Tim Sheens, coach of the Wests Tigers, chastises his team for their “embarrassing” game against the Dragons.
After the Tigers’ lackluster performance, the coach was left infuriated and gave his team a harsh warning.
In a match between the NRL’s top teams, Wests Tigers lost 18–14 to St George Illawarra, meaning they are now on the outside looking in.
Due to their poorer for-and-against record, the Tigers will probably need to win three of their remaining six games in order to surpass the Dragons into 16th place and avoid winning wooden spoons back-to-back after their loss in Wollongong on Thursday night.
Watch the video above to see the Wests Tigers, who lost to the Dragons 18–14, heading for the wooden spoon.
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That represents their only victory in their 18 starts thus far this season, and if the Dragons triumph once more in the run-for-the-title, the equation will get even more difficult.
Tim Sheens, the coach of the Tigers, was incensed by his team’s performance and told his players up front that they needed to “do better than that.”
At the press conference held after the game, Sheens stated, “They’re professionals.”
Every week at the end, they’re prepared to play. In our club, there are ups and downs, media, and a host of other things.
“However, as we’ve told the players, your job is to play professional football because you’re paid to do so.
“That’s how they make a living, and they need to do better if they want to do so in the future.”
The Tigers, despite some promising moments from five-eighth Daine Laurie, were competitive in patches but lacked the game-management abilities of a well-established halves pairing, as has been the case all month.
“We repeatedly shot ourselves in the foot,” Sheens remarked.
Half a dozen loose balls and five yardage penalties didn’t help them on our end.
“We most likely didn’t deserve to prevail.”
Luke Brooks, the starting halfback for the Wests, will likely be out of the season by the time he returns due to a hamstring injury, which will keep him out of action for at least another week.
Winger Mikaele Ravalawa of the Dragons, who was nursing a knee injury, went from zero to hero in the second half, scoring the try that restored the lead and ultimately won the match.
Prior to each of the Tigers’ three first-half tries, Ravalawa had an early defensive nightmare on the right wing as he was caught in-field.
Those two occurred while fullback Just before the half, Tyrell Sloan committed a professional foul on the Dragons’ goal line, earning him a spot in the sin bin.
Junior Tupou, Ravalawa’s opposite man, scored twice, but Api Koroisau, the captain of the Tigers, stole the lead just before halftime by snagging Tupou’s wing kick.
Before Sloan’s sin-binning, the Saints had appeared more likely than the visitors, with Ben Hunt and Junior Amone each setting up first-half tries.
However, in the midst of some incredibly subpar football, neither team was able to improve the 14–12 halftime score.
Even though Ravalawa corked his knee in a tackle, the Tigers looked ready to raid the Dragons’ right edge.
But the injured winger was the focal point of the crucial try that decided the game.
With 16 minutes remaining, center Zac Lomax bullied his way past four defenders and flicked a pass to Ravalawa on the right to help the Dragons take the lead again.
“It kind of reflects how we played tonight—just rough and determined,” Dragons acting head coach Ryan Carr remarked following the game.
“We simply refused to say die, we refused to say never, and we managed to cross the line.”
