Round 7: Wests Tigers v Rabbitohs preview
This Saturday, the Wests Tigers will host the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Commbank Stadium in what has become a much more interesting fixture thanks to the Tigers brilliant win against the Parramatta Eels on Easter Monday.
The home side registered their first win of the season, thanks to a 38-metre field goal from Jackson Hastings, which also happened to be the Tigers' first win on Easter Monday since 2018. The joint-venture now finds themselves in 15th position on the competition after occupying 16th place since late March. Surprisingly, the Tigers were much more protective of the football, only coming up with eight errors on Monday after coughing up the ball 70 times in their five previous outings. Along with the return of halfback Jackson Hastings, the Tigers were able to get the ball into good positions on the field and as a result, the Tigers scored more than one try for the first time since their round three loss to the Warriors.
It was a great afternoon for Tigers' fans as they finally saw their team secure its first victory of the year after the club's worst start in its' history. Coach Michael Maguire will be relieved to have a win under his belt and you could see the sheer emotion from the coach as Hastings' field goal sailed between the uprights. It was also a relieving night for Luke Brooks, who was cheered into the dressing rooms by his teammates after his best performance of the year, which saw the five-eighth assist two first half tries with some brilliant passing. However, the season won't change just like that for the Tigers, and they've got another tough opponent waiting for them this weekend in the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Tigers have named the same side, surprising given Jake Simpkins reaction to his ankle injury over the weekend. On the other side, Souths have made two changes with Davvy Moale coming onto the Bench with Isaiah Tass heading back to the reserves. Whilst Hame Sele has been named at prop with Tom Burgess relegating to the bench.
The Rabbitohs are coming off a 20-point victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, a game which highlighted their attacking prowess as the ‘bunnies' scored six times on Friday afternoon. Despite being without Latrell Mitchell, his replacement Blake Taafe showed that he hasn't missed a beat since last year's finals series which saw the young fullback step into the limelight. Taafe set up a try and kicked a perfect six from six off the boot as he quietly went about his work. The Rabbitohs are still struggling to hold the football as they came up with 15 errors on Friday and in fact, lead the league in errors, with 83. However, as South showed on Friday, this hasn't stopped them from scoring points as the 2021 runners-up average a tick under 20 points per game this season.
The Rabbitohs currently sit in eighth spot on the competition ladder with three wins and three losses. Although, one of those losses came in golden point against the Melbourne Storm and another by 14-points at the hands of the undefeated Penrith Panthers. They've now won two on the trot and will be looking to make that three with a win over the Tigers on Saturday night.
Their forwards were brilliant against the Bulldogs, with six of them surpassing 100 run metres. This is where they'll look to beat the Tigers. The Tigers forwards performed well against the Eels, in particular Alex Twal who pumped out 166 run metres and 46 tackles with no misses in 63 minutes of football. However, the Tigers have had two games where their forwards were very ineffective (v Newcastle & Cronulla). It'll be up to Damien Cook to get his forwards rolling over the advantage line with good service from dummy-half. If the Tigers can level them in the middle of the park and reduce their errors like they did against Parramatta then they'll give themselves a chance.
They've won their last four outings against the Tigers and they've scored at least 18 points in all four.
Last meeting: Round 16 2021 - Wests Tigers 22 Rabbitohs 38
Who to watch: The two dominant halves will be crucial to victory of either side this weekend. Jackson Hastings of the Tigers and Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs will go head-to-head on Saturday night. Hastings is coming off the back of one of the most memorable moments of his career as he kicked a field goal on the siren to gift the Tigers their first win of the season. In just his third game for the club, Hastings touched the ball an incredible 90 times, assisted his first try, ran for 95 metres and made 19 tackles. The halfback gives the Tigers a different look and the former Man of Steel wants to get his hands on the ball on almost every play. He gives the Tigers direction just like his opponent does for the Bunnies.
Cody Walker, now known as one of the most exciting halves in the game, had achieved a lot since Hastings last played in the NRL. Walker only had 40 odd games under his belt by the time Hastings went to play in England. In that time, Walker has played in a grand final and represented his state four times. The 32-year-old hasn't quite been able to replicate his record-breaking form from last season, but he has no doubt made his presence felt. The Rabbitohs five-eighth has scored two tries and assisted one try this year. His running metres are down which suggests that Walker is playing a slightly different role this year. When you consider that he is averaging a career high in kick metres (151 per game) you could suggest that he is taking more interest in directing his team around the field, like Reynolds did previously for the Bunnies.
These two will no doubt bring plenty of passion on Saturday night and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few words exchanged between the two halves.
The favourite: The Rabbitohs are the favourite for Saturday night's clash and despite the Tigers surprise win on Monday, it still doesn't change the fact that Souths have beaten the Tigers in four straight meetings, scoring 18 points or more in all four contests. What the Tigers win does do, is give the players some faith that they can cause an upset against the Rabbitohs. They went oh-so -lose in their first outing against each other last year and if this weekend is anything like that game, we're in for a treat.
My tip: I've still got the Rabbitohs winning this match. They've lost to two of the best sides in the competition and have beaten the Sydney Roosters earlier in the season. The Tigers a more of a chance than they were before the weekend, but the quality of the Rabbitohs side could be too much for the Tigers to stop after a draining win on Monday. Souths by 12.
