LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Wests Tigers went down fighting in a hard-fought 10-8 battle against Newcastle in Round 1 of the Telstra Premiership at Campbelltown.
An Alex Twal offload set the stage for the first try of the night for the Tigers, with Jeral Skelton showing some fancy footwork to dot down in the left corner after some slick second-phase play from the boys in black and gold.
The Tigers managed to stretch their lead to eight points with a well-struck penalty goal from the trusty boot of Adam Doueihi in the 28th minute.
Despite Newcastle coming dangerously close to scoring through Bradman Best, the centre was guilty of a forward pass while attempting to ground the ball.
With the score sitting at 8-0 in favor of the Tigers at half-time, tensions began to simmer as both sides dug deep and put their bodies on the line.
It was a real old school Rugby League showdown, filled with hard hits and gritty defense reminiscent of the glory days of the game.