Tigers ‘given no chance’ but stun Roosters in classic

Jasper Bruce | July 6, 2025

Benji Marshall has lauded Wests Tigers’ fighting spirit in a 30-28 upset defeat of the Sydney Roosters that shapes as the coach’s most significant win in charge of the joint venture.

Under fire from all quarters this week amid the exit of gun junior Tallyn Da Silva and a six-game losing streak, the Tigers overcame the absences of Jarome Luai, Api Koroisau and Jahream Bula to ride a stunning 20-0 lead to one of the year’s biggest boilovers.

The Tigers’ first defeat of the Roosters since 2018 puts the joint venture two wins out of the top eight to finish the weekend and helps vindicate Marshall’s claims of improvement – albeit not always in results – during his second year as coach.

“Regardless of the result, just the way the boys turned up today and actually fought, backs against the wall, given no chance, young side, new spine, players out of position,” Marshall said after Sunday’s win at Allianz Stadium.

“We showed for most of that game a lot of the things we’ve been good at for the last four or five weeks. I’m just proud of the boys’ effort.”

Latu Fainu had a career-best game to prove he’s ready to replace Lachie Galvin in the halves, while new back-up hooker Tristan Hope impressed in only his second NRL game by putting Sione Fainu over.

In his first appearance against the Roosters since being inexplicably cut, Tigers prop Terrell May was immense with a team-high 199 run metres.

An admittedly undermanned Roosters side threatened to break the Tigers’ hearts when James Tedesco burrowed over on the left side in the final 20 seconds, helping the Tricolours close to within only two points.

But with seven seconds left, the Roosters were stifled by the Tigers’ defence and the visitors held on.

Despite the win easing pressure on his club, Marshall refused to be satisfied.

“It’s not enough. I’ll be honest, we had a three-try lead there at one stage and let them back in a little bit,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to win, but if we just keep accepting that, then that’s where we’ll be at. I think there’s a lot more upside in us and a lot more things we can improve on.”

Tigers centre Starford To’a sneaked an offload out from under three defenders to put winger Charlie Staines over down the short-side for the game’s first points.

Caught napping by that try, the Roosters were asleep at the wheel again when Hugo Savala spilt the ball cold on halfway, allowing Latu Fainu to regather and sprint to the line.

Hope’s flat ball to bench forward Sione Fainu made it a 20-point game and gave Tigers fans another glimpse into the bright future promised by the trio of brothers brought over from Manly.

The Tigers’ defensive resolve was just as promising, with the visitors holding their hosts up over the tryline three separate times in the first half and withstanding 14 more red zone tackles than they enjoyed with the ball.

Marshall’s side would’ve been nervous when Mark Nawaqanitawase bulldozed through four defenders for his second try, which cut the lead to only six with four minutes to play.

After a week of illness, Tedesco scord the try that pulled the Roosters closer than they’d been since Staines’ opener, but time ran out for them to avoid a classic Tigers upset.

“We just didn’t set up the control of the game; you’ve got to have some semblance of control in your ruck and defence,” said Roosters coach Trent Robinson.

“We missed our mark at the start, credit to the (the Tigers) how they attacked the game.”