An inspirational performance by Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau helped deliver the first win under new coach Benji Marshall against a stunned Sharks outfit at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night.
Koroisau produced two try assists and five tackle breaks, while running 106 metres from dummy half and making 42 tackles before coming from the field with 12 minutes remaining as the Tigers triumphed 32-6.
Marshall revealed after the match that Koroisau had been affected by a gastro bug in the lead up to the match and was in discomfort but was never going to miss the game.
“Before the game he could hardly walk and had no energy, so for him to punch out what he did in the game shows how much his teammates mean to him and that’s why he’s the skipper,” Marshall said of Koroisau.
Cheered on by a crowd of 15,990, the Tigers scored 32 unanswered points to deliver Cronulla’s first loss of the season in a triumph built on scrambling defence and relentless offloading in attack.
The Sharks finished the match with just one available player on the interchange but they were unable to match the enthusiasm and desperation of the young Tigers, led by fullback Jahream Bula and five-eighth Lachlan Galvin.
Bula scored two tries, while Galvin produced three of his side’s 18 offloads as the back-to-back wooden-spooners turned entertainers in just Marshall’s second match in charge.
