Any hope of a Wests Tigers fightback ended the moment Justin Olam was sent from the field for a dangerous high tackle on Heilum Luki at Leichhardt Oval on Thursday night.
After the Tigers faithful had booed out-going prop Stefano Utoikmanau before kick-off, they were in a rage when referee Chris Butler sent Olam straight from the field when the Tigers trailed the North Queensland Cowboys 20-14 with 30 minutes remaining. They lost 48-30.
Wests Tigers centre Justin Olam is sent off on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
Butler told Olam after his tackle: “You had the whole body to aim at, there’s a high level of force, and it’s direct to the head – you’re off.”
Nine commentator Paul Gallen thought a sin-bin would have been sufficient, but Cooper Cronk agreed with the heavy punishment, admitting: “It’s not as if he [Olam] has hit him softly; he’s hit him with a lot of force, directly to the chin”.
Coach Benji Marshall has spoken about discipline all year. The Tigers came into the round having already had players sent to the bin 15 times.
But Marshall was proud of the fight, and said after the game: “There’s so much pride and heart in our team. To be able to compete until the end there like that with 12 men with the send-off, and still be fighting to the death, shows how much the jersey means to these blokes.”
As for the send-off, Marshall said: “I have a group of guys in there who are feeling pretty down about it. The easy thing for me to do would be to come out and say, ‘it’s a bad decision’, and ‘they got it wrong’.
“A sin-bin would have been sufficed. We’ve seen plenty of those this season. But I won’t say that.”
Cowboys flyer Murray Taulagi then crossed for a third try within a minute of the Tigers being reduced to 12 men.
At least the Tigers showed plenty of spirit to hit back through Solomon Alaimalo and Solomona Faataape. Isaiah Papali’i could have made it a third, only to lose the ball down before the line.
The focus for Tigers supporters in the final five weeks of the season is avoiding the wooden spoon. It could come down to the final round against Parramatta.
Utoikmanau is leaving at the end of the year, bound for either Melbourne or Canterbury, Papali’i is headed for Penrith, and John Bateman is already in England, with no guarantee he will return for the final two years of his Tigers’ deal.
But the club likes referring to the term “green shoots”, with fullback Jahream Bula and five-eighth Lachie Galvin to join skipper Api Koroisau and in-coming Penrith recruit Jarome Luai in a new-look spine in 2025.
Naughty Tigers – sin-bins this year
Wests Tigers sin-bins
Round 2 – Stefano Utoikamanu
Round 4 – Lachie Galvin
Round 8 – Samuela Fainu
Round 9 – David Klemmer and Alex Seyfarth
Round 10 – Jahream Bula
Round 11 – Brent Naden and Justin Olam
Round 14 – Jayden Sullivan
Round 16 – Alex Seyfarth
Round 17 – Adam Doueihi and Api Koroisau
Round 18 – Solomona Faataape
Round 19 – Api Koroisau
Round 20 – Aidan Sezer
Round 22 – Justin Olam (sent off)
Bula is the best thing going for the Tigers, with the silky fullback scoring a try before the break, then a second after half-time when he moved so gracefully over 70m, including a palm on Scott Drinkwater.
The Tigers aimed up most of the opening half, but conceded three tries in 13 minutes, including a double to Taulagi.
Koroisau spent most of the game at halfback after Latu Fainu was knocked out trying to stop Valentine Holmes. The halfback has had a horror run with hamstrings, and due for a change of luck.
He will automatically miss next week’s clash against Newcastle, but Aidan Sezer returns from suspension.
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