Tigers face their biggest test as Farah joins casualty list

For 77 minutes of last night's contest at Campbelltown Stadium, all seemed to be sitting pretty well for Wests Tigers. A gritty, grinding performance against the Cowboys had seen the side come out on top, 16-4 winners.  Then in the blink of an eye, the man who had orchestrated one of his more dominant individual performances for the club went reeling out of a tackle and fell to the ground clutching his elbow. "Oh no! Not Robbie Farah!" most would surely have thought.

The news following only added fear to the situation. Subsequent scans confirmed damage but thankfully nothing major. The bad news? Farah is still looking at 6 weeks on the sideline. That also puts him in extreme doubt for Origin 1. Most Tigers fans though will be thinking little about that and more about the absence of their club captain.

For the Tigers the news is a bitter, bitter blow. Hot on the heels on losing youngsters Sauaso Sue and James Tedesco for extended periods, throw in long term absentees Dene Halatau, Curtis Sironen and Tim Moltzen and a fair bit of 1st grade talent is missing. This is definitely cause for concern. So far the depth has done an admirable job. However, there's no doubt that Farah is the biggest loss of them all. Irreplaceable!

Likely to step in to Farah's place next week is young Joel Luani who debuted for the club last season in place of Farah. Luani is a steady hooker who is his own man, not the next Robbie. Luani's inclusion also means coach Mick Potter will likely need to find a back up hooker for the bench.

NYC hooker Manaia Cherrington's time is surely too soon. he could though feature.  The likely other contenders are Liam Fulton or Jarred Farlow. With Braith Anasta to return next week, it's likely Blake Austin's name could come up. However, has he ever played the hooking role before???? I'm not sure that's the way Potter will go. Nathan Walters could be another name to come up for the reckoning.

Critically, Potter is likely to already have had a plan ready given the likely loss of Farah during origin. So with that in mind, Potter will simply execute that plan a few weeks earlier than expected. Either way, i don't envy Mick Potter this week. He's got a tough decision to make. The Tigers too face a likely tough period on the field too.