First touch try stuns Lote Tuqiri

BRENDON ESPOSITO/Sydney Morning Herald

FAST START: Lote Tuqiri dives over for a Wests Tigers try just four minutes into the NRL match against Manly.

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Lote Tuqiri could not believe it. With his first touch of the ball in the NRL for nearly eight years, the dreadlocked winger found himself diving for the corner without a hand laid on him.

A try four minutes into his debut for the Wests Tigers - he could hardly have dreamed of more in the hours of sleep he managed on the long flight back from England last week.

It was also the perfect start to the most anticipated individual performance of the weekend, almost capped off by a fairytale finish with only a desperate Brett Stewart tackle flooring Tuqiri as he galloped towards the line inside the final five minutes. Despite the Manly fullback's bravery in bringing him down, there were no smiles for the Sea Eagles in the aftermath.

Stewart sustained a knee injury in that very tackle that could sideline him for up to six weeks, and the Tigers stole a come-from-behind 26-22 win when second-rower Gareth Ellis dived on a Robbie Farah grubber moments later to make his first try for the club extra special.

Beaming after a memorable return to the NRL, Tuqiri described his first-touch try, laid on by five-eighth Benji Marshall and centre Chris Lawrence from the scrumbase, as a ''dream start''.

''I couldn't have asked for anything more,'' he said. ''I honestly couldn't believe it. We called a play on the short side off the scrum - we'd practised it all week and it came off. [Centre] Chris Lawrence likes that line going out, and he sucked two defenders in, and lo and behold he popped it up.

''I juggled it a bit - I don't know if I would have caught that in the 80th minute, but luckily I was still fresh.''

Of his dash down the left flank in the last five minutes, which turned back the clock as the 30-year-old hit top speed, he said he had an eye on Stewart as he loomed ever larger on his radar. ''I didn't realise I had that much running in my legs,'' Tuqiri said of his 50-metre run.

''Luckily I had a bit of a headstart. I saw Brett Stewart in the corner of my eye, I thought he was going to slow down a bit. I was waiting for him to slow down so I could step inside, but he didn't. I just took the tackle and luckily we scored in the next couple of plays. I hope he's OK.''

Tuqiri's return was a successful one given his long absence from the game, though he admitted he might have still had rugby union tactics on the mind when he produced a kick over the top, on the third tackle, early in the second half.

''I made a bit of a boo-boo just after half-time,'' he said. ''I thought I was still playing rugby when I chipped through on the third tackle or something. I've gone, 'Oh, what the … ' Luckily nothing came of it. I'm sure a few of my old Waratahs teammates in the stands would have been laughing at that.''

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