Disaster for Wests Tigers as Api Koroisau ruled out and teammate banned for referee incident

The Wests Tigers have taken another massive hit amid their six-game losing streak, with Api Koroisau out with concussion and Heath Mason suspended for an incident with referee Gerard Sutton on Friday night. Benji Marshall's side's slumped to a sixth-straight loss with a 28-10 defeat to Manly.

They were already missing Jarome Luai (infection) and Jahream Bula (hamstring), and will now lose Koroisau and Mason for next weekend's clash with the Roosters. Mason was put on report after colliding with Sutton while trying to prevent a Manly try in the first half.

Api Koroisau is out with concussion, while Heath Mason has been banned. Image: Getty/Fox League

The fullback, who switched from the halves to cover Bula, was charged with a Grade 2 Contrary Conduct on Saturday by the match review committee. An early guilty plea will see him banned for one week, with extra punishment if the Tigers challenge and lose.

Heath Mason appeared to push Gerard Sutton out of the way. Image: Fox League

Koroisau was concussed after collecting the knee of a Manly player in the second half, and was ruled a Category 1. That means he automatically enters the 11-day stand-down protocol and won't be available next week against the Roosters.

In a stunning twist, it means the Tigers are now very unlikely to release young hooker Tallyn Da Silva before the June 30 deadline. The Tigers had granted him permission to negotiate with rivals for an immediate exit, but will now need him to start at No.9 with Koroisau out.

The Wests Tigers are now likely to hold onto Tallyn Da Silva. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

The 20-year-old is contracted to the Tigers until the end of next year, but the club have opted to let the Campbelltown junior walk and prioritise keeping Koroisau. NRL rules state all mid-season signings must be completed by June 30, meaning Da Silva could not move on after filling in at No.9 for the Tigers next week.

Asked if that would impact the Da Silva situation on Friday night, Marshall suggested it could. "It's something we will have to talk about over the weekend," the Wests Tigers coach said. "Honestly I don't know (if he will be at the Tigers next week). that is up to him and his management. We will leave that up to them where that lands."

Meanwhile, Marshall said he was confident Luai would recover from an infected boil on his chest in time to play in State of Origin 3 for NSW. But it means he too won't be available to take on the Roosters. 

"We'll know a bit more in the next 24 hours. I think he'll be out of hospital today or tomorrow," Marshall said. "I am pretty sure he will be okay for NSW if they pick him.

"He got an infection yesterday and didn't come to training. He said he was going to be alright to play. And then he went to hospital and had fevers and the infection got a lot worse. If it was another 24 or 48 hours Jarome would have been right to play. But he wasn't good for today."

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Marshall admitted the club has gone backwards since a promising start to the year. "If I am looking at it performance wise, yeah, sure we've improved. But the results are damning a bit," he said.

"We've improved. But while a lot of people probably expected us to still be at the bottom of the table, we expected a lot more from ourselves. A couple of results here or there that maybe could have gone our way, we're still learning how to win those."

with AAP

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/disaster-for-wests-tigers-as-api-koroisau-ruled-out-and-teammate-banned-for-referee-incident-021401482.html

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