First Grade - News & Views

When Junior Moors runs on to the Sydney Football Stadium on Monday, March 15, he will be grateful in more ways than one.

Moors will make his club debut for Wests Tigers after arriving at Concord Oval in November after three years at Penrith, a place close to his heart.

The prop forward is hoping a change in clubs will also bring a change of luck. He played 24 NRL games for Penrith from 2007-2008 before a nasty pre-season injury crippled his season last year.

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Wests Tigers star recruit Lote Tuqiri arrived in Sydney early on Wednesday morning before fronting the media at Concord Oval. A full audio recording of the interview is available for download in mp3 format by clicking here.

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.

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qantasWestsTigersForum.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.
A large media presence is expected.

Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence says the presence of premiership-winning former coach Steve Folkes as the NRL side's conditioner has made them mentally tougher for the season ahead.

Lawrence is relishing Folkes' tough fitness regime as he aims to stay injury free and finally cement a place in the game's representative teams.

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While there has been a lot of hype surrounding the upcoming season for the Wests Tigers, it was surprising that numbers at the Balmain AGM held this morning appeared to be down on previous years. Nevertheless this didn’t prevent a wealth of information being divulged from across a range of topics. Chairman David Trodden was joined by new Wests Tigers CEO Stephen Humphreys and Coach Tim Sheens to answer questions from the members.
Please click “Read More” to read the summary of the meeting.

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Consistency, Consistency, Consistency - This is what the Tigers need for the 2010 season if they are to return to the finals for the first time since their premiership victory in 2005.

The Tigers on their day are one of - if not the - most exciting team in the competition. Their core nucleus of players in Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall, along with notorious speedster Chris Lawrence and the tank Taniela Tuiaki all create havoc for opposition teams. Unfortunately either due to injury or form slumps the Tigers have not been able to create a stable and consistent style of football that puts them in contention for the finals every season.

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Tuqiri_1414871cAMID 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.

''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.''

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