Robbie Farah proved he isn’t only the leading hooker in the game, but after baring the brunt of a Anthony Watts attack – smart Farah went old school, he waited patiently and under the cover of a scrum ‘unleashed hell’ on Watts and exacted revenge, before going on to seal the game for the Tigers.
Wests won the match 34-14, as the 2005 Grand Final combatants went at each other hammer and tong.
After only 45 seconds of the match, the Cowboys stormed through in the form of Matty Bowen and it looked like being a long day for the Wests Tigers.
But that was about it for the Cowboys, despite a penalty goal to get them to 8 points – they didn’t score again until the last quarter of the match. And while the Tigers were sleeping giants in the early stages, once they got going -Â they produced their attacking best.
Apart from the enticing bout between livewire Watts and the robust Farah, Wests fullback Shannon Gallant was impressive to watch at full flight – turning on the after burners to get around Bowen and score in the corner.
Marshall was in the same frame of mind, at one stage taking a quick tap from a penalty and shooting past the Cowboys scattered defence to come within 15m of scoring – the busy Bowen having to engage again to take the Tigers half down.
But after some patchy play from both teams in the final 20 minutes, the Cowboys eventually got over for a short range try through Carl Webb. The touchdown brought the away side back to life, but to their credit – the Tigers stood tall and laid on more points to put the match beyond doubt. Now moving to 18 points on the ladder, the win may leave Tigers fans wondering what could have been if they won a few more matches – but at this stage, their late charge for the semi’s needs another 2005 miracle!