The Wests Tigers have one of the best young halfbacks in the NRL, they've got one of the most exciting fullbacks in the NRL and they have a young man in the 6 jersey who spent most of his junior rugby league alongside the guy who is the best young halfback in the NRL. Sure the Tigers have Luke Brooks, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses but they aren't much without this forward pack that they have been building for a few years now.

The Tigers were shown to be a few pegs below the Rabbitohs but not because the Rabbits dominated the middle of the field as they usually do. When the Tigers were in positions to get a repeat set or score, they couldn't quite do so which I reckon was down to Brooks and Moses not quite executing their plays perfectly or not demanding enough ball. This is the second year in a row where the Tigers have gone toe-to-toe with the Rabbitohs up the middle and done pretty well.

Their forward pack for 2015 is a bit different and I reckon it's actually weaker but that's no reason why they can't go further in the competition. Remember their bench last year? Martin Taupau, James Gavet and Suasuo Sue coming off the pine to destroy the hopes and dreams of many NRL forwards. They knew they could come on and cause a bit of destruction then have a rest which is always nice but in 2015 this bench combo has been ravaged.

Gavet is now in Brisbane after we didn't see nearly enough of him with the Tigers. What we did see was pure aggression which is very handy, but he had a few off-field issues and performed as such that he could probably cash in. But he's gone for the season with a knee injury so that's a bummer. Both Taupau and Sue have become starters which is fantastic, but that has impacted the bench which now consists of Dene Halatau, Ava Seumanufagai, Brenden Santi and Jack Buchanan. Seumanufagai is really the only lad who featured off the bench last season who is back there in 2015.

The first big change is Taupau starting at lock, similar to Jason Taumalolo. The lock position differs dramatically from team to team with teams like the Tigers and Cowboys opting for a big powerful ball runner while guys like Shaun Fensom for the Raiders still hold down the workhorse locking spot. Regardless of their role, they are known as middle forwards instead of locks these days.

Taupau has been awesome for the Tigers, while he's not really suited to playing 80 minutes like a Simon Mannering, he's averaging 48 minutes over three games which is enough. He's obviously a great ball runner, he's big but like Taumalolo he's very nimble and along with Keith Galloway and Aaron Woods they do a great job of getting their team rolling forward. Taupau also took it upon himself against the Rabbitohs to chop any ball runner down on defence. You would think with his size that he might have a different plan on defence but he dives straight in a the legs and made 39 tackles. He's showing that he's got a very solid all round game, making an impact on both attack and defence and if he can continue to improve his minutes, he'll add that string to his bow.

The bench don't need to have as much of an impact as they did because the core of the forward pack is doing a great job. Aaron Woods is earning a reputation as one of the best props in the league and in three games he has made over 200 running metres twice, he ran for 173 metres in the other game while also squeezing out two off loads in all three of those games. You might as well put some cash down on Woods off loading at least once, he's a workhorse who has that late footwork and off load similar to Jesse Bromwich, if he can become a prop who can play 80 minutes then he'd be unstoppable.

Woods and Galloway are the staple of this forward pack, which is even better for the club when you consider that they are Tigers lads through and through. Galloway understandably has had less of an impact but you got knock him as an NRL prop, he's ran for more than 100 metres in every game this year. 

On the edges the Tigers have definitely made a bit of an upgrade for mine. Curtis Sironen is a young back rower with the skills of a half and the size of a prop, he's parked on the left edge while Sue adds power on the right edge. Both of these two are young so there's plenty of room for them to grow, but at the very least they give their play makers options. They can attack down both flanks and they offer enough to be a distraction if Tedesco is sniffing around out the back. 

I love the mix of this forward pack which starts with an 80 minute hooker. Robbie Farah, we don't need much of a look at him, he's quality but there's no need to waste a bench spot on a hooker with Farah in the side. However, Halatau can fill those boots, in fact Halatau can fill pretty much anyone's boots which is very handy. While he fills the utility role, that's a 'just in case' situation, he'll usually come off the bench to give Sue a break and Halatau offers his own style being a bit smaller but quicker and more skillful. Having played in the middle a lot in his career, Halatau is a fine defender as well.

The Tigers boast a stronger starting forward pack this season, but they also have clear roles and look to be more comfortable with how they fit into the the team. The key for them is getting the most out of their bench because their starters do a great job of getting the upper hand and against the Bunnies for example, you felt a bit of a drop when their rotations started. This will come with time as Seumanufagai has 43 games, Santi has 4 games and Buchanan has 29 games (Mathew Lodge who is also a promising young forward has played 5 games). They will learn how to make an impact with more experience.

The Tigers forward pack resembles their whole squad. There's youth, but there's also the right sprinkling of experience with Galloway and Farah the leaders of the pack. Woods, despite his age has played State of Origin and looked at home also so they have pretty much all bases covered. They've done a decent job of winning that battle through the middle so far this season and it's hard to see them falling off in any sort of way. This will allow their play makers to continue to grow, they'll know that their forward pack will win most of their battles which lays the perfect platform for a halves/fullback spine that are still figuring things out.