Written by Oliver Kellner-Dunk
Over the last two weeks the Wests Tigers have found themselves back in the unenviable spot of wooden spoon favourites.
Following a horrid 2022 that saw them finish last for the first time in club history the Tigers recruited well on paper but after just four games find themselves back at the bottom of the ladder without a win so far this season.
The only other team in the competition that was yet to win a game were the Parramatta Eels but they have broken their losing streak in a big way by defeating their local rivals and defending premiers the Penrith Panthers in golden point last Thursday, not to mention the fact that they have been competitive and came close to winning their other three games which cannot be said about the Tigers.
After putting in a poor performance against fellow 2022 bottom-four side the Gold Coast Titans the Tigers lost to the Newcastle Knights who, despite their victory, did not play well before Tim Sheens side lost to the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in a high-scoring contest where it looked as though they had begun to gel towards the end of the game.
Unfortunately the Tigers would not be able to build upon that in round four as they were beaten by the Melbourne Storm after showing some promising signs in the first half.
In the end Melbourne would still only win by two converted tries but by the time the 80 minutes were up the Tigers looked the far weaker side which has also further cemented their place as wooden spoon favourites as they are now outright last on the ladder.
Over the past couple of seasons the Tigers have tried to rebuild their squad and with a new coaching staff for 2023 it seemed that something would change but so far that has not been the case.
To make matters worse marquee signings Isaiah Papali’i and Apisai Koroisau have not played to expectations as of yet.
Round five will not get any easier for the Tigers either as they take on the only undefeated team left, the Brisbane Broncos who are riding high after an historic derby win against The Dolphins.
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