Wests Tigers claim Slice of History

The upstart Wests Tigers have claimed the 2005 National Rugby League premiership with an exhilarating 30-16 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys in the Grand Final at Telstra Stadium in Sydney tonight.

The joint-venture outfit, created in 1999 with the merger of the Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers, created their own slice of history with a dazzling display of attacking football, the main feature of their charge to the premiership through the second half of the season. Coach Tim Sheens, the man in charge of the Canberra Raiders when they broke Balmain hearts in the epic 1989 decider, now adds a fourth title to his hat-trick of premierships with the Raiders.

Wests Tigers captain Scott Prince orchestrated his team’s victory brilliantly, responsible for the majority of their attacking movements and his pinpoint kicking game keeping the Cowboys backs busy all night. Prince’s effort ensured the Clive Churchill Medal for best player on the ground, though hooker Robbie Farah’s direction from dummy-half, on top of 33 tackles, also stood out.

Whiz-kid five-eighth Benji Marshall also looked dangerous on every possession, creating the game’s most memorable moment just before halftime by evading three defenders close to his line and after advancing to halfway, hitting winger Pat Richards with an outrageous flick-pass to complete a length of the field try.

Dally M winner Johnathan Thurston was amongst the Cowboys best, showing his class in attack and pulling off a nice flick-pass of his own for a Travis Norton try that reduced the margin to 6 points in the second half. Fullback Matt Bowen crossed for the first try of the match and withstood the pressure created from the Tigers kicking game while second rower Luke O’Donnell toiled hard and Steve Southern hit hard in defence.

After a typically frenetic opening, Cowboys captain Paul Rauhihi kept the ball alive 20 metres out from the Tigers line and a chain of passes finished up with Justin Smith’s speculative over-the-head pass, Thurston collecting from the ground to send Bowen on a clear run to the line after only eight minutes.

The conversion gave the Cowboys the early 6-0 lead but the Tigers quickly went back on the offensive. The next three possessions for the Cowboys ended with dropped ball and the Tigers continually applied the pressure. A high-bouncing Prince grubber was bobbled in mid-air by Bowen but Daniel Fitzhenry’s squandered a certain try as he knocked-on with the line wide open.

But the Tigers were gifted an equaliser ten minutes later when Paul Bowman attempted a risky pass behind the goal line after fielding a Prince high-kick. Bowman’s pass missed the mark as he was tackled and interchange forward Bryce Gibbs scored the easiest of tries as he grounded the loose ball with one hand.

Each side then had a try disallowed by the video referee, wingers Ty Williams of the Cowboys and Pat Richards of the Tigers denied the points after both appeared to have scored legitimate tries. Williams’ effort was cancelled out after Southern was ruled to have obstructed a Tigers defender as Thurston broke through the line, while Benji Marshall set up Richards, who recovered from a severe ankle injury from last weeks final to play, with a fine pass only for to ball to bounce out of his hand as he slid over the line.

Richards eventually landed his four-pointer with halftime looming, Marshall’s kick return and flick-pass ensuring it will go down as one of the best Grand Final tries. Brett Hodgson nailed the sideline conversion for the 12-6 lead at the main break.

North Queensland pressed early in the second half, O’Donnell breaking clear near the line but referee Tim Mander correctly ruled David Faiumu’s final pass forward. But the Tigers applied the pressure almost immediately, the Cowboys knocking on close to their line after another well-placed kick. Robbie Farah opened up the Cowboys’ defence as he darted from dummy-half and found Anthony Laffranchi with an inside pass to establish a handy 12-point break.

Just as the Tigers threatened to cut loose, the Cowboys defended stoutly and began making inroads in attack. With 25 minutes remaining, a long pass from Brett Firman close to the Tigers’ line allowed Thurston the room to create the try for Norton and with the score at 18-12, the premiership title was up for grabs.

But man-of-the-match Prince regained the initiative for his side, a towering bomb pinning the Cowboys close to their line, where they coughed up possession with a handling error. From the scrum, Prince drifted across field and faked the pass to a pair of decoy runners, creating the overlap out wide for Fitzhenry to score. A second sideline conversion from Hodgson sent the large contingent of Tigers supporters into raptures, believing the 12-point lead with 17 minutes to go would be enough to claim the ultimate prize.

Hodgson could have sealed the result in the 70th minute when he backed up on the inside of Prince’s 40-metre run down the right side but he dropped the final pass. Prince also missed a relatively easy field goal attempt in the 74th minute and then the Tigers escaped a close call one minute later, Matt Sing spilling a grubber kick as he challenged Marshall for the ball on the Tigers try line.

The Cowboys eventually crossed with two minutes to go, Sing accepting a cut-out pass to score out wide, but Hannay’s rushed conversion floated wide right to end any hope of a miraculous comeback. After the Cowboys lost possession in the final minute, Tigers centre Paul Whatuira fought his way deep into their territory and a quick grubber from the play-the-ball was left for interchange forward Todd Payten to touch down, sparking wild celebrations for the Wests Tigers faithful.

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