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Joey Leilua has been urged to control his emotions after a couple of questionable moments in the Wests Tigers’ loss to the Raiders.
The Tigers centre left the Raiders following the 2019 grand final and had an afternoon to forget as Canberra sealed an impressive 30-12 win.
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Leilua had a tough first year in Sydney, revealing how time away from his family led to him gorging on chicken burgers twice a day.
But on Sunday he missed two tackles, threw an offload deep in his own half that James Roberts knocked on and clattered into James Tamou which forced the Tigers skipper to go off for a HIA.
Speaking on The Big League Wrap, Michael Ennis suggested that Leilua needed to control his emotions better.
“It’s a shame for Joey,” Ennis said.
“He brings so much to the side when he’s focused and when he’s invested in the performance. There was an innocuous tackle on his brother, Luciano, last year by Api Koroisau.
“And from that moment he just saw red, he found himself on a lengthy suspension and again today Hudson Young put a target on [Luciano]. Luciano was the Tigers’ biggest threat and the two young bull got one on him early.
“Joey then came over and was pointing the finger.
“He then came up with that play where he clipped James Tamou.
“He came up with some really under-pressure passes – one for James Roberts.
“Defensively, George Williams sliced through him and another one where Bailey Simonsson picked up a kick from George Williams that ended up being Hudson Young’s try and there was very minimal effort to get back.
“They need more from Joey, he’s a marquee player that can be a real x-factor. If the Tigers are going to have any creativity it’s players like Joey who need to be eight and nine out of ten every week.”
Penrith great Greg Alexander also questioned the wisdom of putting both brothers on the same side of the field.
Joey has shifted to the left edge after Roberts’ arrival at Concord, but Alexander said their defensive frailties could be exposed.
“It’s interesting that Michael Maguire shifted the Leilua brothers together,” Alexander said.
“They were together last year and Newcastle put a cricket score on them early and Luciano went to the left, Joey stayed on the right. now they’re both on the left.
“ I don’t know, if defensively whether that’s the best move for the Tigers.
“Luciano was their best player, he’s a danger every time he touches the ball and I think they’ll have to think about their defensive setups.”
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