It was a stark contrast to the fortunes of the respective teams, as the Tigers bounced back brilliantly
this round and the Titans failed dismally – as the Wests Tigers decimated an errant Titans side, winning 42-12.
With the young brigade and the veterans shining, it was a win that will leave Tigers sides pleased as the likes of Pat Richards, Luke Brooks and Martin Taupau all excelled.
With a lot of pressure on coach Mick Potter, the win eases some of the pressure and whilst there is a long way in the season to go, it is a solid win and it gets the Tigers season back on track.
Conceding only 12 points in the game was an aspect that really pleased coach Potter.
“Defensively, I thought that was our best aspect of the game,” said Potter.
“Defensively, I thought we were very, very good and we forced a lot of errors, something we haven’t done previously.
“It was just good, aggressive rugby league and it was pleasing to watch.”
One player in particular who shone was captain Robbie Farah as he lead from the front and caused all sorts of problems for the Titans defence.
He was quick to point out the scorching heat as a factor in the first half and he was affected by it.
“Yeah, I was blown, so I can imagine how the big fellas were feeling,” said Farah.
“The key to today was that we swung around our possession and completions from last week.
“Coming up against these tough conditions today here in the heat, it was always going to be that war of attrition and we just wore them down.”
On the flipside, it was a largely dismal display from the Titans who looked out of sorts at home – and although the season is still young, not even coach John Cartwright saw the result coming.
“Yeah, I certainly didn’t see that coming and the players didn’t see it coming,” said Cartwright.
“Very average performance. It started bad but we sort of got our way back into the game and the worse part was probably just before half-time when we coughed up two tries.”
There may be further concerns for the Titans with a possible shoulder injury to Greg Bird, who is an influential player in their side.
“Yeah, bit sore, mate. We won’t really know until tomorrow,” said Bird.
“I’m hoping it was just a burner and it went quite dead there for a few minutes.”
3. Robbie Farah
2. Martin Taupau
1. James Tedesco