrown the cue in the rack for this season. They have lost 9 of their last 10 matches, and news has come through that their captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has played his last game of Rugby League, returning home to New Zealand during the week. What will give the kiwis hope is that their one win during this horror period came against their opponents for this week.
The Tigers, despite how poor they have been for parts of 2021, are only 2 points outside of the top 8 and will draw level with either the Knights or the Raiders should they get the job done on Friday evening. Their attack hasn't been the problem - they've scored 22, 42 and 24 points in their last 3 games respectively - their issues lie on the other side of the ball, conceding 106 points combined over that same period, including 24 in their win over the Broncos. On their side is that the Warriors themselves have been lacking cohesion with ball in hand, a complication which will only be exacerbated this week with many big names ruled out.
In team news for Wests, Alex Twal is back on the bench after missing last week with a shoulder complaint, while Luke Garner (ankle) has been ruled out, to be replaced by Shawn Blore. Tom Mikaele is also out, with Joe Ofahengaue promoted to the starting side. Alex Seyfarth picked up a knee injury last week and will be out for an extended period.
For the Warriors, Kodi Nikorima has been benched and Chad Townsend injured, meaning a new halves combination of Peta Hiku and Sean O'Sullivan will take the field. Matt Lodge and Addin Fonua-Blake are both injured, to be replaced in the starting front row position by Murdoch-Masila and Taunoa-Brown, the latter returning from a loan stint at the Dragons. Taniela Otukolo will make his first start at hooker, pushing Tevaga back to the bench. Eliesa Katoa is back to replace Murchie, while Kane Evans comes onto the bench to replace Leeson Ah-Mau, who also returned to New Zealand.
Last meeting: Round 11 2021 - Warriors 30 Wests Tigers 26
Who to watch: The decision from Michael Maguire in magic round to move Adam Doueihi into the centres never made sense to me. It produced some good results initially, but eventually it proved to be an ineffective move, with Doueihi producing 5 try-assists in his eventual return to five-eighth. He consistently looks like the most threatening player on the field for the Tigers and is certainly someone the joint-venture should be and are looking to build around for the future. The Warriors defence has been poor recently, especially their left edge, which leaked the majority of points against Souths last week. That's an area where Doueihi spends a lot of time probing, specifically while in close proximity to the try-line. Look for him to be causing a lot of problems for the Warriors on Friday.
Josh Curran has been handed an increased role since Tohu Harris went down injured, and while obviously not providing the same attacking spark, he certainly hasn't shirked the defensive work. Last week, he easily made the most tackles of anyone in his team, notching up 51 for only 4 misses. That's an efficiency rate of 91%, extraordinary for someone who isn't used to playing 80 minutes. That being said, he only had 8 runs for 61 metres, which is more acceptable when Matt Lodge and Addin Fonua-Blake are spearheading your forward pack, but they won't be there this week, meaning Curran will have to make an effort to find a sustainable balance between attack and defence.
The favourite: The Tigers are favoured by 5 and a half points at the time of writing
My tip: The Tigers defence is notoriously unreliable, but their attack has really started to take shape recently and I can't see how the Warriors stop them. Wests Tigers by 14.
