Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has revealed his side are "ecstatic" after their first win of the season, beating the Penrith Panthers 12 points to 8 on a wet night in Bathurst.
Playing for the Royce Simmons Cup, the Tigers were gritty and determined in preventing the Panthers from adding to their score throughout the game, ultimately claiming a narrow victory to snap a seven-game losing streak to start the season.
A visibly overjoyed team celebrated the win immediately on field, with Luke Brooks telling Fox Sports afterwards that it was a great result.
Sheens said what was most pleasing was that the side had needed no luck to get the job done over the back-to-back defending premiers.
"As you'd imagine, they are ecstatic with it. It's not just a win, it's a really good win," Sheens said during the post-game press conference.
"I didn't think we did anything to not deserve it if you know what I mean. There was no luck in it. We worked really, really hard. That's the other bonus. I don't think there was any controversy about anything outside of a tough game of football."
Sheens said the win was something the Tigers had been building towards with a pair of close losses to the Parramatta Eels and Manly Sea Eagles over the previous fortnight.
"Parramatta we were close, Manly we were close. Two very good sides. Playing a Cleary-led side today and beating them today is a great effort from the team and I'm really, really pleased with everyone. The coaching staff, Benji, David and Robbie, our state cup [NSW Cup] won as well, so it's been a big effort from the club," Sheens added.
Club captain Apisai Koroisau, who shone in his first game against his old club, admitted the game was "pretty up there" in rating it among his personal career highlights.
"It's pretty up there," Koroisau said when asked where the win rates in his personal experience.
"Coming up against an incredible side like Penrith. Like Sheensy said, just the way we won. We played hard footy. Tough footy. We limited their back five really well which is a pleasing thing."
Sheens admitted the attention the club have received from the media during their seven-game losing streak was in some ways deserved.
"Your first win for the season after we worked so hard, given the pressure we were under from some of the media, and we probably deserved it some ways, but behind the scenes, we have worked very hard. We have had a lot of issues, I'm not going to offer any excuses, but over the last three weeks we were building for that [a win]," Sheens added.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary had no excuses for his side, simply stating the Tigers played better.
"In the conditions, they played better, so they deserve a lot of credit," Cleary said.
"We didn't play real smart tonight, and just came up with bad football too often I reckon."
The loss leaves the Panthers with four wins from their eight games played to date, and they will drop to at seventh spot by the end of the round, while the Tigers still sit last on the table.
The Panthers play the New Zealand Warriors on the Saturday of magic round, while the Tigers play the St George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday afternoon.
