2007 Wests Tigers season

The 2007 Wests Tigers season was the 8th in the joint-venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing in 9th position and failing to reach the play-offs.

Season summary

The Wests Tigers had a poor start to the season, losing their first four matches (three of them by very narrow margins.) The Tigers finally won their first game of the season in Round 5 against Cronulla Sharks, at Campbelltown Stadium, by 2 points in golden point extra time. Although Benji Marshall again injured a shoulder in round 8, the Tigers continued winning through to round 12 when they lost to Parramatta by 30 points. Injuries to key players continued throughout the season - Benji Marshall out for eleven rounds, Brett Hodgson out for seven rounds with a fractured cheek, and Todd Payten, Paul Whatuira and Bryce Gibbs all missing several games.

After spending sixteen rounds in the top eight, the Tigers dropped down to ninth position when they lost to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 24. Facing the Newcastle Knights (a team desperate to avoid the wooden spoon in their own horror season) in the last match of the regular season, the Tigers needed to win and then hope the Broncos lost to the Eels to regain a position in the eight. Although they led twice in the game by a margin of twelve points, the Tigers' finished an inconsistent season on a disappointing loss to the Knights, 24–26 at Telstra Stadium, and in 9th position on the ladder.

2007 Season results

2007 Season Results
Round	Opponent	Result	Date	Venue	Crowd	Referee	Position/16
1	Melbourne Storm	Loss	16 March 2007	Olympic Park (A)	13,535	Sean Hampstead	10th
		18 - Storm (Tries: Jeremy Smith, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: Cameron Smith 3)  16 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Moodie, Harrison, Whatuira; Goals: Marshall 2)
2	Manly Sea Eagles	Loss	24 March 2007	Leichhardt Oval (H)	15,185	Tony Archer	11th
		8 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah; Goals: Marshall 2)  19 - Sea Eagles (Tries: Watmough, Robertson, Haldon; Goals: Lyon 3; Field Goals: Monaghan)
3	Parramatta Eels	Loss	30 March 2007	Parramatta Stadium (A)	18,142	Steve Clark	14th
		22 - Eels (Tries: Reddy, Tim Smith, Mateo; Goals: Burt 5)  20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Galloway, Harrison, Marshall; Goals: Marshall 4) in golden point extra time.
4	North Queensland Cowboys	Loss	7 April 2007	Dairy Farmers Stadium (A)	21,879	Jarred Maxwell	15th
		25 - Cowboys (Tries: Graham 2, Sweeney, Bowen; Goals: Thurston 4; Field Goals: Bowen)  24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry, Farah, Collis, Whatuira; Goals: Marshall 4)
5	Cronulla Sharks	Win	15 April 2007	Campbelltown Stadium (H)	17,566	Sean Hampstead	14th
		14 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry, Marshall; Goals: Marshall 3)  12 - Sharks (Tries: Simmons, Bird; Goals: Covell 2) in golden point extra time.
6	Bye						13th
7	Bulldogs	Win	27 April 2007	Telstra Stadium (A)	18,066	Shayne Hayne	9th
		18 - Bulldogs (Tries: Mason, Williams, El Masri; Goals: El Masri 3)  34 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Collis 2, Morris, Marshall, Fitzhenry, Heighington; Goals: Marshall 5)
8	Melbourne Storm	Win	5 May 2007	Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium (H)	19,111	Tony Archer	7th
		30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Farah, Galea; Goals: Collis 7)  12 - Storm (Tries: King, Johnson; Goals: Cameron Smith 2 )
9	St George Illawarra Dragons	Win	13 May 2007	Telstra Stadium (H)	13,625	Ben Cummins	5th
		27 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton 2, Galea, Lawrence, Fitzhenry; Goals: Hodgson 3; Field Goals: Morris)  8 - Dragons (Tries: Stanley; Goals: Head 2)
10	New Zealand Warriors	Win	20 May 2007	Mount Smart Stadium (A)	10,282	Steve Clark	4th
		26 - Warriors (Tries: Vatuvei, Ropati, Mannering, Ah Van, Hohaia; Goals: Martin 3)  30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton, Te'o, Morris, Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 3; Field Goals: Hodgson 7)
11	Penrith Panthers	Win	27 May 2007	CUA Stadium (A)	17,337	Jarred Maxwell	3rd
		24 - Panthers (Tries: Frank Puletua, Gordon, Daniela, Youngquest; Goals: Gordon 2, Wallace 2)  25 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton, Fitzhenry, Lawrence, Galea; Goals: Hodgson 4; Field Goals: Farah)
12	Parramatta Eels	Loss	4 June 2007	Telstra Stadium (H)	22,245	Ben Cummins	5th
		8 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 2)  38 - Eels (Tries: Mateo 2, Grothe, Hayne, Finch, Ben Smith, Burt; Goals: Burt 5)
13	Newcastle Knights	Win	10 June 2007	Energy Australia Stadium (A)	13,609	Sean Hampstead	3rd
		14 - Knights (Tries: Tighe 2, Paterson; Goals: Paterson)  33 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah, Heighington, Collis, Tuiaki, Fulton; Goals: Collis 6; Field Goals: Farah 1)
14	Gold Coast Titans	Loss	17 June 2007	Campbelltown Stadium (H)	13,451	Tony Archer	4th
		14 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira, Lawrence, Tuiaki; Goals: Collis)  16 - Titans (Tries: Rogers 2, Lewis; Goals: Rogers 2)
15	Brisbane Broncos	Loss	25 June 2007	Suncorp Stadium (A)	29,364	Shayne Hayne	6th
		48 - Broncos (Tries: Hunt 3, Hodges 2, Lockyer, Carroll, Shaun Berrigan, Michaels; Goals: Parker 4, Ennis 2)  18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah, Morris, Lawrence; Goals: Farah 3)
16	Canberra Raiders	Win	1 July 2007	Canberra Stadium (A)	12,598	Steve Clark	5th
		16 - Raiders (Tries: Milne 2, Tilse; Goals: Carney 2)  22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira 2, Morris, Lawrence; Goals: Farah 3)
17	Penrith Panthers	Win	6 July 2007	Telstra Stadium (H)	12,395	Ben Cummins	5th
		43 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 3, Payten 2, Flanagan, Ryan, Collis; Goals: Farah 5; Field Goals: Farah)  26 - Panthers (Tries: Pritchard 2, Wallace, Lewis; Goals: Youngquest 5)
18	Manly Sea Eagles	Loss	13 July 2007	Brookvale Oval (A)	15,288	Steve Clark	6th
		34 - Sea Eagles (Tries: Menzies 2, Glen Stewart, Monaghan, Robertson, Bryant; Goals: Orford 5)  4 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Flanagan)
19	New Zealand Warriors	Loss	22 July 2007	Campbelltown Stadium (H)	14,012	Paul Simpkins	8th
		16 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Collis, Heighington, Lawrence, Tuiaki)  28 - Warriors (Tries: Rovelli 2, Ropati, Koopu, Luck; Goals: Witt 4)
20	North Queensland Cowboys	Win	30 July 2007	Leichhardt Oval (H)	17,101	Shayne Hayne	7th
		54 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Harrison 2, Tuiaki, Morris, Hodgson, Heighington, Fitzhenry, Farah, Galea, Halatau; Goals: Hodgson 2, Marshall 4, Farah)  10 - Cowboys (Tries: Justin Smith, Bartlett; Goals: Thurston)
21	Gold Coast Titans	Loss	4 August 2007	Carrara Stadium (A)	17,257	Steve Clark	8th
		30 - Titans (Tries: Cooper, Webster, Delaney, Lewis, Laffranchi; Goals: Delaney 5)  14 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki 2, Lawrence; Goals: Marshall)
22	Sydney Roosters	Loss	10 August 2007	Telstra Stadium (H)	25,166	Tony Archer	8th
		22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah, Fulton, Te'o; Goals: Marshall 5)  26 - Roosters (Tries: Monaghan 2, Roberts 2, Aubusson; Goals: Roberts 3) in golden point extra time.
23	Cronulla Sharks	Win	18 August 2007	Toyota Park (A)	12,964	Paul Simpkins	7th
		29 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry, Marshall, Tuiaki, Hodgson, Lawrence; Goals: Marshall 4; Field Goals: Farah)  28 - Sharks (Tries: Covell 2, Bird, Pomeroy, Taulapapa; Goals: Covell 4)
24	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Loss	26 August 2007	Leichhardt Oval (H)	20,232	Tony Archer	9th
		12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry, Tuiaki; Goals: Marshall 2)  37 - Rabbitohs (Tries: Gordon 2, Asotasi, J Smith, Sutton, Widders; Goals: Williams 6; Field Goals: Williams))
25	Newcastle Knights	Loss	31 August 2007	Telstra Stadium (H)	13,446	Paul Simpkins	9th
		24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall 2, Morris, Lawrence; Goals: Marshall 4)  26 - Knights (Tries: Vuna 2, Paterson, Gidley; Goals: Gidley 5)

2007 Season ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne	24	21	0	3	1	627	277	+350	44
2	Manly-Warringah	24	18	0	6	1	597	377	+220	38
3	North Queensland	24	15	0	9	1	547	618	-71	32
4	Warriors	24	13	1	10	1	593	434	+159	29
5	Parramatta	24	13	0	11	1	573	481	+92	28
6	Bulldogs	24	12	0	12	1	575	528	+47	26
7	South Sydney	24	12	0	12	1	408	399	+9	26
8	Brisbane	24	11	0	13	1	511	476	+35	24
9	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	1	541	561	-20	24
10	Sydney	24	10	1	13	1	445	610	-165	23
11	Cronulla-Sutherland	24	10	0	14	1	463	403	+60	22
12	Gold Coast	24	10	0	14	1	409	559	-150	22
13	St George Illawarra	24	9	0	15	1	431	509	-78	20
14	Canberra	24	9	0	15	1	522	650	-128	20
15	Newcastle	24	9	0	15	1	418	708	-290	20
16	Penrith	24	8	0	16	1	539	607	-68	18

Players Used

As at 22 July 2007:

No. Position Player Brett Hodgson (captain) – FB Shannon McDonnell – FB Shannon Gallant – FB (Debut: Round 19) Daniel Fitzhenry – WG Jason Moodie – WG Beau Ryan – WG (Debut: Round 16) Taniela Tuiaki – WG Chris Lawrence – CE Dean Collis – CE Paul Whatuira – CE Danny Galea – CE (Debut: Round 8) Benji Marshall – FE John Morris – HB (Debut: Round 1)

No. Position Player Bryce Gibbs – PR Ryan O'Hara – PR Todd Payten – PR Jarrod Saffy – PR Robbie Farah – HK Stuart Flanagan – HK Keith Galloway – SR Dene Halatau – SR Bronson Harrison – SR Ben Te'o – SR (Debut: Round 9) Liam Fulton – LK Ben Galea – LK Chris Heighington – LK

Gains and losses

2007 Player Movements
Gains		Losses
Player	Previous Club	Player	New Club
John Morris	Parramatta Eels	Jamahl Lolesi	Huddersfield Giants
Peter Lewis	Parramatta Eels	John Skandalis	Huddersfield Giants
Danny Galea	Penrith Panthers	Shane Elford	Huddersfield Giants
Tom Haberecht	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Anthony Laffranchi	Gold Coast Titans
Luke Harlen	Cronulla Sharks	Scott Prince	Gold Coast Titans
Jason Moodie	Cessnock	Sam Harris	NSW Waratahs
		Michael Crockett	New Zealand Warriors
		Isaac de Gois	Cronulla Sharks
		Rangi Chase	St. George Illawarra Dragons