The 2008

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

season was their 9th in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. Major signings for the 2008 season are former Dragons halfback

Mathew Head Mathew Head (born 9 May 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s as a for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers and Hull F.C. Background Head was born in Wagga Wagga, New S ...

, backrower

Corey Payne Corey Payne (born 7 May 1984 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Payne played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the St George Illawarra D ...

, and back

Nick Youngquest Nick Youngquest (born 28 July 1983) is an Australian model and former professional rugby league footballer. He played in the National Rugby League for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and the Cante ...

Season summary

The Tigers had a successful opening to the season with a round 1 win over the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint- ...

, 24–16 and a torrid round 2 win over the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

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 Robert Peter Farah ( ar, روبي فرح) (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues te ...

, kept the Tigers in the bottom half of the ladder until a round 6 win against the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

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 The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

20-18. Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall both returned to the team in the round 10 win against the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

. 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 Scott Dureau (born 29 July 1986) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A goal-kicking , he played for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. Background Dureau was born in Taree, ...

(Knights) also kicked 40/20s. After a four game losing streak, the Wests Tigers ended the

' 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 Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and former professional rugby league footballer. As a player he played as a and forward for ...

for a dangerous throw in round 22. In the final match of the season, the Wests Tigers farewelled captain

Brett Hodgson Brett Hodgson (born 12 February 1978) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player during the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin representative goal-kicking , he played his club football in the NRL ...

with a win over the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

at Robina. Players leaving the club at the end of the season include Brett Hodgson,

Ryan O'Hara Ryan O'Hara (born 18 August 1980) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for the Jacksonville Axemen in the USA Rugby League. A New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he previously played in the ...

Ben Te'o Ben Te'o (born 27 January 1987) is a former profesional rugby union and rugby league footballer who last played as a er for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He previously played for both the Wests Tigers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs with wh ...

and

Stuart Flanagan Stuart Flanagan (born 5 January 1987 in Cooma, New South Wales, Australia) is a former Hungary national rugby league team, Hungary international rugby league footballer who last played for the Appin Dogs and previously Cronulla Sharks in the Au ...

. It was also club CEO Steve Noyce's last year with the club.

2008 Season Results

2008 Pre-season trials

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

References

{{2008 in rugby league Wests Tigers seasons Wests Tigers season