The Wests Tigers have secured their first victory in the NRL Telstra Women's Premiership, coming from behind to beat the Eels 36-8 at CommBank Stadium.
A strong return game from captain Botille Vette-Welsh, who scored a try and set up two against her former side, set up the victory while new recruit Sarah Togatuki was immense up front with a decisive four-pointer in the second half.
The Eels led 8-4 at half-time through a double to Fay before the injection of Wests Tigers young gun Losana Lutu sparked the joint venture.
Wests Tigers ran in six tries in the final 20 minutes to secure the win with Leianne Tufuga and Jakiya Whitfield grabbing a double each.
Earlier, it took just six minutes for Vette-Welsh to let her former club and the competition know she is back.
Botille Vette-Welsh try 6th minute
After six months on the sideline with an ACL injury, the fullback crossed for a trademark try set up by another former Eel in Emily Curtain.
It continued to be all Wests Tigers to start with, but the blue and gold found their way into the game in the 17th minute through winger Zali Fay, who plucked a nice kick off Pihuka Berryman-Duff to stroll over and level up the game.
Jakiya Whitfeld try 66th minute
Fay was back for more six minutes later, picking up a first-half double but that’s where their joy ended for Dean Widders' side, whose last-play options struggled without Rachael Pearson, who was ruled out 24 hours with a calf injury.
Six second half tries in 18 minutes helped Brett Kimmorley's side enjoy their first-ever win in the NRLW.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
Match snapshot
- The Eels lost key recruits Rachael Pearson and Elsie Albert to calf injuries pre-game in a double blow for the side.
- Wests Tigers had seven former Eels players in their 2023 squad.
- Botille Vette-Welsh scored the Wests Tigers' first-ever try while Pauline Piliae-Rasabale kicked the club's first-ever goal.
- Vette-Welsh was enormous for the Wests Tigers in her return from an ACL injury, setting up four tries.
- Wests Tigers had eight linebreaks to three in the victory.
- West Tigers finished the game with 59 percent possession and a completion rate of 71 percent
- Wests Tigers’ Emily and Sophie Curtain became the first twins to line up in the NRLW for the same team.
- For the Eels, sisters Kennedy Cherrington and Rueben Cherrington laced up alongside each other for their second season together in the NRLW
Play of the game
Wests Tigers prop Sarah Togatuki proved the difference all afternoon with her hard-running try in the second half setting up the game. The 2021 Karyn Murphy medal winner produced a trademark charge up the middle to the line and the attack flowed off the back of her efforts.
Don't get in Sarah Togatuki's way!
What they said
"It’s very exciting for us in our inaugural year – this is our first game so a lot of history already created. But now to have our first win straight away is very pleasing. The players have worked extremely hard, worked their backsides off in the pre-season over seven tough weeks. They’ve bought into everything we’ve sold them and asked them to do, and I think that performance there is a huge pat on the back for them." - Wests Tigers coach Brett Kimmorley.
“We didn’t manage the game in that tough period after half-time. We competed there for a bit but then we didn’t finish our sets with good kicks. And as fatigue set in we made some really poor decisions defensively and got soft around the middle. They went nearly 16 minutes holding the ball and we didn’t know how to turn that around. There’s a bit of a lack of experience at the moment but our girls are learning quickly what it takes to play at this level. If you don’t keep competing and pushing hard, it can get embarrassing for you – and I think we were a little embarrassed out there with how it ended up.” - Eels coach Dean Widders.
NRLW Press Conference: Eels v Wests Tigers - Round 1, 2023
What's next
The Eels will hit the road for a clash against the Dragons at WIN Stadium. They'll hope to have Rachael Pearson (calf) back on deck but she's no guarantee while Elsie Albert is also unlikely to line up against her old side. Wests Tigers turn their attention to the Sharks at Belmore Sports Ground.