Hey Tigers fans, here’s a fun team to contemplate as you stare into the bottom of your glass trying to put the horrors of the last three seasons behind you, a team of players who each played just one game of first grade for the Tigers during the NRL era.
How many of them can you remember?
1. Justin Hunt (2016)
The son of Eels’ great Neil Hunt, Justin looked for opportunities at several clubs before debuting for Souths in 2012, and he went on to play 22 career first-grade games over five seasons, including just one with the Eels in 2014 and one for the Tigers in 2016, filling in for the injured James Tedesco. Severe leg and ankle injuries saw him retire from the game at the end of 2017.
2. Laloa Milford (2000)
Milford joined the newly merged club from Balmain in 2000 but had to wait until round 17 to finally get his chance in first grade, replacing winger Joel Caine who was moved to fullback. He scored a try on debut for Wests but was back in reserve grade the following week. He played every game for Samoa in the 2000 World Cup later that year, scoring three tries, and then hooked up with the Pia Donkeys in France in 2001.
3. Reece Hoffman (2020)
Hoffman made the QLD Under 18’s origin team in 2019 and was snapped up by the Tigers for the 2020 season. The 19-year-old scored a try in his debut first-grade match in Wests’ round nine clash with South Sydney, replacing the injured Tommy Talau, but returned to the reserves the following week. He joined the Bulldogs in 2022 before retiring from the game in 2024 aged just 23 after being unable to crack first grade.
4. Zane Camroux (2023)
Camroux joined Wests from Newcastle in 2022 and played one game in the top grade off the extended bench in the 2023 NRL Pre-Season Challenge. He joined Redcliffe in 2024.
5. Luke Milton (2003)
Milton was a Roosters’ junior and played seven first-grade games for them across the 2001 and 2002 seasons before moving to the Tigers in 2003, where he scored a try in his only first-grade appearance. He switched to rugby union with the NSW Waratahs the following year and went on to play the game in the US before becoming a celebrity trainer, whatever that is.
6. Rangi Chase (2006)
Born in NZ, went to school in Queensland, represented NZ Maori and played eight tests for England. Such is rugby league. Chase has played a lot of games for a lot of clubs during his long career, most notably with Castleford Tigers, but it all began with a single game for the Tigers in 2006 when he played off the bench in the round 17 clash against the Bulldogs. He’s probably still playing somewhere.
Tyson Gamble. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
7. Tyson Gamble (2018)
Tyson Gamble was yet another Queenslander to get his start at the Tigers, joining the club from Redcliffe in 2018 and playing his first game in the top grade that same year when he came into the side for Josh Reynolds in the Tigers round 15 game against the Raiders. He returned to Redcliffe the following year and joined the Broncos soon after.
8. Brenton Pomery (2000)
The big forward began his career at North Sydney in 1995 before joining Western Suburbs for the 1998 and 1999 seasons where the club picked up back-to-back wooden spoons. He stayed on for the Wests Tigers joint venture in 2000 but played only one game in the top grade before moving to the Storm mid-season.
9. Jeremy Marshall-King (2017)
The current Dolphins’ star moved from NZ to Western Sydney as a youngster, joining the Wests Tigers junior system in 2014 and making his first-grade debut for the club three years later at the age of 22, playing off the bench in their round 26 games against the Warriors. He moved to Canterbury the following year and hasn’t looked back since.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
10. Lamar Manuel-Liolevave (2015)
Manuel-Liolevave was born in Auckland but raised in Queensland where he attended the great football nursery at Keebra Park High School, he was selected for the Australian Schoolboys side in 2013 and recruited by the Tigers in 2014, going on to gain selection in the Junior Kiwis side both that year and again in 2015.
He played his solitary first grade game early in the 2015 season, tried his luck with Canterbury the following year, and then headed home to QLD in 2017 where he continues to play with the Tweed Seagulls club. He also played seven games for Fiji between 2019 and 2022.
11. David Gower (2006)
Gower was a Tigers’ junior but headed to England as a 20-year-old where he played for the Salford City Reds, before returning home in 2009 to join the Tigers. He made his NRL debut that same year, but despite being one of the best players in the NSW Cup across both the 2009 and 2010 seasons, didn’t feature again in first grade. He left the Tigers in 2011 and spent the next ten years playing for the Dragons, Sea Eagles and Eels.
12. Kitione Kautoga (2022)
The big Fijian played his only top-grade game for the Tigers when he was named on the bench towards the end of the 2022 season. He moved to the Bulldogs for the next two years and will now be hoping for more first-grade opportunities with the Eels after joining them for this season. He’s also played 4 games for Fiji over the last couple of years.
13. Nathan Brown (2013)
Brown is another of the many players who played just one first-grade game for the Tigers before getting on with their careers. He debuted for the club towards the end of the 2013 season, with salary cap issues precluding him from playing any further top-grade games that year.
He left the Tigers for Souths in 2015 and has since played 170 first-grade games with Souths, Parramatta, the Roosters and Manly.
So Tigers fans, how many of these players do you recall running out in first grade?
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Adam Doueihi insists he is keen to play centre as he works to repay the Wests Tigers for sticking by him through a horror…
Tom Gilbert suffered a fresh injury scare at the Dolphins' preseason NRL camp but insists he's on track to play the club's season opener…
A no-holds-barred spray from the usually laidback Benji Marshall has been the wake-up call Latu Fainu needed to perhaps fulfil the potential that once…
Latu Fainu had to front the Tigers' board as well as getting a rev-up from Marshall.
As part of a series profiling the expected Round 1 sides for all 17 NRL clubs in 2025, the Wests Tigers believe they have…
Jarome Luai says he's ready for the pressure of leading Wests Tigers off the bottom of the NRL ladder. Jarome Luai is desperate to…
