2008 Wests Tigers season explained

Year:2008
Next Season:2009

The 2008 Wests Tigers season was their 9th in the NRL. Major signings for the 2008 season are former Dragons halfback Mathew Head, backrower Corey Payne, and back Nick Youngquest.

Season summary

The Tigers had a successful opening to the season with a round 1 win over the St George Illawarra Dragons, 24–16 and a torrid round 2 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, 30–10.

Benji Marshall was injured in the third minute of round 1 with a knee ligament tear, sidelining him for eight to ten weeks.[1]

Three losses in a row and injuries to hooker, Robbie Farah, kept the Tigers in the bottom half of the ladder until a round 6 win against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 20 April. Mathew Head returned to the NRL in round 5 after a year in the UK and recuperating from injury. Tigers then narrowly beat Cronulla Sharks 20-18.

Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall both returned to the team in the round 10 win against the Newcastle Knights. In a match that saw twelve tries scored between the two teams, Marshall scored two tries and kicked a 40/20. Mathew Head and Scott Dureau (Knights) also kicked 40/20s.

After a four game losing streak, the Wests Tigers ended the South Sydney Rabbitohs' run of five-straight wins, beating them 36–12 in round 19.

Another run of losses towards the end of the season kept the Wests Tigers out of the top eight for the third year in a row. The three losses coincided with the suspension of Todd Payten for a dangerous throw in round 22.

In the final match of the season, the Wests Tigers farewelled captain Brett Hodgson with a win over the Gold Coast Titans at Robina.

Players leaving the club at the end of the season include Brett Hodgson, Ryan O'Hara, Ben Te'o and Stuart Flanagan. It was also club CEO Steve Noyce's last year with the club.

2008 Season Results

2008 Season Results
width=5%Roundwidth=25%Opponentwidth=10%Resultwidth=15%Datewidth=25%Venuewidth=5%Crowdwidth=10%Refereewidth=5%Position/16
1  St. George Illawarra DragonsWin16 March 2008Sydney Football Stadium (H) 18,211 Sean Hampstead 6th
 24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton, Lawrence, Farah, Moltzen; Goals: Hodgson 4/4)
 16 - Dragons (Tries: Gasnier, Soward, Reynoldson; Goals: Gasnier 0/1, Soward 2/2)
2  North Queensland Cowboys Win[2] 22 March 2008 Dairy Farmers Stadium (A) 20,655 Tony De Las Heras 2nd
 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah, Harrison, Lawrence, Moltzen, Fulton; Goals: Hodgson 3/3 Lawrence 2/5)
 10 - Cowboys (Tries: Graham, Harris; Goals: Thurston 1/2)
3  Bulldogs Loss[3] 30 March 2008 ANZ Stadium (A) 21,546 Jared Maxwell 6th
 32 - Bulldogs (Tries: Patten 2, El Masri, S Williams, Nanai, Ryan; Goals: El Masri 4/6)
 12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan, Halatau; Goals: Hodgson 2/2)
4  Penrith PanthersLoss 7 April 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 11,898Jason Robinson 11th
 30 - Penrith Panthers (Tries: Priddis, Jennings, Blair, Gordon, Tighe; Goals: Sammut 5/6)
 8 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 2/2)
5  Canberra Raiders
1989 League Legends Cup
Loss 13 April 2008 Canberra Stadium (A) 12,240 Sean Hampstead10th
 30 - Canberra Raiders (Tries:Purtell 3, Tilse, Tongue, Carney; Goals: Carney 3/6)
 24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Harrison 2, Tuiaki, Collis; Goals: Hodgson 4/4)
6  South Sydney Rabbitohs Win[4] 20 April 2008 SCG (H) 19,122 Ben Cummins8th
 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Heighington, Collis, Te'o, Lawrence, Flanagan; Goals: Hodgson 5/5)
 10 - South Sydney Rabbitohs (Tries: Champion, Rogers; Goals: Merritt 1/2)
7  Cronulla Sharks Win[5] 27 April 2008 Toyota Stadium (A) 17,241 Shayne Hayne 7th
 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Heighington, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 2/4)
 16 - Cronulla Sharks (Tries: Kearney, Seymour; Goals: Covell 4/4)
8  Brisbane Broncos Loss[6] 3 May 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 11,177 Tony Archer8th
 34 - Brisbane Broncos (Tries: Robinson 2, Kemp, Thaiday, Hunt, Wallace; Goals: Ennis 4/5, Wallace 1/1)
 22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Te'o 2, McDonnell, Collis; Goals: Hodgson 3/4)
9Bye
10  Newcastle Knights Win[7] 18 May 2008 EnergyAustralia Stadium (A) 20,154Sean Hampstead 8th
 38 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson 2, Marshall 2, Fulton, McDonnell, Te'o ; Goals:Hodgson 5/7)
 26 - Newcastle Knights (Tries:Bailey 3, Dureau, Vuna ; Goals: Naiqama 3/5)
11  Gold Coast Titans Win[8] 25 May 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H) 17,493 Shayne Hayne 7th
 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Te'o, Farah, Hodgson ; Goals:Hodgson 3/4)
 18 - Gold Coast Titans (Tries:Cannings, Bowen, Campbell ; Goals:Prince 3/3)
12  Sydney Roosters Loss 2 June 2008 Sydney Football Stadium (A) 15,204 Tony Archer 8th
 19 - Sydney Roosters (Tries:M Aubusson 2, Roberts ; Goals:Fitzgibbon 3/3; Field Goal:Pearce 1)
 10 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Farah, Tuiaki ; Goals:Hodgson 1/2)
13  North Queensland Cowboys Win[9] 7 June 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 10,488 Gavin Badger 7th
 40 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Collis, McDonnell, Head, Te'o, Heighington, Marshall, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 6/7)
 16 - North Queensland Cowboys (Tries: Slyney, T. Williams, Harris; Goals: J. Williams 2/3)
14  Parramatta Eels Loss[10] 15 June 2008 ANZ Stadium (H)22,107 Tony Archer 11th
 44 - Parramatta Eels (Tries: Hindmarsh 2, Burt, Cordoba, Tautai, Keating, Inu, Reddy ; Goals: Burt 6/8)
 6 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 1/1)
15  Brisbane Broncos Loss[11] 20 June 2008 Suncorp Stadium (A) 27,864 Sean Hampstead 12th
 19 - Brisbane Broncos (Tries: Moon, Kemp, Kenny; Goals: Ennis 3/4 Field Goal: Hunt 1)
 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson, Halatau, Fulton; Goals: Hodgson 3/4)
16  New Zealand Warriors Loss[12] 29 June 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H) 15,827 Steve Lyons 12th
 28 - Warriors (Tries: Henderson, Fai, Fein, Hohaia, Rapira; Goals: Hohaia 2/3, Witt 2/2)
 26 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki 3, Farah, Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 3/5)
17Bye10th
18  Melbourne Storm Loss[13] 14 July 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 16,653 Jared Maxwell 12th
 30 - Melbourne Storm (Tries: Inglis 3, Slater, Manu ; Goals: Smith 5/5)
 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki, Hodgson, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 3/3)
19  South Sydney Rabbitohs Win[14] 20 July 2008 ANZ Stadium (A) 21,818 Jason Robinson 10th
 36 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki 2, Lawrence 2, Ryan 2, Farah; Goals: Marshall 4/7)
 12 - South Sydney Rabbitohs (Tries: Simpson, Asotasi; Goals: Luke 2/2)
20  Penrith Panthers Loss[15] 26 July 2008CUA Stadium (A)14,075 Tony Archer 12th
 24 - Penrith Panthers (Tries: Gordon 2, Iosefa, Jennings; Goals: Gordon 4/4)
 10 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tagive, Laurie; Goals: Marshall 1/2)
21  Bulldogs Win[16] 3 August 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 16,121Ben Cummins 9th
 56 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Gallant 2, Heighington 2, Te'o 2, Fulton, Tagive, Halatau, Marshall ; Goals: Marshall 8/10)
 4 - Bulldogs (Tries: Nanai; Goals: El Masri 0/1)
22  St. George Illawarra Dragons Win[17] 8 August 2008 WIN Stadium (A) 14,207 Shayne Hayne 9th
 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan, Marshall; Goals: Marshall 5/5)
 10 - St. George Illawarra (Tries: J Morris; Goals: Soward 3/3)
23  Parramatta Eels Loss[18] 18 August 2008 Parramatta Stadium (A)13,065Matt Cecchin11th
 40 - Parramatta (Tries: Tautai 2, Hayne 2, Moi Moi, Hindmarsh, Mateo; Goals: Inu 8/9)
 12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall, Heighington; Goals: Hodgson 2/2)
24  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Loss[19] 23 August 2008 ANZ Stadium (H)27,564Tony Archer12th
 48 - Manly (Tries: B Stewart 2, Menzies 2, Hall 2, Robertson, Bell, G Stewart; Goals: Orford 5/8, Matai 1/1)
 16 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Laurie 2, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 2/3)
25  Cronulla SharksLoss[20] 29 August 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H)10,766 Sean Hampstead 12th
 32 - Cronulla (Tries: Taulapapa, Covell, Anderson, Seymour, Kearney; Goals: Covell 6/6)
 6 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Harrison ; Goals: Hodgson 1/1)
26  Gold Coast Titans Win[21] 7 September 2008 Skilled Park (A)20,703Bernie Sutton10th
 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Moltzen 2, Lawrence, Tuiaki, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 4/5)
 12 - Gold Coast (Tries: Prince, Delaney; Goals: Prince 2/2)

2008 Pre-season trials

Wests Tigers 2008 Pre-season Trials
width=25%Opponentwidth=10%Resultwidth=20%Datewidth=25%Venuewidth=10%Crowdwidth=10%Referee
 Sydney Roosters
 Foundation Cup
Loss[22] 23 February 2008 15,197 Sean Hampstead
 34 - Sydney Roosters (Tries: Kenny-Dowall 3, Minichiello, Anasta, Tupou; Goals: Roberts 5/6)
 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Moltzen, Lawrence, Morris, Tagive, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 4/5)
 Gold Coast Titans
 Larry Corowa Shield
Loss[23] 1 March 2008 Skilled Park, Robina 14,386
 32 - Gold Coast Titans (Tries: Minichiello, Cannings, Bowen, Atkins, Prince, Ngawini; Goals: Prince 4/6)
 4 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 0/1)

Players Used

Current first-grade squad at 22 March 2008

(Debut: Round 1) (Debut: Round 5) (Debut: Round 1) (Debut: Round 15) (Debut: Round 15) (Debut: Round 2)

Gains and losses

2008 Player Movements
GainsLosses
PlayerPrevious ClubPlayerNew Club
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers
Huddersfield Giants
Gold Coast Titans
Sydney Roosters
Keebra Park State High School Retired
Keebra Park State High School St. George Illawarra Dragons
Bulldogs
Northern Pride RLFC
St. George Illawarra Dragons

Notes and References

  1. News: Liam Fitzgibbon. Fox Sports News (Australia). Benji injury sours Tigers win . 2008-03-16. 2008-03-16.
  2. News: Fairfax Digital . Tigers too good for Cowboys . 2008-03-22 . 2008-03-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080504005429/http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/tigers-too-good-for-cowboys/2008/03/22/1205602742343.html . 4 May 2008 .
  3. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Dogs dominate timid Tigers . 2008-03-30. 2008-03-30.
  4. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers keep Bunnies winless . 2008-04-20. 2008-04-20.
  5. News: Philip Henderson. Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers land baited Sharks once again . 2008-04-27. 2008-04-27.
  6. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Brilliant Broncos bust Tigers . 2008-05-04. 2008-05-03.
  7. News: Todd Balym. Fox Sports News (Australia). Sheens lets rip at Marshall law . 2008-05-18. 2008-05-18.
  8. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers hang on to topple Titans . 2008-05-25. 2008-05-25.
  9. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Benji back to his best . 2008-06-07. 2008-06-07.
  10. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Electric Eels get season into gear. 2008-06-15. 2008-06-15.
  11. News: Wayne Heming. Fox Sports News (Australia). Broncos hold off fighting Tigers . 2008-06-20. 2008-06-20.
  12. News: Tom Wald. Fox Sports News (Australia). Warriors topple wasteful Tigers . 2008-06-29. 2008-06-29.
  13. News: Steve Jancetic. Fox Sports News (Australia). Inglis blows Tigers away . 2008-07-14. 2008-07-14.
  14. News: Steve Jancetic. Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers burst Bunnies' bubble . 2008-07-20. 2008-07-20.
  15. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Knee injury sours Penrith win . 2008-07-27. 2008-07-26.
  16. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers condemn Dogs to new low . 2008-08-03. 2008-08-03.
  17. News: Adrian Warren. Fox Sports News (Australia). Marshall puts Dragons to sword . 2008-08-08. 2008-08-08.
  18. News: Steve Jancetic. Fox Sports News (Australia). Eels continue late finals burst . 2008-08-18. 2008-08-18.
  19. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Sea Eagles fly back on course . 2008-08-23. 2008-08-23.
  20. News: Steve Jancetic. Fox Sports News (Australia). Sharks tame Tigers at Leichhardt . 2008-08-29. 2008-08-29.
  21. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers end season on high . 2008-09-07. 2008-09-07.
  22. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Tigers fume over heavy shots . 2008-02-23. 2008-02-23.
  23. News: Fox Sports News (Australia). Titans hammer Wests at home . 2008-03-02. 2008-03-01.