Wasn't up to standard: Twal reflects on Tigers' disappointing finish

Wests Tigers veteran Alex Twal has reflected on the club's disappointing finish to 2026, believing there were many causes behind their struggles.

For Twal, 2026 marked his first time winning the Kelly-Barnes Medal (club best and fairest award) after 10 seasons at the merged club, having averaged 117 run metres and a tackling efficiency of 96.83%.

Despite the personal success, it’s been another frustrating year at Concord.

Having been in the top four in Round 8, the Tigers plummeted into the bottom four by season’s end, managing only three wins after their 33-14 victory over Canberra.

There was also plenty of struggle off the field in Tigertown, with prized recruit Jarome Luai leaving after serving two years of his five year contract as he joins Parramatta for a year before linking up with PNG in their inaugural season in 2028, alongside Adam Doueihi sitting out for their Round 21 clash against the Raiders.

Reflecting on how the playing group handled these issues during the season, he did admit that they were distractions.

But acknowledged there were other issues impacting their performance on the field.  

“Throughout the season, we like to push things to the side as players and just focus on winning games and just sort of keep the harmony and stuff,” Twal told SEN’s The Run Home with Joel and Fletch.

“But I think the Jarome situation was obviously one thing that I guess it was a bit of a distraction.

“But in saying that, there were a few other things as well.

“A lot of our senior players went down with injuries (in) that mid-part of the year, and then it was just form.

“I think, as a team, we just dropped our form (and) confidence took a hit through that little period, and we just never really came out of it.

“Towards the back end I thought we started playing a bit better footy. But (it) still wasn't up to the standard that we said at the start of the year, that's for sure.”

Luai is the most notable loss for the Tigers going into next season, with Starford To’a, Mavrik Geyer, Kit Laulilii and Luke Laulilii all moving to different clubs.

They are set to welcome Dolphins’ centre Jake Averillo and Raiders’ hooker Jayden Brailey for 2027.