There were plenty of key numbers to know for Wests Tigers as Michael Maguire's side made it two wins from two to start the year on Sunday night with a dominant win over the Warriors.
As he was in the first game, hooker Robbie Farah was brilliant as his side notched up an impressive 28-point victory — taking them on top of the Telstra Premiership ladder for the first time since the club's foundation season in 2000.
Here's more on that stat, and the other key numbers you need to know about!
ON TOP AFTER ROUND TWO
It's been mentioned a lot in the past 24 hours so we need to start here — Wests Tigers are on top of the ladder for the first time in the regular season for the first time in club history. The final team to get to the mark, Michael Maguire's side have done it after two rounds with a 100% win rate and a +42 points differential to put them in first place, having conceded just six points in each of their first two games.
Interestingly, just four teams remain unbeaten after two rounds with the Parramatta Eels, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Melbourne Storm joining Wests Tigers on top. Those three teams combined for just win in the opening two games last season.
2019 Match Highlights: Rd.2, Wests Tigers vs. NZ Warriors
It's worth pointing out too just how strong Wests Tigers have been on the defensive front; not since 2012 have the side kept a team to six points or less in consecutive matches, with their Round 3 opponent in the Bulldogs coming in to next Sunday's contest with the second worst attacking record in the competition so far this year.
One statistic to keep an eye on this week: Wests Tigers have never started a season with three consecutive wins since their foundation season in 2000.
MIDDLE FORWARDS TIGHTEN THE SCREWS
After finishing on top against the Sea Eagles in Round 1, Sunday's clash against the Warriors was always going to come down to how the club's engine room fared against the Warriors. And boy, didn't they do their job on the day!
Wests Tigers missed just 21 tackles against the high-octane Warriors (who averaged a play-the-ball speed of nearly half a second more than the hosts), and conceded just four penalties on the day. Individually, it's worth highlighting the efforts of five forwards — Alex Twal, Robbie Farah, Ben Matulino, Ryan Matterson and Luke Garner — who combined for a staggering 161 tackles and missed just one.
In terms of metres, it was again the bench forwards who led the way in this regard with Josh Aloiai (137m in 40 minutes), Russell Packer (133m in 35 minutes) and Thomas Mikaele (91m in 31 minutes) showing their incredible work rate.
Inside the winning sheds!
HAPPY HUNTING AT CAMPBELLTOWN AGAIN
While the club might not have had the best record in recent years at the suburban ground, Campbelltown Sports Stadium is fast becoming a happy hunting ground for the side when they face the New Zealand Warriors with another big win there.
Wests Tigers have now won their last four matches against the Warriors at Campbelltown by a combined scoreline of 168-54, with an average of 42 points scored per game while conceding just over two tries per game.
Remarkably, only Josh Aloiai has played in the last two matches against the Warriors at Campbelltown, with the previous one coming in Round 1, 2016.
A Robbie Farah masterclass!
FULL IMPACT OF FARAH'S FINE START
It's only fitting to end this article that we take a little moment to reflect on the dominance Robbie Farah has shown so far this year, having picked up two Man of the Match awards and the maximum six Dally M points so far this year.
Farah was again at the heart of everything for Wests Tigers on Sunday, taking his season statistics so far to three try assists, three tries and three linebreak assists.
But the numbers also paint another key story, with Farah leading all players in the NRL with touches per game so far this year. The veteran rake has chalked up 266 receipts (133 per game) early on in the season, and there's no doubting that his constant involvement around the play is turning in to gold for Wests Tigers.
It's only early in the season, but no player has had more try contributions this year than Farah, who has directly scored or assisted six four-pointers so far in 2019.
