# 2007 Wests Tigers season

The 2007 Wests Tigers season was the 8th in the joint-venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing in 9th position and failing to reach the play-offs.

## Season summary

The Wests Tigers had a poor start to the season, losing their first four matches (three of them by very narrow margins.) The Tigers finally won their first game of the season in Round 5 against Cronulla Sharks, at Campbelltown Stadium, by 2 points in golden point extra time. Although Benji Marshall again injured a shoulder in round 8, the Tigers continued winning through to round 12 when they lost to Parramatta by 30 points. Injuries to key players continued throughout the season - Benji Marshall out for eleven rounds, Brett Hodgson out for seven rounds with a fractured cheek, and Todd Payten, Paul Whatuira and Bryce Gibbs all missing several games.
After spending sixteen rounds in the top eight, the Tigers dropped down to ninth position when they lost to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 24. Facing the Newcastle Knights (a team desperate to avoid the wooden spoon in their own horror season) in the last match of the regular season, the Tigers needed to win and then hope the Broncos lost to the Eels to regain a position in the eight. Although they led twice in the game by a margin of twelve points, the Tigers' finished an inconsistent season on a disappointing loss to the Knights, 24–26 at Telstra Stadium, and in 9th position on the ladder.

## 2007 Season ladder

2007 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |

## Players Used

As at 22 July 2007:
| No. | Position | Player Brett Hodgson (captain) – FB Shannon McDonnell – FB Shannon Gallant – FB (Debut: Round 19) Daniel Fitzhenry – WG Jason Moodie – WG Beau Ryan – WG (Debut: Round 16) Taniela Tuiaki – WG Chris Lawrence – CE Dean Collis – CE Paul Whatuira – CE Danny Galea – CE (Debut: Round 8) Benji Marshall – FE John Morris – HB (Debut: Round 1) |
| No. | Position | Player Bryce Gibbs – PR Ryan O'Hara – PR Todd Payten – PR Jarrod Saffy – PR Robbie Farah – HK Stuart Flanagan – HK Keith Galloway – SR Dene Halatau – SR Bronson Harrison – SR Ben Te'o – SR (Debut: Round 9) Liam Fulton – LK Ben Galea – LK Chris Heighington – LK |

### Gains and losses

2007 Player Movements :
| Gains | Gains | Losses | Losses |
| Player | Previous Club | Player | New Club |
| John Morris | Parramatta Eels | Jamahl Lolesi | Huddersfield Giants |
| Peter Lewis | Parramatta Eels | John Skandalis | Huddersfield Giants |
| Danny Galea | Penrith Panthers | Shane Elford | Huddersfield Giants |
| Tom Haberecht | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Anthony Laffranchi | Gold Coast Titans |
| Luke Harlen | Cronulla Sharks | Scott Prince | Gold Coast Titans |
| Jason Moodie | Cessnock | Sam Harris | NSW Waratahs |
| | | Michael Crockett | New Zealand Warriors |
| | | Isaac de Gois | Cronulla Sharks |
| | | Rangi Chase | St. George Illawarra Dragons |