The 2008 Wests Tigers season was their 9th in the NRL. Major signings for the 2008 season are former Dragons halfback Mathew Head, backrower Corey Payne, and back Nick Youngquest.
Season summary The Tigers had a successful opening to the season with a round 1 win over the St George Illawarra Dragons, 24–16 and a torrid round 2 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, 30–10.
Benji Marshall was injured in the third minute of round 1 with a knee ligament tear, sidelining him for eight to ten weeks.
Three losses in a row and injuries to hooker, Robbie Farah, kept the Tigers in the bottom half of the ladder until a round 6 win against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 20 April. Mathew Head returned to the NRL in round 5 after a year in the UK and recuperating from injury. Tigers then narrowly beat Cronulla Sharks 20-18.
Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall both returned to the team in the round 10 win against the Newcastle Knights. In a match that saw twelve tries scored between the two teams, Marshall scored two tries and kicked a 40/20. Mathew Head and Scott Dureau (Knights) also kicked 40/20s.
After a four game losing streak, the Wests Tigers ended the South Sydney Rabbitohs' run of five-straight wins, beating them 36–12 in round 19.
Another run of losses towards the end of the season kept the Wests Tigers out of the top eight for the third year in a row. The three losses coincided with the suspension of Todd Payten for a dangerous throw in round 22.
In the final match of the season, the Wests Tigers farewelled captain Brett Hodgson with a win over the Gold Coast Titans at Robina.
Players leaving the club at the end of the season include Brett Hodgson, Ryan O'Hara, Ben Te'o and Stuart Flanagan. It was also club CEO Steve Noyce's last year with the club.
2008 Season Results 2008 Season ResultsRoundOpponentResultDateVenueCrowdRefereePosition/16 1 St. George Illawarra Dragons Win 16 March 2008 Sydney Football Stadium (H) 18,211 Sean Hampstead 6th 24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton, Lawrence, Farah, Moltzen; Goals: Hodgson 4/4) 16 - Dragons (Tries: Gasnier, Soward, Reynoldson; Goals: Gasnier 0/1, Soward 2/2) 2 North Queensland Cowboys Win 22 March 2008 Dairy Farmers Stadium (A) 20,655 Tony De Las Heras 2nd 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah, Harrison, Lawrence, Moltzen, Fulton; Goals: Hodgson 3/3 Lawrence 2/5) 10 - Cowboys (Tries: Graham, Harris; Goals: Thurston 1/2) 3 Bulldogs Loss 30 March 2008 ANZ Stadium (A) 21,546 Jared Maxwell 6th 32 - Bulldogs (Tries: Patten 2, El Masri, S Williams, Nanai, Ryan; Goals: El Masri 4/6) 12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan, Halatau; Goals: Hodgson 2/2) 4 Penrith Panthers Loss 7 April 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 11,898 Jason Robinson 11th 30 - Penrith Panthers (Tries: Priddis, Jennings, Blair, Gordon, Tighe; Goals: Sammut 5/6 ) 8 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 2/2 )5 Canberra Raiders 1989 League Legends Cup Loss 13 April 2008 Canberra Stadium (A) 12,240 Sean Hampstead 10th 30 - Canberra Raiders (Tries:Purtell 3, Tilse, Tongue, Carney; Goals: Carney 3/6) 24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Harrison 2, Tuiaki, Collis; Goals: Hodgson 4/4) 6 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 20 April 2008 SCG (H) 19,122 Ben Cummins 8th 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Heighington, Collis, Te'o, Lawrence, Flanagan; Goals: Hodgson 5/5) 10 - South Sydney Rabbitohs (Tries: Champion, Rogers; Goals: Merritt 1/2) 7 Cronulla Sharks Win 27 April 2008 Toyota Stadium (A) 17,241 Shayne Hayne 7th 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Heighington, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 2/4) 16 - Cronulla Sharks (Tries: Kearney, Seymour; Goals: Covell 4/4) 8 Brisbane Broncos Loss 3 May 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 11,177 Tony Archer 8th 34 - Brisbane Broncos (Tries: Robinson 2, Kemp, Thaiday, Hunt, Wallace; Goals: Ennis 4/5, Wallace 1/1) 22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Te'o 2, McDonnell, Collis; Goals: Hodgson 3/4) 9Bye 10 Newcastle Knights Win 18 May 2008 EnergyAustralia Stadium (A) 20,154 Sean Hampstead 8th 38 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson 2, Marshall 2, Fulton, McDonnell, Te'o; Goals:Hodgson 5/7 ) 26 - Newcastle Knights (Tries:Bailey 3, Dureau, Vuna; Goals: Naiqama 3/5)11 Gold Coast Titans Win 25 May 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H) 17,493 Shayne Hayne 7th 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Te'o, Farah, Hodgson; Goals:Hodgson 3/4 ) 18 - Gold Coast Titans (Tries:Cannings, Bowen, Campbell; Goals:Prince 3/3 )12 Sydney Roosters Loss 2 June 2008 Sydney Football Stadium (A) 15,204 Tony Archer 8th 19 - Sydney Roosters (Tries:M Aubusson 2, Roberts; Goals:Fitzgibbon 3/3; Field Goal:Pearce 1 ) 10 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Farah, Tuiaki; Goals:Hodgson 1/2 ) 13 North Queensland Cowboys Win 7 June 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 10,488 Gavin Badger 7th 40 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Collis, McDonnell, Head, Te'o, Heighington, Marshall, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 6/7) 16 - North Queensland Cowboys (Tries: Slyney, T. Williams, Harris; Goals: J. Williams 2/3)14 Parramatta Eels Loss 15 June 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 22,107 Tony Archer 11th 44 - Parramatta Eels (Tries: Hindmarsh 2, Burt, Cordoba, Tautai, Keating, Inu, Reddy; Goals: Burt 6/8) 6 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 1/1) 15 Brisbane Broncos Loss 20 June 2008 Suncorp Stadium (A) 27,864 Sean Hampstead 12th 19 - Brisbane Broncos (Tries: Moon, Kemp, Kenny; Goals: Ennis 3/4 Field Goal: Hunt 1) 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson, Halatau, Fulton; Goals: Hodgson 3/4) 16 New Zealand Warriors Loss 29 June 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H) 15,827 Steve Lyons 12th 28 - Warriors (Tries: Henderson, Fai, Fein, Hohaia, Rapira; Goals: Hohaia 2/3, Witt 2/2) 26 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki 3, Farah, Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 3/5) 17Bye 10th18 Melbourne Storm Loss 14 July 2008 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 16,653 Jared Maxwell 12th 30 - Melbourne Storm (Tries: Inglis 3, Slater, Manu; Goals: Smith 5/5) 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki, Hodgson, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 3/3) 19 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 20 July 2008 ANZ Stadium (A) 21,818 Jason Robinson 10th 36 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tuiaki 2, Lawrence 2, Ryan 2, Farah; Goals: Marshall 4/7) 12 - South Sydney Rabbitohs (Tries: Simpson, Asotasi; Goals: Luke 2/2) 20 Penrith Panthers Loss 26 July 2008 CUA Stadium (A) 14,075 Tony Archer 12th 24 - Penrith Panthers (Tries: Gordon 2, Iosefa, Jennings; Goals: Gordon 4/4) 10 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Tagive, Laurie; Goals: Marshall 1/2) 21 Bulldogs Win 3 August 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 16,121 Ben Cummins 9th 56 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Gallant 2, Heighington 2, Te'o 2, Fulton, Tagive, Halatau, Marshall; Goals: Marshall 8/10) 4 - Bulldogs (Tries: Nanai; Goals: El Masri 0/1)22 St. George Illawarra Dragons Win 8 August 2008 WIN Stadium (A) 14,207 Shayne Hayne 9th 18 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Ryan, Marshall; Goals: Marshall 5/5) 10 - St. George Illawarra (Tries: J Morris; Goals: Soward 3/3) 23 Parramatta Eels Loss 18 August 2008 Parramatta Stadium (A) 13,065 Matt Cecchin 11th 40 - Parramatta (Tries: Tautai 2, Hayne 2, Moi Moi, Hindmarsh, Mateo; Goals: Inu 8/9) 12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall, Heighington; Goals: Hodgson 2/2)24 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Loss 23 August 2008 ANZ Stadium (H) 27,564 Tony Archer 12th 48 - Manly (Tries: B Stewart 2, Menzies 2, Hall 2, Robertson, Bell, G Stewart; Goals: Orford 5/8, Matai 1/1) 16 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Laurie 2, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 2/3)25 Cronulla Sharks Loss 29 August 2008 Leichhardt Oval (H) 10,766 Sean Hampstead 12th 32 - Cronulla (Tries: Taulapapa, Covell, Anderson, Seymour, Kearney; Goals: Covell 6/6) 6 - Wests Tigers (Tries:Harrison; Goals: Hodgson 1/1)26 Gold Coast Titans Win 7 September 2008 Skilled Park (A) 20,703 Bernie Sutton 10th 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Moltzen 2, Lawrence, Tuiaki, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 4/5) 12 - Gold Coast (Tries: Prince, Delaney; Goals: Prince 2/2)
2008 Pre-season trials Wests Tigers 2008 Pre-season TrialsOpponentResultDateVenueCrowdReferee Sydney Roosters Foundation Cup Loss 23 February 2008 Sydney Football Stadium 15,197 Sean Hampstead 34 - Sydney Roosters (Tries: Kenny-Dowall 3, Minichiello, Anasta, Tupou; Goals: Roberts 5/6) 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Moltzen, Lawrence, Morris, Tagive, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 4/5) Gold Coast Titans Larry Corowa Shield Loss 1 March 2008 Skilled Park, Robina 14,386 32 - Gold Coast Titans (Tries: Minichiello, Cannings, Bowen, Atkins, Prince, Ngawini; Goals: Prince 4/6) 4 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Lawrence; Goals: Hodgson 0/1)
2008 Season Ladder
Players Used
Current first-grade squad at 22 March 2008 (Debut: Round 1)
(Debut: Round 5) (Debut: Round 1)
(Debut: Round 15) (Debut: Round 15)
(Debut: Round 2)
Gains and losses 2008 Player Movements Gains LossesPlayerPrevious clubPlayerNew Club Linton Price Leeton Ben Galea Hull Kingston Rovers Benson Tupou Leeton Daniel Fitzhenry Hull Kingston Rovers Noah Fotu Leeton Paul Whatuira Huddersfield Giants Todd Bridge Taree Ben Jeffery Gold Coast Titans Joe Latham Wingham Jai Ayoub Sydney Roosters Soueli Makaui Keebra Park State High School Jason Moodie Retired Lio Viaga Keebra Park State High School Jarrod Saffy St. George Illawarra Dragons Corey Payne St George Illawarra Nick Youngquest Bulldogs Nick Youngquest Penrith Panthers Luke Harlen Northern Pride RLFC Mathew Head Hull F.C. Mathew Head St. George Illawarra Dragons
References