Wests Tigers Cubs have been beaten 34-18 by a touring Warrington Wolves team at Kirkham Oval, Elderslie on Saturday afternoon.
The Super League outfit proved too good for our group of Under 18s pathways players, with a good crowd in attendance for the exhibition match at the home of Camden Rams.
Played over four 20-minute quarters, the Wolves went to the first break ahead 12-nil, extending their lead to 24-6 at half time.
Wests Tigers Cubs, minus several players who will begin NRL pre-season training on the 6th of November, put in a very good performance for a group of players who have had the past six weeks off.
That said, the English outfit was very impressive winning six tries to three ahead of their tour match next weekend against a NSW Invitational team.
For the home side prop Dougie Tuala bagged a double with Jared Haywood scoring the Cubs’ third try of the afternoon.
Wests Tigers Cubs team included several players from this year’s Harold Matthews teams who are looking to progress through to SG Ball in 2024.
Team List:
1. Cameron Kanaan
2. Riley Oitmann
3. Daniel Waqa
4. Joey Raad
5. Jonah Watson
6. Marc Tannous
7. Luke Keppie
8. Jekope Sovau
9. Heith Pritchard
10. Kohan Lewis
11. Ewan Xuereb
12. Byron Laupepa
13. Jeremiah Leatigaga
14. Aaron Keppie
15. James Folaumatou'i
16. Dougie Tuala
17. Michael Coady
18. Harry Delaney
19. Jordan Bunt
20. Denzel Schaafhausen
21. Jared Haywood
22. Callum McMenemy
Many of these players were part of a development tour to Tamworth earlier in the year where they defeated Canterbury Bulldogs 40-4 in our NRL curtain-raiser at Scully Park.
More about Wests Tigers Cubs
Wests Tigers Cubs Program has three squads - Black, Orange, and White, catering for different pathways’ stages.
Black Cubs is for players looking to transition into Jersey Flegg in 2024, who have been identified through the SG Ball Cup competition.
Orange Cubs are progressing to SG Ball from Harold Matthews, and White Cubs is for players aiming to progress from development programs to Harold Matthews Cup in 2024.
Like our Orange Cubs, who toured Tamworth, our Black and White Cubs also enjoyed successful development tours this year.
The senior group travelled to New Zealand coinciding with our NRL home game in Hamilton, while the White Cubs toured Northern NSW and played a game against the Titans.
Shannon Gallant, Development Manager - Wests & Macarthur, believes the club's Cubs programs play a pivotal role in retention and development.
"It's really important to have structures in place for all key stages of development, and that's what our Cubs programs offer," said Gallant.
There's much more to it than skills and high performance, these programs are also big on personal development, wellbeing and education.
Shannon Gallant
"We've had a few really successful tours across all three age groups and I think on the whole the programs have been extremely beneficial to what we are trying to achieve in pathways."
