League: Big-man Grothe terrorises the Tigers

Two outrageous dummies in the first seconds of play by slippery hooker Robbie Farah saw the Tigers bound away from the Eels in the first minute of the game but, in the end, it was the Eels who tightened their coils around the Tigers.

Three tries in the first 12 minutes made it seem as though this might be a post-test match frolic but it soon settled down to the usual war of attrition, made all the more impressive in that two Tigers - New Zealand's Benji Marshall and Paul Whatuira - and one Eel - Australia's Nathan Hindmarsh - were doubling up from Friday night's international.

Just seven minutes after Farah's try, Daniel Wagon struck back for the Eels and then Tigers winger Pat Richards scored the third in the 12th minute after a lovely Tigers move.

The Tigers can certainly attack, as many sides have found out this year, but their defence was tested when the Eels finally hitched up their shorts and went to work at 10-4 down.

Forwards Nathan Cayless, Glenn Morrison and the perpetual-motion Hindmarsh galloped into the fray and winger Eric Grothe began to storm about making big runs and even bigger hits.

The son of Eric Grothe, the giant Australian wing who used to terrorise New Zealand defences, Grothe Jr is also large - about 1.9m and 103kg - and his hits are so debilitating that Sonny Bill Williams rates him as one of the most unforgettable tacklers in the NRL competition.

Grothe pulled off a couple of molecule re-arrangers, one of which led to a spilled ball which he kicked through for a try. The Tigers had been playing with the adventure that led to their first try and a high pass showed enough of a ribcage for Grothe to rip in with a big hit and then pick up the pieces.

Grothe's first try came from a clever kick by Tim Smith and Morrison got the Eels ahead 18-10 at halftime when he wriggled over.

Then came the attrition. The Tigers picked up the aggression stakes and began putting some real grunt into the tackles.

But the Eels forwards worked their way down to the danger zone and put so much pressure on the Tigers that they finally buckled after yet another charge by the Eels' big men.

The ball was spun wide where Kiwi-born centre Timana Tahu burst through tackles to score his second try as an Eel to keep his try-scoring strike rate high - 77 tries in 95 NRL games.

The Tigers were spending most of their energy getting out of their own half and, when Luke Burt kicked a goal to put the Eels up 26-10, the Tigers needed to score at least three tries to win - a task which looked beyond them.

And so it was - although Farah skipped away and sold another honey of a dummy to end the match as it started.

NRL

EELS 26
WESTS TIGERS 16

- HERALD ON SUNDAY