Round 4 of the Telstra NRL premiership saw the Wests Tigers travel to the SFS to take on arch rivals the Sydney Roosters. The Tigers entered this match with all sorts of injury problems as Gareth Ellis, Liam Fulton, Chris Lawrence, Lote Tuqiri, Rob Lui and Beau Ryan were all out with injury. To complicate matters further, captain Robbie Farah was playing with a persistent groin injury and it was revealed during the week that he would require surgery to correct the problem.

Needless to say it would be a massive ask of the Tigers to get a win in this match, however they did welcome back prop Bryce Gibbs from injury to help bolster the forward pack. The Roosters on the other hand were looking to bounce back to form after back to back losses however they fielded a nearly full strength team for this match.

Round 8 of the Telstra NRL premiership saw the Wests Tigers travel to Canberra to take on the Raiders in what shaped up as a somewhat desperate match for both sides at this early stage of the season. The Raiders entered this match on the back of a 6 match match losing streak and with most of their well regarded players out of form while for the Tigers they came into today’s match having lost their last 2 matches in a row. It proved a dramatic week in Tigertown for other reasons as well, with coach Tim Sheens the subject of much media speculation as the Penrith Panthers offered him big money to leave the Tigers, only for the Tigers to revise their offer to Sheens, which resulted in him signing on as head coach for a further 3 seasons late in the week.

In another blow for the Tigers, they lost defensive workhorse Bryce Gibbs to injury which resulted in Ben Murdoch-Masila being promoted to the bench in his first match for the season. The Tigers did welcome back fullback Wade McKinnon which resulted in Tim Moltzen moving to the centres to partner Blake Ayshford while Mitch Brown shifted to the wing with Beau Ryan dropping to the interchange bench. Al Schirnack also returned to the Tigers bench this week after overcoming a shoulder injury. The Raiders had no injury concerns entering this match.

Round 5 of the Telstra NRL premiership saw the Wests Tigers travel to the SFS to take on arch rivals the South Sydney for the first heritage round of the season. The Tigers entered this match with several key players still sitting on the sidelines due to injury, but they were boosted by the return of international backrower Gareth Ellis who returned from an ankle injury. This resulted in Alan Schirnack dropping back to the bench while young prop Aaron Woods returned to the Toyota Cup for this week.
South Sydney entered the match in a stronger position with a full strength side which included the return of international forward Sam Burgess. Souths were aiming for 3 straight wins heading into tonights match while the Tigers were coming off a defeat at the hands of the Sydney Roosters. The Tigers were again given little hope of winning this match given their injury toll, but just how the Tigers would respond was the question every Tigers fan wanted to know.

Benji Marshall has pulled through Thursday's training session and is looking more likely to play in Friday night's game against he Eels. Tim Sheens will give Benji until an hour before kickoff to prove his fitness.