From The Couch: Wests Tigers Season Review

Win-Loss: 6-18
Ladder Position: 17th
Finals: N/A
Attack: 19.29 (17th)
Defence: 31.25 (17th)
Longest Win Streak: 2 (R3-4, R15-16, R24-25)
Longest Loss Streak: 9 (R5-14)
Best Win: Round 3: 32-6 v Cronulla
Worst Loss: Round 27: 60-26 v Parramatta.

Season Review

Highlights: There were very few highlights for the Tigers as they collected their third consecutive wooden spoon.

However the emergence of rookie Lachlan Galvin certainly has given the club hope along with Jahream Bula’s progression in the second year, the very good second season of Samuela Fainu and some potential with rookie Heath Mason.

Securing Shane Richardson on a long-term deal will be a positive and he has already lured Jarome Luai, who has the potential to be a game-changer, and Sunia Turuva.

Lowlights: The losing, so much losing.

Benji Marshall struggled to extract the best out of his team and was clearly frustrated with his senior players.

Their defence was diabolical, discipline was incredibly poor.

No doubt though the most frustrating moment of the season came in the final round when, with a chance to avoid the wooden spoon and after two straight wins, they turned in a horrid showing to lose to the Eels 60-26.

What Worked: The Tigers ranked 4th in decoy runs and 6th in supports so there was effort there in building shape and carrying on with supports, something that has been central to Cronulla’s success.

Effort has long been a concern for the Tigers so this is a positive.

What Didn’t: Discipline at the Tigers was abhorrent, leading the NRL in sin bins while ranking third in penalties conceded and the same phrase applies to their defence, which ranked second in missed tackles and conceded the most points.

Betting Stats

ATS: 10-14
Over/Under: 11-13
Head-to-Head Return: -5.6 units

Three Betting Notes:

• The Tigers were double digit underdogs an NRL-leading 10 times – they won twice outright, went 6-4 against the spread and the under hit in seven.
• The Tigers were favoured just once all season – losing 24-12 to the Dragons
• The Tigers won and covered three of their five matches at Leichhardt 

Personnel

Best Player: Lachlan Galvin
Next Best: Jahream Bula, Isaiah Papali’i
Most Disappointing Player: John Bateman
Next Most Disappointing: Stefano Utoikamanu, David Klemmer
Top Tryscorer: Jahream Bula (10)
Top Assist Merchant: Lachlan Galvin (16)
Top Tackle Breaker: Junior Tupou (4.0 per game)
Top Metre Eater: Jahream Bula (160.38 per game)
Top Tackler: Api Koroisau (37.23 per game)
Best Buy: Samuela Fainu
Worst Buy: Jayden Sullivan
Best Rookie: Lachlan Galvin

Player Ratings