Saturday slate: Wests Tigers v Cowboys; Dragons v Storm; Panthers v Sharks

64 min: Scott Drinkwater drifts across field but telegraphs his pass and it is picked off by Luke Laulilii who sprints 70 metres in front of a packed hill to surely put the game out of reach. Adam Doueihi converts. Wests Tigers 40-16.

60 min: A third try in 14 minutes for the Cowboys as they chance their hand on the last tackle and Scott Drinkwater sends a superb long ball to Tom Chester who shows pace and footwork to get over the line. Jake Clifford converts. Wests Tigers 34-16.

58 min: So close for the Cowboys as Jake Clifford climbs high to bring down a bomb and offloads to Griffin Neame who gets over the line but Sunia Turuva and Luke Laulilii scramble back to hold up the front-rower.

56 min: Jake Clifford kicks ahead and Jaxon Purdue does the rest as the Cowboys snare their second of the day. Clifford sprays the conversion. Wests Tigers 34-10.

55 min: Another win on a captain's challenge for the Cowboys after Reed Mahoney was pinged for a strip but replays showed he had not played at the ball and Alex Twal had simply lost it.

52 min: Jarome Luai aims his grubber kick at the upright and the ball bounces back off the pads straight into his arms for a four-pointer that has the 17,000-strong crowd in raptures. Adam Doueihi converts. Wests Tigers 34-6.

51 min: A huge play from Adam Doueihi as he collects a grubber in his own in-goal and beats four defenders to get the ball back into the field of play.

51 min: The Cowboys challenge a knock-on call against Sam McIntyre and come up trumps when the bunker backs the forward's assertion that he never touched the ball.

47 min: The Cowboys start the long climb back as Scott Drinkwater puts Braidon Burns over in the corner but Jake Clifford fails to convert. Wests Tigers 28-6.

45 min: Matt Lodge and Alex Twal trade errors as both sides make a sloppy start to the second term.

42 min: An early chance for the Cowboys with Matt Lodge the unlikely man to put in a grubber but he interferes with Jahream Bula as the Tigers fullback covers up the ball and a penalty follows.

Slashing Samuela: Wests Tigers back-rower Samuela Fainu had six tackle breaks and 127 run metres to go with a try as he ran amok on the left edge.

Half-time: The Tigers sat out Round 1 but the wait was worth it for their devoted fans who soaked up every minute of the first-half onslaught. With 65 per cent of possession and 10 more sets with the ball the Tigers ran in five tries as Jarome Luai laid on three tries and toyed with the flimsy Cowboys defence.

39 min: The Tigers head to the sheds on a massive high after Jahream Bula puts Luke Laulilii over in the corner after a sweep to the left from a set scrum. Laulilii has too much speed for Braidon Burns and launches himself into the corner. Adam Doueihi nails the extras from touch. Wests Tigers 28-2.

35 min: Jarome Luai again shows his class with a perfectly weighted grubber for Kai Pearce-Paul to trail through and grab his second try for the afternoon. Adam Doueihi adds the extras. Wests Tigers 22-2.

32 min: A clever scrum move by the Tigers but Luke Laulilii can't control the final pass and the Cowboys are off the hook.

30 min: Jarome Luai comes up with a big shot on Heilum Luki who spills the ball and the Tigers launch another raid.

26 min: Adam Doueihi goes to the line and finds Jahream Bula who puts Kai Pearce-Paul into a yawning gap and the Tigers go further ahead. Doueihi fails to convert. Wests Tigers 16-2.

25 min: Heilum Luki is placed on report for a high shot.

24 min: Two six-again calls in a row put the Cowboys in perfect position but Reed Mahoney comes up with a simple error. 

18 min: Jeral Skelton is activated from the six-man bench after Taylan May leaves the field with a shoulder injury.

17 min: The Cowboys concede a soft try as Adam Doueihi waltzes through the Cowboys' middles and embarrasses Jason Taumalolo and Heilum Luki as he plunges over to score. Wests Tigers 12-2.

11 min: Kai O'Donnell is sent to the sin bin after being caught not square at marker and the Tigers punish the 12-man Cowboys immediately with Jarome Luai dancing across field and turning a rampaging Samuela Fainu under and he powers over. Adam Doueihi converts. Wests Tigers 6-2.

9 min: The Cowboys go 90 metres from the kick-off in a powerful set and hand the ball over deep in Tigers territory.

6 min: Api Koroisau is penalised and placed on report for a 'cannonball' tackle on Griffin Neame. The Cowboys opt to take the shot at goal and Jake Clifford knocks it over. Cowboys 2-0.

5 min: Jarome Luai schemes on the left edge and Luke Laulilii gets a chance in the corner but he can't get it down as the Cowboys converge.

4 min: The Cowboys will take plenty of confidence out of defending three repeat sets on their own line and Tom Dearden clears with a long kick.

Late Mail

Wests Tigers: No game day changes for Benji Marshall.

Cowboys: Rep forward Reuben Cotter is a late withdrawal from the side for personal reasons so Kai O'Donnell starts art at lock. Griffin Neame has also been elevated to the starting side, which sees Coen Hess move back to the interchange. 

Numbers Game

• Wests Tigers have won three of their last four games at Leichhardt Oval.
• The Cowboys have won their last five games against the Tigers.
• Wests Tigers fullback Jahream Bula has scored seven tries in seven games at Leichhardt.
• Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi has scored 10 tries in his last seven games against the Tigers.

 

Dragons v Storm at WIN Stadium

Late Mail

Dragons: Hame Sele has come into the starting side in a game day swap with Hamish Stewart as they did in Round 1 in Vegas. Jacob Liddle's return from a hamstring injury has been put on ice for another week, with Damien Cook to wear the No.9 jumper. 

Storm: No late changes for the Storm. Veteran Tui Kamikamica starts at lock in place of Alec MacDonald (concussion), while Jack Hetherington is set for his club debut off the bench. Shawn Blore was also pushing to make his first appearance of the after overcoming an ankle injury but he played NSW Cup on Saturday. 

Numbers Game

• The Dragons have won their last two games against the Storm.
• The Storm have won their last three games at WIN Stadium.
• Dragons winger Christian Tuipulotu has scored six tries in his last five games at WIN Stadium.
• Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes has scored six tries in seven games against the Dragons.
• Dragons centre Valentine Holmes has scored a try in his last three games against the Storm.

 

Panthers v Sharks at Carrington Park, Bathurst