Sydney: Behind the Leichhardt Oval stands on Sunday night there were two Wests Tigers NRL players posing for photos with Fijian fans dressed in traditional sulus and with flower garlands around their necks.
One of them was 10-time Fiji international Sunia Turuva and the other was Bati hopeful for this year’s World Cup, Josese Lanyon.
“He’s a gun and I want the best for him,” Turuva said of 21-year-old Lanyon.
The pair had just been part of an euphoric 36-28 win by the Wests Tigers over Gold Coast to mark the last NRL game at the venue before a major renovation after 92 years. It will re-open its doors in 2028.
Lanyon was making his NRL debut in the absence of regular hooker Api Koroisau who is on NSW Origin duty.
The young rake was the Tigers’ Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s) player of the year in 2025 and has already scored three tries in NSW Cup this year.
On Sunday he played 56 minutes, made 38 tackles, three dummy-half runs and had the quickest play-the-ball (2.72 seconds) of any of his teammates.
Lanyon will be up against Koroisau for the No.9 starting position for Fiji in October’s World Cup but Turuva said he would be a powerful bench addition to what is shaping as a strong Bati squad.
“God willing I also get selected and have an injury-free season for the remainder,” Turuva said.
“But hopefully the Finaus (brothers Samuela, Latu and Sione) get cleared to play and we have Jahream Bula and Api and now Josese Lanyon here at the Tigers.
“So we’ll have a very good squad for the World Cup. It doesn’t matter who puts the Bati jersey on for us we know they will put out a performance.
“We’ve been building good connections in Fiji training camps.”
The Wests Tigers certainly put on a performance on Sunday coming from 24-12 down to beat the Titans. The victory came just seven days after the Tigers were pummelled 68-0 by Penrith.
“We had a point to prove not just after last week but the last six weeks where we’ve been flogged,” Turuva said.
“We were averaging losses of 40 or 50 points so that’s not good, especially the way we want to head.
“The boys showed a lot of resilience tonight. We always had the belief.”
The Wests Tigers are now 7-6 in win-loss for the season with the turnaround on Sunday largely due to a hat-trick by skipper Jarome Luai, who has been maligned for announcing his signing with the PNG Chiefs in 2028 in the middle of season 2026.
Source: AAP
