WHILE most footballers complain of the torture of an off-season, they can at least be reassured that it could be worse; Wests Tigers' new recruit Lote Tuqiri's off-season will consist not of a long grind, but a long flight.
Tuqiri, once named TBA by Queensland to find a way around a loophole during his first stint in the NRL with Brisbane, will today find another quirky selection story when he is named for the Tigers for their round-one clash against Manly next Monday while he is about 39,000 feet above the Middle East.
Tag:lote tuqiri
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''You can score all the tries in the world but the one thing they really need to pick up is their defence,'' Tuqiri told the Herald from Leicester before his final rugby game with the Guinness Premiership leaders this weekend. ''That's only [said] from a long way away but if we can get that right, anything is possible.'' Lote Tuqiri's interest in pursuing a short-term overseas rugby union contract during the off-season appears to be the sticking point in the dual international finalising an NRL return with Wests Tigers. The Tigers issued a statement on Thursday denying they had come to terms with the Fijian-born flyer, with chief executive Stephen Humphreys saying the club would be complying with an NRL edict that players weren't allowed to have guest stints with other codes when under a rugby league contract.
A link to the full interview can be found at the bottom of this article.
The first week of the off-season didn’t leave Wests Tigers fans disappointed. Farah selected for Australia Robbie Farah was selected for the Australian squad that sets off to Europe to challenge New Zealand, England and France in the Four Nations tournament. Whilst Robbie will play backup to first-choice hooker Cameron Smith, with Tim Sheens as coach it’s likely Farah will be used where ever possible.
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WestsTigersForum.com understands that Lote Tuqiri will arrive in Sydney early on Wednesday morning. Whilst exact details are still being sought, Lote is expected to be landing at either 6:05am or 7:25am. 
AMID the hoopla surrounding Wests Tigers' acquisition of Lote Tuqiri comes a reality check. Tuqiri's arrival at Concord Oval promises to light up further a back line of unquestionable pizzazz and scoring potential, but the dual international says the Tigers must improve the other major dimension of their game if they are to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since their premiership year of 2005.
Wests Tigers CEO Stephen Humphreys was interviewed on Saturday afternoon on 2SM’s Talkin' Sport and spoke about the Wests Tigers’ latest signings and plans for 2010.
If Wests Tigers fans thought that last week was about as exciting as it got during the off-season, then they were surely mistaken as the last few days have definitely taken the cake. A key signing, the announcement of more homes games in 2010 and rumblings of some big news/signings makes this Friday Wrap something special.