‘It's been a big week for the whole club': Benji Marshall reflects on tumultuous week for the club as Tigers rue costly calls
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall concedes the past week has been a 'big' experience for the club, but he's refusing to use it as an excuse for their second-half fade out as the Eels blitzed them with three quick tries to get their season back on track.
The club has been dealing with the fallout from Lachlan Galvin's decision to not sign a new deal to keep him at the Tigers beyond 2026, with the young five-eighth dropped to reserve grade on Monday.
Players have been accused of bullying the playmaker on social media, although those allegations have been shot down by Marshall and the club's leaders, with the emotional toll of the past week catching up with them at CommBank Stadium.
Sunia Turuva was one of the players who posted on Instagram last week, and the winger lost his cool in the second half when he was sent to the sin bin for throwing Eels hooker Ryley Smith to the ground.
Sparks fly as Sunia Turuva was sent to the sin bin after this incident in the second half.
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A win would have galvanised the club after a tumultuous few days, but some key defensive lapses undid some nice attacking plays as they slumped to a 38-22 loss at home.
'It's been a big week for the whole club,' Marshall said after the game.
'To get out there and try to play is the first part, but I don't think that was an excuse for some of the things that happened today.
'We've got to go back and look at the review of what we need to be better at and then make a decision.'
Co-captain Api Koroisau was blunt when asked how his side would respond this week after the Galvin news.
'We'll get together. We're here to play footy. We've just got to focus on that,' he said.
While the Tigers' discipline cost them at times, Marshall was miffed at a few contentious calls, including the first tackle of the afternoon when Kelma Tuilagi appeared to hit Terrell May in the head with his shoulder.
Tuilagi wasn't penalised but was placed on report later, while Mitch Moses avoided a stint in the sin bin for a high shot that denied a try.
"He cannot be on report... That's outrageous"
What are your thoughts on this "hip-drop tackle"?
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Marshall was confused by the call to then penalise Samuela Fainu for a hip drop on Tuilagi who got up to score the following set, with the Tigers coach agreeing with Wayne Bennett that the rule needs to be looked at.
'I don't know if that was a hip drop. From what I saw, I didn't think it was,' he said.
'I agree with what Wayne said. I don't really know what a hip drop is anymore.
'I don't know (why we couldn't handle that period). If I did, I would have addressed it a bit earlier.
'But we managed to fight our way back so we'll take something away. It's round seven, we're 3-4 and we need to get back on the horse next week at Leichhardt.'
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