If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
The Wests Tigers’ miserable season took another punch to the guts on Sunday night with their tough loss to Manly.
The club’s disastrous start to the year, winless from seven matches, is now at the point of being a joke — as shown by the honest response from the live studio audience watching on during Fox League’s Sunday Night with Matty Johns show.
With popular NRL personalities Johns, Nathan Hindmarsh and Bryan Fletcher speaking to Manly’s Jake Trbojevic after the Sea Eagles’ 22-16 win in Campbelltown, one response from Trbojevic said it all about the Tigers’ plight.
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The Manly forward was all class in offering his support to the Tigers when asked if he had any “sadness or empathy” for his Round 8 opponents.
Unfortunately, NRL fans have been so accustomed to the club being the butt of jokes this year that the live studio audience could only help but laugh when the question was asked.
“I’ve been going for them for the last few weeks,” he said.
“In 2021 we started 0-4 and honestly I nearly thought about retiring. I hope they can get a win soon. I hope they get a win soon because after performances like today, they deserve it.”
He also gave credit to the Tigers for showing some fighting spirit.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but you have to give credit to the Tigers,” he said.
“They dominated field position today. They really wanted it. They came out to play.”
Johns, Hindmarsh and Fletcher also praised some aspects of the Tigers’ performance.
Hindmarsh said the Tigers are beginning to work out the best way to unlock the spark of star hooker Api Koroisau.
Fletcher also noted the Tigers’ defence was impressive at times.
Johns said the Tigers were actually “pretty good”.
It is tough times at the Tigers when the club is praised for chalking up another defeat.
Tigers five-eighth Brandon Wakeham showed particular fight for his club both on and off the field.
He was reportedly involved in a heated argument with Manly forward Joash Aloiai more than an hour after the Sea Eagles’ win.
Aloiai reportedly approached Wakeham after the Tigers player had finished an interview in the players tunnel at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
The Daily Telegraph revealed the pair exchanged heated words on the field during the match — and the situation continued off the field.
According to Nine papers, the conversation off the field threatened to boil over with Aloiai at one point telling his rival to “come around the corner” if he wanted to “talk s**t”.
Aloiai had to be restrained by his teammates and taken back to the shed before Wakeham entered the Sea Eagles sheds to confront the Manly back rower.
Aloiai reportedly took exception to Wakeham’s conduct on the field, where he appeared to taunt Manly debutant Sameula Fainu after Tigers centre Starford To’a crossed for a 64th minute try.
That incident sparked an on-field melee where Fainu’s jersey was removed.
