The Benji Marshall era has begun at the Tigers, but the rookie coach’s team’s final pre-season hit out only left him “disappointed”.
The merger club was beaten 34-18 by the Dragons in Mudgee, in the battle of the two teams many pundits consider the contenders for the wooden spoon.
But after a successful first trial, beating the Warriors 18-16, it was back to square one for the Tigers who lacked punch in attack and were leaky in defence.
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Speaking to the SMH, Marshall explained his team’s display against the Red V made him question the attitude of his playing group.
“One thing I didn’t think that we’d [have to] question would be our attitude around turning up,” Marshall said.
“We’re lucky it’s not round one for us and there’s not two points on the line. But if we don’t address that, we’ll be in for a tough season.
“Sometimes it’s just as simple as the other team runs harder and tackles harder than you. In our system that’s one non-negotiable where we don’t get beaten.”
Overall, the Tigers were outplayed but the statistics painted a different story, with Marshall’s side dominating in key areas.
The Tigers completed at 93 per cent compared to the Dragons’ 67 per cent, while Marshall’s men also won the territory battle, being in the opposition half for 61 per cent of the game.
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However, from 23 more carries the Tigers were only able to generate four more running metres across 80 minutes.
They also broke the line only three times compared to the Dragons’ seven line breaks, with Flanagan’s teams offloads also double that of their opponent.
“If I’m being honest, it was pretty disappointing,” Marshall said of his team’s performance.
“After feeling good last week coming off the back of beating the Warriors, [the Dragons loss] showed where we really are, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
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