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Lote Tuqiri of the Tigers scores a try - Source: Getty Images -
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Lote Tuqiri provided the dream start and his team-mates the
fairytale finish as the Wests Tigers came back from the dead to
beat Manly 26-22 in a thriller at the Sydney Football
Stadium.
The Tigers looked gone when trailing 20-4 just before the hour
mark, but four tries in 16 minutes - including Gareth Ellis' first
for the club five minutes from fulltime - capped a stunning
comeback after Tuqiri had scored with his first touch in the NRL in
more than seven years.
While the cheap shots and late hits looked like something from the
1970s - with three Manly players put on report for high shots and
George Rose finishing the game in the sin bin - the Tigers' skill
and razzamatazz looked like something from the future.
The Sea Eagles seemed home and hosed when leading by 16 points, but
on the back of a mounting penalty count and two tries within two
minutes to Blake Ayshford and Liam Fulton, the Tigers were back in
the hunt.
Manly re-gathered their composure and their discipline to halt the
Tigers charge, with Chris Heighington giving away his third penalty
of the night to gift Jamie Lyon an easy two points and the Sea
Eagles an eight-point lead.
But the Tigers were not done with yet - Benji Marshall brilliant in
putting Chris Lawrence over eight minutes from time before a deft
Robbie Farah kick - with his non-preferred right foot - set up
Ellis for the match-winner.
Tuqiri, after more than seven years in rugby union, touched down
after just four minutes to give the 18,421-strong crowd hopes of a
rout, but it was the opposition who soon started piling on the
points.
Michael Robertson got the Sea Eagles' first points when he reeled
in a Jamie Lyon bomb on 25 minutes before Glenn Stewart and then
George Rose - who defied his ample build with a deft left foot step
- scored tries within five minutes of each other to all but bury
the home side.
Manly discipline went out the window after the break with Keiran
Foran and Brent Kite both put on report for high tackles, while
Tony Williams was lucky not to find himself in the sin bin for a
late hit on Fulton in the lead up to Ayshford's try.
The Tigers comeback stunned the visitors before Manly's
frustrations boiled over when Rose was binned for a high tackle
which sparked a melee on the fulltime siren.
Tuqiri admitted he was blowing pretty hard by the end of the
game, while also showing concern for Manly fullback Brett Stewart
who is set to miss two to six weeks with a knee injury after
putting his body on the line to tackle the dual international late
in the game.
As for the try, Tuqiri was still in shock.
"A dream start - I couldn't have asked to anything more," Tuqiri
said.
"I couldn't believe it - we called the play to go short side off
the scrum, we practiced it all week, and it came off. I don't know
if I would have caught that in the 80th minute but luckily I was
still fresh."
While Tuqiri claimed he was nervous before the game, Marshall said
his new teammate was more than ready for is return.
"He was jumping around telling me what to do, telling me what he
wanted, telling me to make him look good, he's just like Wendell
(Sailor)," Marshall said.
"It's like Wendell's come back with dreads and not that big an
arse.
"Every chance he got he was calling for it - I've got a sore left
ear from him out wide."
Coach Tim Sheens praised his side's commitment in sticking to the
gameplan.
"We came back and we started to play a bit of Wests Tigers footy
which is moving the ball, even in our own half," he said.
"We worried Manly's edges and we got back-to-back tries and that
really turned it."
Manly coach Des Hasler admitted the game was one that got
away.
"Credit to this side they clawed their way back in but at 20-4 at
halftime, you don't lose the game of footy," Hasler said.
"But they scored some pretty spectacular tries."
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