The Tigers registered their first win of the season last week by accounting for a disappointing Gold Coast Titans 42 – 12. The Tigers handled the hot conditions much better than the locals and dominated from the opening whistle with winger Pat Richards crossing in just the third minute of the game. It was the second week in a row the Tigers have scored two tries inside of the first ten minutes of the match and also the second time Pat Richards has been the first to cross the line. Richards crossed again in the 30th minute, one of three more first half tries for the Tigers which saw them establish a commanding 22 – 6 lead at half-time. Unlike last week however, when they let St. George run in four tries in the final 20 minutes in their 44 – 24 defeat, the Tigers closed out this match in good style.
Special Offer: If your team lead at any time in the last 20 minutes but lose, get your money back!
Particularly pleasing for the Tigers was the performance of young half-back Luke Brooks and his combination with fullback, James Tedesco. The pair turning the Titans’ defence inside-out on several occasions with well rehearsed plays.
The Rabbitohs headed into their second match of the season as the short-priced favourites after an impressive win over the Roosters in round 1 (28 – 8) and facing a Manly side who were without fullback Brett Stewart and his brother Glenn.
The Rabbitohs didn’t start like favourites though and a combination of handling errors and poor kicking on the final tackle, failed to assert any pressure on Manly’s defence.
Manly opened the scoring in the seventh minute through a try to winger Cheyse Blair with the only first half points to Souths being from Sam Burgess who made the most of an opportunistic moment in the 35th minute, crashing over from close range. Going into the half-time break 6 – 4 down, flattered the Souths side.
A try early in the second half saw Souths hit the lead but a resilient Manly outfit responded fifteen minutes later with a try of their own before a late penalty goal, sealed the win for the Sea Eagles, 14 – 12.
It was vastly different performance from Souths compared to week 1 and one they’ll be keen to atone for here.
Souths have won their last five encounters against the Tigers, last season on the two occasions they met, by margins of 44 and 14 points in matches were the total points scored reached 50 or more.
Expect another high scoring encounter here ending in Souths victory. The Tigers have shown their capable of scoring points and the Souths attack hasn’t hit full gear yet but will get the opportunity to do so in this match.
TIP: SOUTHS 13 +
Odds Comparison:
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| Wests Tigers | 4.10 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.10 | 4.40 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1.25 | 1.24 | 1.23 | 1.24 | 1.25 | 1.22 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Wests Tigers:
1. James Tedesco 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Keith Lulia 4. Tim Simona 5. Pat Richards 6. Braith Anasta 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 9. Robbie Farah 10. Keith Galloway 11. Liam Fulton 12. Bodene Thompson 13. Adam Blair 14. Martin Taupau 15. Ava Seumanufagai 16. Sauaso Sue 17. James Gavet 18. Cory Paterson
South Sydney Rabbitohs:
1. Greg Inglis 2. Nathan Merritt 3. Joel Reddy 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Lote Tuqiri 6. Dylan Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Issac Luke 10. Sam Burgess 11. Chris McQueen 12. Ben Te’o 13. John Sutton
14. Joe Picker 15. Ben Lowe 16. David Tyrrell 17. Luke Burgess 18. Kirisome Auva’a 19. Kyle Turner
