Live: Tigers running riot in 2026 season opener against Cowboys

After a penalty and a set restart, Jarome Luai kicks on the second tackle and Kai Pearce-Paul has an age to wait for the perfect moment to place a hand on the grubber for his second.

As much as I don’t love the way Grant Atkins has refereed this game, the Cowboys are doing themselves no favours with the way they’re playing.

Jarome Luai bursts through the middle of the field and has support to his right, but looks him off and is stopped by Scott Drinkwater.

Two-on-ones seem to be the only defensive situation where Drinkwater is even league average and he’s inexplicably one of the best in the league at them.

The play ends as Luke Laulilii has the ball knocked loose.

It’s a lovely little move on the right side by Koroisau, Doueihi, Bula and Kai Pearce-Paul, with the Englishman the beneficiary as he goes through basically untouched for his first try for the Tigers.

The Cowboys’ defence remains clueless.

Back-to-back set restarts for the Cowboys, but hooker Reed Mahoney follows it up with a knock-on at first receiver.

They play the ball wide right on the fifth and the Cowboys are lined up across the field out to the left, but Braidon Burns decides to scoot short side from dummy half and is immediately corralled. Bad call.

The Tigers were going side to side, but eventually the ball finds Adam Doueihi 12 metres out and he runs into the defence.

Jason Taumalolo and Heilum Luki get a hold of him and he keeps pushing forward very slowly.

Griffin Neame considers getting involved from the side, and Scott Drinkwater just watches from right in front as Doueihi just falls over the line with two players on top of him.

That was pathetic from the Cowboys, Drinkwater in particular.

The Tigers try to break right on the fourth tackle, and Murray Taulagi races up to make heavy contact with Taylan May, whose right shoulder is stuck up above his head.

That’s an awkward one but he’s playing on.

It doesn’t take long for the Tigers to make the extra man count, with Jarome Luai turning a ball under for Samuela Fainu to crash over very easily in game number 50.

Adam Doueihi converts for a 6-2 lead with the Tigers having held the ball for 70 per cent of the game so far.

They’ve received five set restarts so far. North Queensland has two. It’s truly exhausting to watch.

After the seventh set restart of the game, Kai O’Donnell is called out of the play from marker (unfairly I think), but he only goes 5 metres back before standing his ground in the path of Api Koroisau.

He’s sent to the sin bin.

Api Koroisau is penalised and put on report for going low with a cannonball tackle on big Griffin Neame.

And Jake Clifford pots an easy penalty goal for a 2-0 lead.

Jarome Luai puts Samuela Fainu through a hole, he pokes his nose through and offloads to Luke Laulilii.

He’s trying to find a pass back into Heamasi Makasini, but the cover defence cuts him off and Scott Drinkwater and Braidon Burns are able to knock the ball loose as he tries to ground it in the corner.

Set after set after set, but the Tigers’ attack ends with a tame Jarome Luai grubber straight to Scott Drinkwater.

The Cowboys can’t get outside their 20m line, but Tom Dearden’s kick is enormous and Jahream Bula eventually fields it just in front of his tryline.

It’s taken a set-and-a-half. The Tigers get a set restart on the third.

And then two more!

It’s their first game of the season for the Tigers, while the Cows a re recovering after Vegas.

How will they look in 2026?

The Cowboys led by Tom Dearden and Jarome Luai leading out the Tigers.

Exciting 18-year-old Heamasi Makasini is playing his second NRL game today after a stunning try in the Tigers’ trial against Penrith.

Another of the teenagers handed debuts by Benji Marshall in recent years, and already the vultures are circling …

It’s our first three-game day of the 2026 NRL season and it all kicks off in a few minutes, so let’s not muck around.

Here’s what’s ahead of us:

• Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval from 3pm AEDT
• St George Illawarra Dragons vs Melbourne Storm in Wollongong at from 5:30pm AEDT
• Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks in Bathurst from 7:35pm AEDT