After an excruciating 14 months on the sideline with his third knee reconstruction, Adam Doueihi returned in style to lead Wests Tigers to a 48-24 win over the Raiders on Sunday at Campbelltown Stadium.
In his first game in the top grade since Round 6 last year, Doueihi came up with a try, 212 run metres and five tackle breaks while young gun Lachlan Galvin grabbed a double and ran for 181 metres.
On the back of a Jahream Bula mistake the Tigers were under pressure early but Brent Naden turned defence into attack when he took an intercept and ran 65 metres before the ball went to Galvin, who brushed through a Jordan Rapana tackle to score in just the fourth minute.
Just five minutes later the Tigers were over the line again but Bula lost control of the ball as he tried to get it down and the Raiders survived but the reprieve was short lived.
Lachlan Galvin 1st Try
Handed field position again by a Rapana error the Tigers grabbed their second when debutant Luke Laulilii went to dummy half 10 metres out and embarrassed the Raiders defence as he powered over. Api Koroisau's conversion made it 12-0 after 11 minutes.
The home side looked to have a third try through Koroisau courtesy of a miracle pass by Samuela Fainu in the 16th minute but replays showed Aidan Sezer had knocked on while leaping for a bomb in the lead-up.
A trysaver by Rapana denied Doueihii in the 21st minute before Zac Woolford manager to hold up Sione Fainu in the 26th minute as the Raiders were forced to defend waves of attack from a confident Tigers outfit.
Adam Doueihi Try
With five minutes remaining in the half it was Sione Fainu powering past Danny Levi and Emre Guler to extend the Tigers' lead to 18-0.
The Raiders threatened late in the half through Kaeo Weekes and Hudson Young to give them hope of a comeback and they closed the gap to 18-2 with a penalty goal to Rapana after the half-time siren.
In their first set of the second half the Tigers had the Campbelltown Stadium in raptures when they pushed the ball left and Bula found space before finding Solomona Faataape in support, the winger picking up Doueihi and finally Galvin to finish off a magnificent team try.
With their confidence sky high the Tigers had another one three minutes later when Koroisau swooped on a loose ball and got a pass to Bula who streaked away to make it 30-2.
The Raiders finally found a try in the 48th minute when Levi burrowed over from dummy half but any thoughts of a revival were snuffed out when Stefano Utoikamanu powered over from close range to make it 36-8 to Benji Marshall's men.
Danny Levi Try
Young gun Galvin added to his highlight reel in the 58th minute when he put in a deft grubber for Koroisau to score and at 42-8 the Tigers were in party mode with their fourth win of the season seemingly secured.
With Alex Seyfarth sin binned in the 63rd minute for a professional foul the Raiders took advantage immediately with Nick Cotric crossing wide out to cut the margin to 30 points.
Ethan Strange Try
Just three minutes later Weekes used his superior speed to rip the Tigers defence open and swerve around Bula to pull it back to 42-18.
A scramble from a high ball in the 69th minute resulted in a try to Ethan Strange and the Tigers were suddenly looking nervous at 42-24 befpre Doeihi capped a remarkable return to the big time with a runaway intercept try to ice the Tigers' fourth win of the season.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
Match Snapshot
- Wests Tigers centre Adam Doueihi played his first NRL game since Round 6 last year.
- The Raiders came up with six errors in the first half and completed at just 72 per cent.
- Tigers No.6 Lachlan Galvin came up with two tries, 181 run metres and seven tackle breaks in an impressive return from a hand injury.
- Raiders back-rower Hudson Young came up with nine tackle breaks and 91 run metres as he bounced back from the disappointment of being overlooked for Origin Two.
- The last time the Tigers beat the Raiders at Campbelltown Stadium was Round 16, 2014 when a Braith Anasta field goal secured a 19-18 win.
Weekes slices through
- Luke Laulilii made his NRL debut for the Tigers alongside his brother Kit, who was in the second NRL match of his career.
- Wests Tigers back-rower Samuela Fainu ran for 110 metres and broke three tackles as well as making 36 tackles.
- A crowd of 10,106 was on hand at Campbelltown Stadium.
- Wests Tigers forward Alex Seyfarth was sent to the sin bin in the 63rd minute for a professional foul.
- Raiders winger Nick Cotric came up with a game high 11 tackle breaks.
Jahream Bula Try
Plays of the Game
It took Lachlan Galvin just four minutes to stamp his class in the game as he demanded the ball from 20 metres out and surged through some lazy Raiders defence to post the Tigers' opening try. After battling a hand injury for a few weeks and then being rested by coach Benji Marshall last week, Galvin relished his return to the field and made it a double in the 41st minute when he finished off a stunning team try that featured brilliant lead-up work by Jahream Bula, Solomona Faataape and Adam Doueihi.
Lachlan Galvin 2nd Try
What they Said
"After a win it's easy to drop your bundle and relax and I thought they took it to another level this week at training and then out on the field, the way they executed, field position, the game plan. Everyone knows what Lachie [Galvin] offers, he showed that from the outset when he runs the footy he is pretty dangerous. And then you throw in a guy like Adam Doueihi, who has been out 14 months and first game in first grade he does what he does today. That's class and it's a big effort. Whether the result is there or not, to see him play the way he did today with his intent, wanting the footy, that's pretty big." - Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall
Wests Tigers: Round 16
"We're not a tough football team at the moment. Tough teams pull it back [after the opposition gets on a roll]. The fact we scored three tries when Alex Seyfarth was off, don't see that as any kind of praise. If we can't score tries against 12 men then we're in a bad position. I just said to the boys, don't get too excited about the fact we scored a couple of tries in the back end, the game was over, they took their foot off the intensity and they had 12 men." - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart
Raiders: Round 16
What's Next
The Tigers face a tough assignment against the Roosters at Allianz Stadium in Round 17 while the Raiders will look to bounce back when they travel to Melbourne to tackle the Storm at AAMI Park.