An Apisai Koroisau injury scare has made a woeful night even worse for Wests Tigers, as they copped a 34-10 NRL drubbing from Brisbane in Campbelltown.
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Out-of-sorts in attack and needlessly ill-disciplined in defence, the Tigers watched their captain limp off the field with nerve pain in his back with 23 minutes to play.
The wounded hooker did not return, and while the Tigers are confident the injury is not serious it has the potential to have State of Origin implications for NSW if worse than thought.
In front of a sold-out crowd, Koroisau had looked to be the only Tiger offering the team any spark in attack before his injury on Saturday night.
They had enough good ball in the first half to trouble the Broncos, but only threatened to crack them once when Koroisau crossed but was ruled to have dropped the ball.
By the time the hosts did find points through a late Charlie Staines double, the game was gone.
In contrast, Brisbane regularly provided moments of brilliance.
Jock Madden scored a double but finished the night with a pectoral injury, while Reece Walsh also bagged two electric tries before struggling with leg cramps and vomiting late.
Payne Haas was powerful on return from a knee injury and scored one try with an unstoppable charge, while Brisbane regularly capitalised on needless Tigers penalties.
Deine Mariner's opener was a sign of things to come, a superhuman one-handed put down within centimetres of the sideline in the fifth minute.
Jock Madden's first try came after Samuela Fainu was sin-binned for tackling Corey Oates as the Bronco marked a kick and ran back to take a 20-metre tap.
And Walsh's four-pointer on halftime was another thing of beauty.
With seconds on the clock, Reynolds chipped across field for Mariner who cut back inside and found a flying Walsh who made it 16-0 at the break.
Another Brisbane try came in the second half when Brendan Piakura put on a brilliant offload for Madden, again after Tiger Fonua Pole was penalised for a push.
And Walsh scored another later in the second half when turned back inside by Reynolds, as he finished with 201 metres to go with his two four-pointers.
Brisbane could still have Ezra Mam (finger) and Selwyn Cobbo (shoulder) back on Friday against the Sydney Roosters, and are clearly a team building for a shot at redemption this year.
"There was a lot to like and also a lot to dislike," coach Kevin Walters said.
"This time of year, just banking points is good.
"I want to be happy, but I want to demand more from our team as well. The expectations are a lot higher now than they were a few years ago."
The Tigers, meanwhile, are spiralling and have now lost 10 straight at Campbelltown since June 2020.
With two wins in their first three games of this year, they looked like they had a new lease on life under Marshall.
But the joint-venture are now returning to the Tigers of old, sitting 13th on the ladder after four straight defeats.
"We showed moments tonight, especially the way we started the first half," Marshall said.
"And we did against Penrith (last week) for 63 minutes.
"Everyone just wants us to turn it around overnight, but it doesn't happen like that."
Australian Associated Press
