Tigers name strong squad to face Storm

Wests Tigers head coach Jason Taylor today named a strong squad to play in the club’s first trial match of the year against the Melbourne Storm this Saturday.

New recruits Jordan Rankin, Tim Grant, Josh Aloiai and Jesse Parahi are set to play their first match for Wests Tigers in the game at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Ten players from last weekend’s NRL Auckland Nines tournament will back-up and play – including off-season recruits Josh Addo-Carr, Michael Chee Kam, Rod Griffin and Jack Littlejohn.

Taylor highlighted the importance of this weekend’s trial as preparations continue for the club’s opening NRL match against the New Zealand Warriors on March 5.

“It has been a tough pre-season for the players and they have all worked really hard since we started training in November,” Taylor said.

“I know they are all really keen to get back out on the field and put in to action what we have worked on over the past few months.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing a lot of the guys play, in particular some of the new recruits who will get their first run of the year this weekend.

“We’ve done some really good work in training with plenty of opposed sessions, which aimed at putting us under the pressure of game situations, but there’s nothing like actually playing an opposition team.

Coming up against the Melbourne Storm, who are strong side, will give us a much better feel for how things are going once we get this game under our belt."

Wests Tigers players will depart Sydney on Friday morning, local fans having the opportunity to meet the team at an open training session at Sunshine Coast Stadium in the afternoon.

1. Jordan Rankin

2. David Nofoaluma

3. Nathan Milone

4. Michael Chee Kam

5. Josh Addo-Carr

6. Mitchell Moses

7. Luke Brooks

8. Tim Grant

9. Robbie Farah

10. Dallas Graham

11. Josh Aloiai

12. Kyle Lovett

13. Jesse Parahi

14. Justin Hunt

15. Jacob Liddle

16. Watson Heleta

17. Rod Griffin

18. Lamar Liolevave

19. Manaia Cherrington

20. Jack Littlejohn

21. Billy McConnachie

22. JJ Felise

Coach: Jason Taylor