James Tedesco stole centre stage to ensure Robbie Farah's rendezvous with the Wests Tigers was as miserable as his final days at his former club.
Tedesco was in sublime touch in the Tigers' emphatic 34-18 victory against the hapless Rabbitohs, who have far greater concerns than starting their campaign with such a heavy defeat.
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Wests upset Souths to start season
The Wests Tigers have upset the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs, 34-18, to kick off their season.
While one superstar No.1 shone, the other - Greg Inglis - was reduced to a shadow of his usual shelf after playing the majority of his 58 minutes virtually on one leg.
Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire defended his bizarre decision to leave his star player on the field despite clear discomfort, confident the injury wouldn't be long term.
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"I have some very good staff and they were obviously in conversation with Greg right throughout the game," Maguire said.
"Greg felt it was actually getting better. He thought he could stay out there. It is actually his good knee. Everyone keeps talking about his knee but it is his other knee."
It was Inglis' opposite number who inflicted the damage when he stepped past the South Sydney skipper to leave him clutching at thin air and in agony on the turf.
It was a night of contrasting fortunes for the two fullbacks, as Tedesco picked up where he left off last season with another show-stopping performance on the opening weekend of the competition.
The NSW custodian was in sublime touch, scoring a try and setting up three others to give his side the ideal launching pad for a season that must yield a finals berth or face the likelihood of another sacked coach.
With the fate of their four best players beyond this season still up in the air, the Tigers were slow out of the blocks and looked like being steamrolled in the opening exchanges.
However the injury to Inglis was the catalyst for a Tigers resurgence, scoring three tries in quick succession to turn the game on its head.
"Me personally I felt I could actually get through it," Inglis said of the injury.
"But there were two plays in that second half where I couldn't really do anything. It is probably one of the worst feelings, to be out there and be a passenger."
Compounding the injury to Inglis was the concussion to Hymel Hunt, who played no further part in the match after leaving the field before half-time.
Farah's impact was minimal, niggling his former teammates on a miserable wet night at ANZ Stadium on Friday.
An unnecessary penalty from the Tigers for attacking the kicker gifted the Rabbitohs the first genuine chance of the match, taking advantage of field possession with a well-executed backline play to send Bryson Goodwin over for the first try of the night.
Debutant Moses Suli spilled the pill with his first touch of the night, but he redeemed himself shortly after when he showed off his footwork to send Ava Seumanufagai over untouched.
It was the start of special night for the teenage rookie, who showed why the Tigers wrapped him up on a lucrative three-year deal without having any NRL experience to his name.
Jamal Idris' night also began with a dropped ball, but he showed plenty of promise coming off the bench in his first hit-out in almost two years.
The Tigers' second try was pure individual brilliance from Tedesco, bamboozling the Souths defensive line to slide over to give his side a 12-4 advantage midway through the opening half.
"I didn't think he was going to score that try that he scored," Tigers coach Jason Taylor said.
"But those guys taking the line on was important for us tonight. When I say those guys I mean Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks and James Tedesco. Just being prepared to get tackled I thought was a key factor in the game."
Tedesco turned provider for the Tigers' third try soon after, hitting Chris Lawrence with a perfect flat pass at the line to allow the second-rower to crash over for an 18-4 lead.
The Rabbitohs reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time with their second try from a scrum, kicking for Inglis to score untouched despite hobbling to the ball.
The Tigers fullback then hit back and played a pivotal hand in a length-of-the-field try to open the second half, producing the first and last pass in a passage of play that led to Mitchell Moses scoring under the posts.
The Tigers then raced out to a 34-8 lead, largely through the brilliance of Tedesco, before Bryson Goodwin gave the Rabbitohs fans something to cheer about with two late tries to bag a hat-trick on a disappointing night for club.
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