Adam Doueihi has produced his best performance in a Tigers jersey to help his undermanned side to a stunning 32-14 upset against the previously unbeaten Warriors.
MATCH CENTRE: Warriors v Tigers, stats, scores, live blog
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Despite being under an injury cloud this week with a hamstring issue, Doueihi passed all the fitness tests to line up at halfback. Not only did he play, he was the best afield.
Leading the team around the park in the absence of usual halves partner Jarome Luai, Doueihi was sensational.
He created two Tigers tries from nothing, slicing through the Warriors’ defence before finding an open man to score.
One of those was to rookie winger Tino Tavana, who was strong on debut.
Doueihi himself finished with 226 metres, five tackle busts, two try assists, two line breaks and a line break assist.
Coach Benji Marshall will not only be rapt with the final scoreline and keeping a dangerous Warriors side to just 14 points, but the fact his group fought back from an early 10-0 hole.
It looked as if the Warriors would race away for another dominant win, but these aren’t the Tigers of old.
The visitors rallied back with three tries in six minutes to end the first half and take a 16-10 lead into the break.
The Warriors enjoyed most of the ball and attacking opportunities early in the second half, but the Tigers held tough.
It wouldn’t be until the 60th minute when the next try was scored, when Doueihi’s big run set up a Jahream Bula four pointer.
When Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad crossed for his second with ten minutes to go, the Warriors had life but the Tigers thwarted any comeback with two late tries.
Adam Doueihi and Jahream Bula linked up for a crucial try which gave the Tigers a 12pt lead.Source: FOX SPORTS
BIG HITS (David Lyall – Newswire)
Tino try time
The Tigers might have found another young star with 21-year-old winger Faaletino ‘Tino’ Tavana impressing mightily on debut, lighting up the game with a stunning eight minute effort at the end of the first half.
First Tavana scored out wide following a nice run by Doueihi, then he twice won high ball contests with veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, that earned possession and led to tries to Kai Pearce-Paul and Royce Hunt.
Tavana has come through the Wests Tigers pathway, playing both NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup in 2025 to earn a train and trial contract for 2026.
Warriors caught napping
Ali Leiataua was dropped to NSW Cup pre-game, with Taine Tuaupiki coming back into the side at fullback and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad moving to right centre, and it took just nine minutes for the latter two to combine for the Warriors first try.
Then Tanah Boyd continued his great run of form, sending Jacob Laban through a yawning gap between Heamasi Makasini and Madden for the Warriors’ second to lead 10-0 after 16 minutes.
Then they fell asleep and never really woke up.
Luke relief
Despite the loss, Warriors’ fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief with star half Luke Metcalf showing no signs of the ACL injury suffered in round 17 last year.
Metcalf, who returned three weeks earlier than originally scheduled, moved confidently with the ball, kicked well and was committed in defence, although his missed tackle on Doueihi in the first half led to the Tigers’ first try.
Tanah Boyd maintained the role as the Warriors’ general, the competition’s form half guiding the team around the park and allowing Metcalf to pick his moments to inject himself into the game.
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