Tigers rid themselves of wooden spoon … and turn up heat on Seibold

Wests Tigers fans can sleep soundly after their team officially relinquished the NRL wooden spoon with a 26-12 win that heaped more pressure on Manly coach Anthony Seibold at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

After finishing last in seasons 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Tigers are now eight competition points clear of last-placed Gold Coast with three rounds to play.

With nine victories in the bank, coach Benji Marshall has steered the Tigers to their best season since 2019, when they won 11 games.

They have climbed to 11th on the ladder, four points adrift of the top eight. While they are still mathematically in contention for the play-offs, they would need a miraculous sequence of results to be playing beyond round 27.

Marshall said afterwards it was important that his team backed up their last-start 28-14 trouncing of Canterbury with a similarly strong performance.

“I thought we toughed out and played some pretty high-quality footy … the last couple of weeks we’ve found what works for us in our style and the way we need to play,” he said.

“As a coach, I’ve probably learnt the most in the last couple of weeks about our team than I have throughout my whole career, so I’m excited.”

Tigers captain Jarome Luai said it was pleasing to be able to “give our fans something to cheer about” after multiple lean seasons.

“They’ve been with us through the highs and lows, through all the years, and we’re giving them something to cheer about now,” he said.

“So it’s given us energy and obviously three rounds to go this season, and we want to gun for that top-eight spot.

“So we’re on a good course, but we’ve got to start it again next week.”

While fans of the joint-venture club are entitled to be delighted by their progress – especially after the saga that resulted in the mid-season release of Lachlan Galvin – there will be little for Manly to celebrate from 2025.

On Sunday, they suffered a fourth consecutive defeat, and while they are equal on points with the Tigers and ahead of them on for-and-against, they appear to be trending in the opposite direction.

In the past four games, the Sea Eagles have scored only six tries, and they were no match for the Tigers’ energy and enthusiasm.

While Manly chairman and owner Scott Penn has declared the club is “sticking solid” behind Seibold, their form over the past month must be a concern, irrespective of an injury toll that has badly affected the Sea Eagles’ pack.

Among their big-name forwards who have been sidelined are Jake Trbojevic, Taniela Paseka, Haumole Olakau’atu, Lachlan Croker, Josh Aloiai and Nathan Brown.

“Unfortunately, we’re probably missing some of our key guys, particularly some of our bigger bodies,” Seibold said.

“I felt as though we got beaten up in the middle today, so we’re probably just seeing the impact of that ... when we’re at somewhere near our best, we can compete with anyone.

“But we were way off today and we lost the battle and that’s reality. That’s the harsh truth.

“We lost the battle there in the middle. I can bullshit you, but that’s where we lost it.And so, yeah, that’s disappointing.”

Despite the absentees, Manly scored in the opening minute, spinning the ball to centre Tolutau Koula, who beat five defenders in a weaving 30-metre sprint to the tryline. It was Koula’s 15th try of the season.

Wests hit back 10 minutes later when prop Terrell May off-loaded close to the line, fullback Jahream Bula flicked it on and halfback Adam Doueihi scored next to the posts.

Doueihi had a major hand in propelling the Tigers into the lead in the 33rd minute, firing a bullet pass to centre Starford To’a, who created enough space for winger Jeral Skelton to outpace Manly’s cover defence and score in the corner.

Adding to the Sea Eagles’ concerns, centre Reuben Garrick was replaced midway through the first half with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.

Seibold said afterwards that Garrick “heard a crack” in his shoulder as he was tackled.

The Sea Eagles were left frustrated in the 54th minute when Tommy Talau, who replaced Garrick, burrowed over from dummy-half, only for the video referee to issue a no-try ruling because of a double movement.

Within a minute, the Tigers made them pay when they swung the ball from right to left, and winger Sunia Turuva stepped through for his 11th four-pointer of the season.

A try from Turuva’s centre partner, Taylan May, in the 62nd minute left Manly facing a daunting 24-6 scoreline.

A barging try from prop Matt Lodge in the penultimate minute provided Manly with some consolation.

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