After two consecutive away trips, Wests Tigers return home on Thursday night to face the Dragons at Leichhardt Oval in Round 8 of the NRLW.
Match: Wests Tigers v Dragons
Round 8 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
10th Position
away Team
Dragons
9th Position
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
St. George Illawarra sit just one place ahead of Wests Tigers on the competition table, in 9th, and fell to a narrow 38-34 defeat against Canberra last weekend.
Wests Tigers were also extremely unlucky not to come away with two points in Round 7, as they were defeated 24-22 by the Cowboys in Townsville.
After Evie McGrath and Chelsea Savill made their NRLW debuts in that game, Claudia Nielsen and Claudia Brown will both play their first matches in the top grade tomorrow night.
Nielsen is a 27-year-old winger who joined the club this season from the Australian Rugby Sevens setup while Brown is a 19-year-old forward who represented NSW U/19s in their big win over Queensland earlier this year.
The pair takes the place of Tiana-Lee Thorne (finger) and Montana Clifford (HIA protocol) respectively.
Leianne Tufuga’s return from a knee injury at centre means Pauline Piliae-Rasabale moves to the bench as Shaianne McGlone misses out with her own respective knee issue.
For the Dragons, Tyla King makes her return from a head knock, with Kasey Reh moving to hooker.
Wests Tigers remain in the hunt for their first victory of the NRLW season and will be hoping the Leichhardt Oval faithful can get them home on Thursday night.
Match: Wests Tigers v Dragons
Round 8 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
away Team
Dragons
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Wests Tigers is number 1 Botille Vette-WelshFullback for Dragons is number 1 Teagan Berry
-
Winger for Wests Tigers is number 2 Rebecca PollardWinger for Dragons is number 2 Maatuleio Fotu-Moala
-
Centre for Wests Tigers is number 3 Leianne TufugaCentre for Dragons is number 3 Keele Browne
-
Centre for Wests Tigers is number 4 Rikeya HorneCentre for Dragons is number 4 Bobbi Law
-
Winger for Wests Tigers is number 5 Claudia NielsenWinger for Dragons is number 5 Alice Gregory
-
Five-Eighth for Wests Tigers is number 6 Evie McGrathFive-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Tyla King
-
Halfback for Wests Tigers is number 7 Losana LutuHalfback for Dragons is number 7 Raecene McGregor
Forwards
-
Prop for Wests Tigers is number 8 Sarah TogatukiProp for Dragons is number 8 Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa
-
Hooker for Wests Tigers is number 9 Ebony PriorHooker for Dragons is number 9 Kasey Reh
-
Prop for Wests Tigers is number 10 Christian PioProp for Dragons is number 10 Jamilee Bright
-
2nd Row for Wests Tigers is number 11 Brooke Talataina2nd Row for Dragons is number 11 Shenai Lendill
-
2nd Row for Wests Tigers is number 12 Claudia Brown2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Ella Koster
-
Lock for Wests Tigers is number 13 Najvada GeorgeLock for Dragons is number 13 Alexis Tauaneai
Interchange
-
Interchange for Wests Tigers is number 14 Chelsea SavillInterchange for Dragons is number 14 Zali Hopkins
-
Interchange for Wests Tigers is number 15 Tara ReinkeInterchange for Dragons is number 16 Madison Mulhall
-
Interchange for Wests Tigers is number 16 Natasha PenitaniInterchange for Dragons is number 19 Jordyn Preston
-
Interchange for Wests Tigers is number 17 Pauline Piliae-RasabaleInterchange for Dragons is number 22 Bronte Wilson
Reserves
-
Replacement for Wests Tigers is number 18 Jessica KennedyReplacement for Dragons is number 18 Sophie Clancy
Match Officials
- Senior Review Official: Matt Noyen
Last updated:
Fast Facts:
- The only previous match between these two sides ended with the Dragons dramatically snatching a 20-16 victory on the bell at CommBank Stadium.
- The Wests Tigers lineup contains three former Dragons, with Bo Vette-Welsh, Rikeya Horne and Najvada George all having represented the Red V before joining the Concord-based outfit in 2023.
- Wests Tigers’ two Round 7 debutants, Evie McGrath and Chelsea Savill, are both Dragons juniors who featured for Illawarra Steelers in their undefeated 2024 Tarsha Gale Cup campaign.
