Take it as fact. The Tigers’ finals hopes are over.
Well, not mathematically, but after falling to the Dragons 24-10 on Saturday night, they’d better start planning for the off-season.
To make matters worse, they’re likely to lose skipper Api Koroisau for the rest of the season after he injured his pectoral late in the second half.
Yes, they still only sit four points out of the eight, but after this performance they don’t deserve to end their 15-year finals drought.
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“We got exactly what we deserved today,” Tigers coach Benji Marshall said.
“Our discipline, attention to detail and care wasn’t good enough… we were poor.
“We let them out of yardage with penalty after penalty, and they capitalised.
“I need to look at the preparation we had… that starts and stops with me.
“We’ve gone backwards.”
With their season on the line, Marshall’s men were simply out enthused by a St George Illawarra who battled hard to earn their second win of 2026. The Dragons deservedly led 6-4 at half-time, and while Adam Doueihi’s second try put the Tigers ahead 10-6 early in the second half, two quick-fire tries to maligned centre Valentine Holmes sealed the deal for the Dragons.
Enthusiastic young forwards Loko Pasifi Tonga and Toby and Ryan Couchman were immense.
Their bullocking charges up the centre kept the Tigers on the back foot all evening, and they finished the game with 327 metres between them.
Holmes likewise had a night to remember.
Aside from scoring twice in three minutes to give his side an unassailable lead late in the piece, he kicked four vital goals and made three line breaks.
“It (the win) feels pretty good,” interim Dragons coach Dean Young said.
“The situation at the club isn’t easy, but the players walk in every day and buy into what we’re doing.
“Val was back to being Val, which everyone loves to see.
“I thought Loko was special tonight, too.”
Holmes’ 40th-minute penalty goal gave the Dragons their two-point advantage at half-time, but they probably should have led by more. The former centre was denied a try in the 26th minute after the bunker ruled Hamish Stewart had obstructed Adam Doueihi in the build-up, and while the Tigers had more ball in the Dragons’ red zone, their lone first-half try came while Clint Gutherson was in the sin bin.
Unsurprisingly, it was Doueihi who attempted to lift the Tigers during the second stanza. He put the Tigers back in front when he caught the Dragons unawares by grounding his own grubber just short of the dead ball line.
However, this would prove to be a temporary reprieve.
A dropped ball from Tigers five-eighth Jock Madden gave the Dragons valuable field position, and from the ensuing set the ball was shifted to the left for Holmes to score his first.
By the 74th minute, he’d completed his double, while Mathew Feagai sent the partisan crowd into raptures when he crossed in the 76th.
TIGERS LACK CREATIVITY
It seems strange saying this about a team that has historically been quite flamboyant, but the Tigers’ attack needs serious work.
Granted, they were missing star half Jarome Luai against the Dragons, but this was the second week in a row where their attack looked flatter than three-day-old lemonade.
They ran sideways way too often and, aside from Doueihi, none of their players offered anything with the ball in hand.
“The last two weeks we’ve been poor attack-wise,” Marshall said.
“Today we were so lateral and made no in-roads down their end. We were lucky to score our second try.”
TACKLE SHY TURVUA
Sunia Turuva had an absolute nightmare in defence against the Dragons. The winger-come-centre was clearly targeted on Saturday night and was found wanting on multiple occasions. His tendency to prematurely rush up in defence continually allowed the Dragons backs to easily create overlaps.