2005 Wests Tigers season

March 2026 2005 2004 2006 The 2005 Wests Tigers season was the 6th in the joint-venture club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership, captained by Mark O'Neill and Scott Prince and coached by Tim Sheens. The Tigers finished the regular season in 4th position before reaching the 2005 NRL grand final, their first. After a Clive Churchill Medal-winning performance by Prince, Wests won and claimed their maiden premiership. Regular season The Tigers started the season at long odds for the 2005 premiership. The team had never qualified for a final series and had a relatively inexperienced squad. The season kicked off with a home game against Parramatta. The game turned when fullback Brett Hodgson had to leave the field with an eye injury. Two late tries allowed the Eels to wrap up the game. For Round 2 the team had a bye. In round 3 against defending premiers, the Bulldogs, the Tigers trailed 0–12 and 6–18 before scoring thirty unanswered points to lead 36–18 with 10 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs, inspired by Braith Anasta, fought back to tie the game 36–36. With extra time seeming inevitable, a Dogs' error gave the Tigers possession and, with seconds remaining, a Scott Prince field goal gave the side its first win. In Round 4 the Tigers beat the other 2004 grand finalists with a hard-fought 26–16 win. A win followed against New Zealand in the rain in Christchurch (a Tigers home game). In rounds 6–9 the team lost four games in a row despite often being competitive. The losing streak ended against the winless Newcastle Knights. During rounds 11–15 the Tigers remained in the bottom half of the table mixing promising wins with heavy defeats. They then shocked the league by going on a club record eight game winning streak. With victory against the Cowboys they guaranteed their first ever finals appearance. The winning streak included a club record 54–2 win over defending premiers, the Bulldogs. Despite losses in the final two games the Tigers finished in the top four and earned a home semi-final. Season results Wests Tigers 2005 Season Resultshttp://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html Rugby League Tables 2007-08-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20070821095436/http://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html 21 August 2007 dead RoundOpponentResultDateVenueCrowdRefereePosition/15 1 Parramatta Eels Loss 12 March 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) 17,107 Russell Smith 13th 12 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Richards, Whatuira; Goals: Hodgson 2)  28 - Eels (Tries: Cannings, Morris, Morrison, Peek, Tahu; Goals: Burt 4) 2Bye 11th 3 Bulldogs Win 27 March 2005 Telstra Stadium (A) 19,984 Paul Simpkins 8th 36 - Bulldogs (Tries: Anasta 2, Patten, Lolesi, Ryan, Sherwin; Goals: El Masri 6)  37 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Prince 2, Wilson, Harrison, Fitzhenry, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 6; Field Goals: Prince)4 Sydney Roosters Win 3 April 2005 Sydney Football Stadium (A) 13,946 Steve Clark  26 - Roosters (Tries: Wing, Flannery, Monaghan, Tupou, Roberts; Goals: Robert 2, Fitzgibbon 1)  32 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Prince, Richards, Laffranchi, Whatuira, Heighington; Goals: Hodgson 6)5 New Zealand Warriors Win 9 April 2005 Jade Stadium (H) 18,421 Jason Robinson 4th 24 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira 2, Prince, Richards; Goals: Hodgson 4)  6 - Warriors (Tries: Byrne; Goals: Jones)6 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 16 April 2005 Dairy Farmers Stadium (A) 20,361 Sean Hampstead 6th 44 - Cowboys (Tries: Sing 3, B Bowen 2, Lowe, Bowman, Jensen; Goals: Thurston 5, Rauhihi)  20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Wilson, Fitzhenry, Whatuira, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 2)7 Parramatta Eels Loss 23 April 2005 Parramatta Stadium (A) 18,107 Steve Clark 9th 26 - Eels (Tries: Grothe 2, Morrison, Tahu, Wagon; Goals: Burt 3)  16 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah 2, Richards; Goals: Hodgson 2)8 St. George Illawarra Dragons Loss 1 May 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) 17,567 Jason Robinson  32 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fulton 2, Payten, Laffranchi, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 6)  40 - Dragons (Tries: Gasnier 2, Torrens 2, Hornby, Creagh, Best; Goals: Ennis 4, Head 2)9 Manly Sea Eagles Loss 8 May 2005 Brookvale Oval (A) 14,247 Russell Smith 13th 34 - Sea Eagles (Tries: Kennedy 3, B Stewart, Hicks, Witt; Goals: Witt 5)  26 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira, Prince, Rieck, Fulton, Laffranchi; Goals: Hodgson 3)10 Newcastle Knights Win 15 May 2005 EnergyAustralia Stadium (A) 15,881 Tony Archer 10th 16 - Knights (Tries: Quinn 2, Thaiday; Goals: Campbell 2)  32 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira 2, Reick 2, Richards, Fulton; Goals: Hodgson 4)11 Canberra Raiders Win 22 May 2005 Campbelltown (H) 18,436 Sean Hampstead 10th 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira 2, Heighington, Marshall, Farah; Goals: Hodgson 4)  16 - Raiders (Tries: Graham, Withers, Chalk; Goals: Gafa 2)12 New Zealand Warriors Loss 29 May 2005 Mt Smart Stadium (A) 9,420 Shayne Hayne 11th 21 - Warriors (Tries: Toopi 2, Villasanti, Byrne; Goals: Jones, Hohaia; Field Goals: Jones)  4 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Richards)13 Melbourne Storm Loss 5 June 2005 Leichhardt Oval (H) 17,127 Tony Archer 11th 14 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Elford, Wilson; Goals: Hodgson 3)  30 - Storm (Tries: Slater 2, Webster, Bell, Geyer; Goals: Orford 3, C Smith 2)14 Cronulla Sharks Win 10 June 2005 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 17,570 Paul Simpkins 11th 34 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall 2, Richards 2, Hodgson 2; Goals: Hodgson 5)  18 - Sharks (Tries: Williams, Galloway, Bird; Goals: Covell 3)15 Brisbane Broncos Loss 18 June 2005 Suncorp Stadium (A) 25,780 Russell Smith 12th 40 - Broncos (Tries: S Berrigan 2, Michaels, Carlaw, Hunt, Hodges, Lockyer; Goals: Lockyer 6)  22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall 2, Fitzhenry, Richards; Goals: Hodgson 3)16 St. George Illawarra Dragons Win 26 June 2005 Oki Jubilee Stadium (A) 10,612 Shayne Hayne 12th 24 - Dragons (Tries: Payne, Creagh, Sims, Ennis; Goals: Ennis 4)  32 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Richards 2, Marshall, Laffranchi, Galea, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 4)17 Manly Sea Eagles Win 1 July 2005 Leichhardt Oval (H) 15,271 Steve Clark 10th 49 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Marshall 2, Galea, Fulton, Heighington, Farah, Whatuira, Elford; Goals: Hodgson 8; Field Goals: Prince)  24 - Sea Eagles (Tries: Harris 2, B Stewart 2; Goals: Witt 4)18 Sydney Roosters Win 10 July 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) 13,768 Sean Hampstead 9th 26 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Galea, Whatuira, Marshall, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 5)  16 - Roosters (Tries: Finch, Monaghan, Roberts; Goals: Fitzgibbon 2) 19Bye 7th20 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 24 July 2005 Leichhardt Oval (H) 22,877 Russell Smith 6th 42 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Farah 3, Elford, Prince, Fulton, Richards; Goals: Hodgson 7)  20 - Rabbitohs (Tries: L MacDougall 2, Sutton, Polglase; Goals: Champion 2)21 Cronulla Sharks Win 31 July 2005 Toyota Park (A) 18,321 Tony Archer 5th 6 - Sharks (Tries: Peachey; Goals: Merritt)  46 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Prince 3, Richards, Marshall, Fitzhenry, Halatau, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 7)22 Canberra Raiders Win 7 August 2005 Bruce Stadium (A) 15,195 Tony Archer 4th 14 - Raiders (Tries: D Howell, Graham, Mogg; Goals: Schifcofske)  22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson 2, Fitzhenry, Farah; Goals: Hodgson 3)23 North Queensland Cowboys Win 14 August 2005 Campbelltown Stadium (H) 20,527 Steve Clark 4th 28 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Prince, Halatau, Collis, Skandalis, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 4)  16 - Cowboys (Tries: Williams, Sargent, M Bowen; Goals: Thurston 2)24 Bulldogs Win 19 August 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) Steve Clark 29,542 4th 54 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Whatuira 3, Richards 2, Galea, Hodgson, Marshall, Prince; Goals: Hodgson 9 )  2 - Bulldogs (Goals: Young)25 Melbourne Storm Loss 27 August 2005 Olympic Park (A) 10,050 Paul Simpkins 4th 34 - Storm (Tries: Geyer, Bell, Inglis, Kaufusi, Orford, C Smith; Goals: Orford 5)  22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry 2, Whatuira, Richards; Goals: Hodgson 3)26 Penrith Panthers Loss 4 September 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) 17,256 Shayne Hayne 4th 22 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Richards 2, Whatuira, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 3)  38 - Panthers (Tries: Howland 2, Waterhouse, Swain, Priddis, Rodney, Clinton; Goals: Campbell 5) Players used Australia PR Ray Cashmere Australia CE Dean Collis AUS CE Shane Elford Australia HK Robbie Farah Australia WG Daniel Fitzhenry Australia LK Liam Fulton Australia PR Bryce Gibbs Australia LK Ben Galea New Zealand SR Dene Halatau New Zealand SR Bronson Harrison England LK Chris Heighington Australia FB Brett Hodgson Australia PR Matt Jobson Australia PR Anthony Laffranchi New Zealand FE Benji Marshall Australia FB Shannon McDonnell Australia WG Robert Miles Australia SR Mark O'Neill (captain) Australia PR Todd Payten Australia HB Scott Prince (captain) Australia WG Matthew Rieck Australia HB Ben Reynolds Ireland WG Pat Richards Australia PR John Skandalis New Zealand CE Paul Whatuira Australia SR John Wilson Ladder Finals Series The Tigers played their first ever semi-final against fifth placed North Queensland Cowboys, a team who had played in the 2004 final series. After a tight opening, the Tigers ran riot to score a 50–6 win. Both teams qualified for week two with the Tigers meeting six time premiers the Brisbane Broncos in a knock-out game. The Broncos dominated early possession with Benji Marshall preventing a Darren Smith try before scoring a long range intercept try against the run of the play. Towards the end of the game the Tigers kicked clear to win comfortably. The win saw the Tigers meet the Dragons in a Grand Final qualifier. In the lead up to the game there was controversy over the venue with calls for the game to be moved from Sydney Football Stadium to the much larger Telstra Stadium. As the Dragons had qualified for this game after week one their fans had an extra week to buy tickets to the game. As a result, the majority of the capacity crowd were Dragons fans. An early Marshall try gave the Tigers a lead they never gave up. The 20–12 win meant the Tigers qualified for the Grand Final. The Tigers scored the most points ever in a finals series, with 134, beating the Brisbane Broncos 1998 NRL finals season record of 124 points. As of 2021, this record stands. Wests Tigers 2005 Finals Series Resultshttp://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html Rugby League Tables 2007-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20070821095436/http://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html 21 August 2007 dead RoundOpponentResultDateVenueCrowdReferee Qualifying Final North Queensland Cowboys Win 9 September 2005 Telstra Stadium (H) 26,463 Paul Simpkins 50 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson 3, Richards, Fulton, Whatuira, Fitzhenry, Elford; Goals: Hodgson 9)  6 - Cowboys (Tries: Sing; Goals: Hannay) Semi-Final Brisbane Broncos Win 18 September 2005 Sydney Football Stadium 36,563 Tim Mander 34 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry 2, O'Neill, Prince, Marshall, Hodgson; Goals: Hodgson 5)  6 - Broncos (Tries: Lockyer; Goals: Seymour) Preliminary Final St. George Illawarra Dragons Win 24 September 2005 Sydney Football Stadium 41,260 Tim Mander 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Halatau 2, Heighington, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 2)  12 - Dragons (Tries: Barrett, Naiqama; Goals: Ennis 2)Grand Final North Queensland Cowboys Win 2 October 2005 Telstra Stadium 82,453 Tim Mander 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Payten, Fitzhenry, Laffranchi, Richards, Gibbs; Goals: Hodgson 5)  16 - Cowboys (Tries: Sing, Norton, M Bowen; Goals: Hannay 2) 2005 Grand Final 2005 NRL Grand Final Both the Cowboys and the Wests Tigers were playing in their first ever grand final. The Cowboys scored early and led 6–0. A Cowboys error allowed Bryce Gibbs to score a try to level the game. In a game defining moment, Benji Marshall returned a kick beating several defenders before a flick pass to Pat Richards. Richards, who needed an injection to overcome a leg injury, pushed away from Rod Jensen to score, the Tigers leading 12–6 at the break. After half time Anthony Laffranchi crashed over the try-line for an 18–6 lead before the Cowboys hit back. A Daniel Fitzhenry try gave the Tigers a 24–12 lead. With two minutes to go the Cowboys crossed the try-line wide but the conversion attempt missed, leaving the score at 24–16. A try on full-time to Todd Payten saw a final scoreline of 30–16. References 30em 2005 Category:2005 NRL season by club Category:2005 in sport in Sydney