Tigers happy to be underestimated
Adam Sutcliffe - NRLnews.com 15/3/07
Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson believes losing the defending premiers tag will help his team fly under the radar in 2007.
With the disappointment of last year still echoing in their minds, Hodgson believes his still young side can learn from the lessons of 2005. Hodgson will lead his team onto Olympic Park against last years pace setters the Melbourne Storm in the season opener tomorrow night. The elusive fullback does so, with the confidence that Tim Sheens has assembled the right mix of players and the right mix of planning to execute well this year.
While 2006 fell way short of their expectations, after such an explosive 2005 - Hodgson openly admits there are no excuses for their poor showing last year. Looking ahead, the Tigers are excited by the fact they have a clean slate and have seen the introduction of some exciting new players.
Former Parramatta utility John Morris now calls the Tigers home and has shown impressive form throughout the NRL trial game period. The Tigers have also welcomed Luke Harlen and Peter Lewis along with ex-retiree Jason Moodie for this season.
Star pivot Benji Marshall is hopeful that his injury troubles are behind him, and surely behind the scenes the Tigers coaching staff would be lecturing Marshall about wayward shoulder charges and tackles that could end his career at any moment.
The placement of Benji wider in the defensive line makes good sense and this will help his attack potency in 2007. While Hodgson admits the pre-season form was a little concerning, he remains positive about the season ahead. "Trials aren't the be-all and end-all, we've taken some positives out of the trials and know what we need to work on.
While many experts predict the Tigers to fall short of the top 8 this year, you get the feeling the young squad is more than happy to be out of the limelight once more and will be even happier to prove everyone wrong in 2007.
