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When is it a good time to blood a rookie playmaker?
The answer, if you’re Wests Tigers, is to hand the No.7 jersey to a teen after bumping Adam Doueihi to lock, prompting the regular halfback to stand down from playing duties, while the five-eighth’s head appears elsewhere, the team is going through a major form slump and their opponents have their number.
Welcome to first grade, Javon Andrews.
After a week of turmoil in Tiger town – in other words, a week like most others – long-suffering supporters were looking for a reason to get out of bed on Saturday morning. It’s unfair to expect it to come in the form of Andrews, a 19-year-old thrown in due to a raft of absences.
Few would have thought Doueihi would have been one of them, particularly after earning one of the rarest of wins, on a Tuesday night at the judiciary. But faced with the prospect of wearing the No.13 jersey or none at all, Doueihi chose the latter.
It’s unclear where the Lebanese international watched Saturday’s match, which ended in a 56-10 humiliation, or whether he witnessed it at all. He wasn’t at GIO Stadium, and we’ll never know for sure what sort of difference he would have made. But based on what his teammates dished up, it’s likely it would have been negligible.
After all the turmoil off the field, attention turned to what the Tigers would produce on it. When big back-rower Ethan Roberts, once an aspiring jockey, crashed over early to hand the visitors the lead, there was a flicker of hope. But it’s the hope that kills you.
That’s as good as it got for the Tigers. Jarome Luai threw three passes that missed their mark in the first half-alone, by which time his team had leaked five tries. By that stage, some of the hearty Tigers souls that had made the trip up the Federal Highway had left early for the long commute home.
They were spared watching any more from a frustrated and fractured playing group. Are they on Team Benji? Team Jarome? Team Doueihi? They may be wearing the same colours, but they don’t remotely look like they’re playing for the same team.
Under this backdrop, it was difficult for the newbie to leave his mark. Andrews kicked reasonably well and his large frame – he’s already 190cm and 98kg – was too busy making tackles to have the opportunity to bust any. Hopefully he won’t be scarred by what he has just endured.
The Raiders deserve to be more than the footnote to the story. Opposing halfback Ethan Sanders had easily his best game, which included a solo try. It was one of several spectacular long-range efforts, highlighted by fullback Kaeo Weekes finishing another coast-to-coast effort for the second successive match.
The Tigers clocked off early. To their credit, despite having the result well within their grasp before half-time, the Raiders didn’t. Daine Laurie, playing against his former club, scored a second-half hat-trick.
For the Tigers, things could get worse before they get better. Patrick Herbert was placed on report for slamming an opponent’s head into the ground, before seemingly butting his own head against it.
The joint-venture outfit started the day as a mathematical possibility of making the play-offs, but after their sixth successive loss, there’s not an abacus on earth that gives them a chance. Next up, it’s Luai against one of his future employers, Parramatta. And if you thought the halves debate was a hot topic last week, strap yourself in for what’s to come.
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