Woods in Test doubt
THE Wests Tigers have had salt poured into their wounds after skipper Aaron Woods suffered a worrying groin injury in their 22-16 NRL loss to Cronulla last night.
The Tigers were brave after being forced to play without their two best players Woods and James Tedesco for most of the match in front of 13,405 at Leichhardt Oval.
It took a 69th minute try to Sharks No.7 Chad Townsend, who chipped and chased for himself, to close out the game for the premiers.
The Tigers skipper looked distraught in the sheds and it puts his position in the Australian side for Friday’s Test against New Zealand in doubt.
Woods was helped off the field with a groin injury in the 25th minute after having his legs pulled in a tackle. He is expected to announce today he has signed a four-year deal with Canterbury and for the second straight week was booed by his own club’s fans as he was announced pre-game.
He was also the subject of a “Woods is a Dog” banner on the hill. Sharks five-eighth James Maloney is also facing a nervous wait to see if he will be in the Australian squad in Canberra after he collected Tedesco high just before the break, with the incident to come under the scrutiny of the match review committee.
The Tigers fullback was taken off for a concussion test as a result of the incident and did not return after the resumption.
Luke Brooks had one of his best games in a Tigers jumper but their injury woes took their toll and the Sharks eventually got home, despite being ordinary at times, making 14 errors and completing only 17 of their 30 sets.
Ex-Canterbury forward Tony Williams had a successful outing in his Cronulla debut, storming over for the side’s opening try.