Predicted Finish: 12th
Actual Finish: 11th
Well, at least they didn't finish 9th ... That said, they regressed in a big way in 2020 and never looked a genuine shot at playing finals footy. 99% of pundits had the Tigers missing the eight and they did not disappoint.
Highlights
- Good Start: The Tigers started their 2020 campaign with a solid win over the Dragons. The 24-14 victory, away from home, was pretty much the perfect start. Nofoaluma scored a double, young fun Luciano Leilua crossed for a try on his club debut and Benji Marshall looked good. Although they'd drop a game to Newcastle before the Covid break, they would return to dust the Sharks on the back of a brilliant second-half effort. At 2-1 and with a win over a side they had recently struggled to beat, Tigers fans could be forgiven for becoming a little excited. At 4 wins and three losses from their opening seven games, there was real optimism.
- Broncos Demolition: Few will forget the night that the Tiges put 48 unanswered points on the Broncos at Leichhardt Oval. Just under 2000 fans were allowed in that night, however, this performance deserved a full house and them some. Everything the Tigers touched turned to gold as they ran in nine tries without conceding. Records fell on that wonderful Friday night. Luciano Leilua played like a man possessed. Harry Grant was a younger version of Cameron Smith. Josh Aloiai destroyed the Broncos middles. This was as pure a performance as you'll ever see and hugely entertaining.
- Player discoveries: The Tigers seem to have found pieces in their long-term puzzle. Obviously, Harry Grant lead the way on loan. Luciano Leilua looks a real player after his move from the Dragons. I believe the Red V will rue the decision to allow him to leave. Tommy Talau looks a real long-term option on the wing. Alex Twal has established himself as a genuine hitman. Garner looks the goods also. In young Shawn Blore the Tigers look to have unearthed a super exciting prospect who certainly isn't afraid to match it with far more experienced opposition forwards.
Lowlights
- Big money stars fail to deliver (or play): Josh Reynolds was relegated to a bit time player in 2020 despite his enormous money deal. He fell well down the pecking order and only made 10 appearances, with eight run ons. Joseph Leilua's form fell of a cliff after his monster season for the Raiders in 2019. He showed signs of brilliance but came to the club with huge hype and failed to justify. Moses Mbye seems on the outer without a guaranteed starting spot in 2021. Russell Packer averaged 64 metres in seven appearances. His time at the club has largely been a disaster. His effort in Round 5 against the Raiders is one of the worst games I've ever seen in 30+ years of watching this game.
- Recruitment misses: It was another year of frustration for Tigers fans on the recruitment and retention front. They were linked with almost every off-contract player this season, most notably superstar winger Josh Addo Carr. It's become apparent that JAC seems to have used his former club to renegotiate a 2021 contract with the Storm and now looks set to snub them for 2022 also. Numerous other stars were linked however failed to sign. Roberts and Tamou are both brilliant pick ups but the Josh Aloiai saga, rightfully, angered Tigers fans.
- "Defence": "What defence?" I hear you ask. The Tigers conceded a whopping 505 points across 20 rounds. Only the Sea Eagles, Cowboys and Broncos conceded more. The Tigers, quite easily, outscored any of their fellow bottom eight teams and even outscored the Eels and Knights, but their defence was downright terrible. Shockingly they missed fewer tackles than nine other teams, however, their misses often lead to points. Hard to build a season on conceding over 25 points per game. No prizes for guessing what Madge and co will be focused on during the off-season.
Star Player
David Nofoaluma
For the purpose of this, I'm not going to focus in on Harry Grant being that he was technically a Storm player out on loan to the Tigers.
The Tigers winger had a magnificent season and would not have looked out of place in an Origin jersey in the recently completed series.
His 20 games in 2020 produced 17 tries, seven try assists, 17 line breaks and a ridiculous 118 tackle breaks. He also ran for 178 metres per game. Those are some monstrous stats for a winger.
After a well below par 2019 season, the 27-year-old produced stats that any winger in the game would be proud of in his career-best season to date. He was a real shining light for the Tigers this year.
Season Grading
D
Expectations were high in the pre-season as the Tigers looked to build on their 9th placed finish in 2019. If they had beaten the Sharks on the final game of the season they play finals footy.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Despite the aforementioned strong start, the Tigers quickly fell off the pace and never really recovered.
A round 17 win over Manly gave them the slightest of glimmers of hope but three straight losses to end their season landed them where they probably deserved to finish.
The Tigers big names, outside of Nofoualuma, failed to deliver with any degree of consistency. Brooks is running out of time in delivering on the promise we've been taking about now for seemingly years and years.
There were a few highlights in 2020 for long-suffering Tigers fans, but in truthfulness, they never looked finals bound. They had some brilliant wins, however, they were too few and far between.
I'm sick of hearing the supposed unrest within the club re Michael McGuire so I can only imagine how past frustrated the fans of the Tigers are.
A huge off-season ahead as the club looks to end its finals drought.
