Could the light at the end of the tunnel that is known as the Tigers’ Tunnel of Futility is becoming visible?
They beat the Canterbury Bulldogs, capitalising on a mental error by Bulldogs backrower Greg Eastwood, to post an 18 – 12 win at ANZ Stadium yesterday afternoon.
With five minutes between fulltime and the scores level, the Bulldogs were on the attack in the Tigers’ half when the ball came to Eastwood, who decided to kick ahead on the third tackle.
The ball came down in the arms of James Tedesco, after which the Tigers were able to work it down and score the match winner when Kevin Naiqama snatched a Luke Brooks grubber and sent home almost 20,000 Bulldogs supporters home with an unpleasant aftertaste in their mouths.
The Bulldogs have shared some of the travails of the Tigers this year, as they went into the match equal to Wests in the dubious distinction of scoring the fewest points of any of the 16 teams in the 2017 Telstra NRL Premiership Competition.
That lack of scoring prowess by either side resulted in a game that, as could be expected, made defenses look good and the attackers look incompetent.
The distraction for the Tigers of having Aaron Woods and James Tedesco leaving the club was foremost in the attention of some, but both players stood tall, alleviating any notions of lackluster play on their part.
