Round 11 of the Telstra NRL premiership saw the Wests Tigers travel to Newcastle on the back of a short turnaround to take on the Newcastle Knights in a must-win clash with both sides currently out of the top 8. Newcastle entered the match coming off a strong win against the Sydney Roosters while the Tigers preparation was anything but smooth, coming off the back of what can only be described as a “heartless” 50-10 flogging at the hands of arch-rivals South Sydney last Sunday. Neither side was at full strength for this match, with the Tigers losing Blake Ayshford and Liam Fulton against Souths to join Keith Galloway, Tim Moltzen and Taniela Tuiaki on the sidelines.

Round 7 of the Telstra NRL Premiership saw the Wests Tigers travel to their biggest hoodoo ground – CUA Stadium to take on arch-rivals, and bogey team, the Penrith Panthers. Both sides were locked on 8 competition points entering this match, however the Panthers were arguably in better form coming off 3 straight wins while the Tigers were hurting after coming off a 24-4 loss to the Bulldogs and facing several injury concerns, particularly over captain Robbie Farah who tore the medial ligament in his elbow against the Bulldogs. The Tigers did welcome back prop Keith Galloway while the Panthers were at full strength.

Josh Rakic-SMH | October 11, 2009

New Zealand skipper Benji Marshall has sent an ominous warning to Tigers teammate Robbie Farah as the two prepare to face off against each other for the first time in their careers: friendship means nothing.

Farah is all but set to make his international debut after being selected in Tim Sheens's touring squad for this month's Four Nations. But Marshall told The Sun-Herald should the two meet he'll be doing everything in his power to make sure his club captain's experience is just as painful as his ill-fated State of Origin II match for the Blues this year.

Farah's Blues pain drove him to greater heights

Glenn Jackson | October 10, 2009

THERE'S been something gnawing at Robbie Farah's gut far more ferociously than nerves or even the kebabs that bear his name. Searching for some sort of atonement since being dropped from the NSW side before it won game three of the Origin series, the hooker got it this week when he edged out the player who took his Blues place, Michael Ennis, for the Australian squad.

''After my second [Origin] game, I was pretty disappointed in my own performance, and not getting the chance in the third Origin to redeem myself hurt a bit,'' Farah said. ''I'm a tougher judge on myself than anybody else can be, and I was pretty disappointed in myself.