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Sport Nation
Doueihi the hero in May-day at Leichhardt Oval
Sam Kosack • July 20th, 2025 6:54 pm
The Wests Tigers have defeated a devastated Gold Coast Titans 21-20; Adam Doueihi kicking a field goal in the last 10 seconds to once again be the hero at Leichhardt Oval.
Jeral Skelton crossed in the 76th minute for the Wests Tigers before Adam Doueihi slotted the match-winning field goal in the 79th to once again be the hero at Leichhardt Oval.
It was May-day for the Tigers who were boosted by the return of ex-Panther Taylan May for his first game in the NRL in 436 days.
May was excepted from the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy after domestic violence charges against him were dropped, pathing the way for his return alongside brother Terrell, who has been a standout for the Tigers in 2025.
He scored the first try for the home side, also racking up two try assists, a line break, three line break assists, 121 run metres, and seven tackle breaks, with coach Benji Marshall praising his centre after the match.
“First game back in however long, for Taylan to do what he did today was outstanding,” Marshall said in his press conference.
“It took me half a game of (NSW) Cup two weeks ago to realise he was almost ready to play.
“We weren’t expecting miracles… that opportunity came sooner than we thought but I thought he was outstanding.”
Sydney Roosters half Chad Townsend thought Taylan May’s combination with his brother was a crucial key to the Tigers comeback win.
“I thought he was tremendous today,” Townsend said on SEN post-match.
“He looked dangerous every time he touched the ball.
“There's no doubt… Terrell was shooting down the short side… I think these two are going to bring the best out of each other.
“We've seen what Terrell’s been able to do at the Tigers. Now to have his brother there, I think it's only gonna be onwards and upwards for both of them.”
The win takes the Wests Tigers to seven for the season, one more than their total wins last year with six rounds to spare.
Marshall revealed forwards Alex Twal and Alex Seyfarth spent nights in hospital with the flu ahead of the game and weren’t certain to play but refused to use any excuses for his side’s poor performance.
“I don’t want to say how we got it, but we got it,” Marshall admitted.
“If I’m being honest, I thought today was our worst game.
“I thought in the first half we were looking for things that weren’t there.”
Titans’ coach Des Hasler refused to blame the referees after his side’s loss, despite controversies surrounding several crucial knock ons and roll ball infringements.
The Titans led the game for majority of the match, but a poor completion rate in the second half cost the Titans dearly, however, Hasler refused to turn the criticism outwards, taking aim at his side in the press conference.
“It was dumb,” Hasler said post-game.
“We didn't need luck… I’m not going to blame it entirely on the referee’s performance.
“We needed the win today and we didn’t get it so that’s really disappointing.
“We needed the win today and we didn’t get it so that’s really disappointing.
“Between (errors) and the roll balls… we didn’t give ourselves a chance.
“We’ve still got games remaining, we need to learn out of it… our individual performances, we need to get better.”
The Titans remain in last as the season nears the end.
