'Our motto is do or die': Wests Tigers celebrate win with new song

Wests Tigers officials handed out sheets of paper with the words to the club’s victory song as players celebrated their first win and a “new standard” under new coach Benji Marshall.

With just four wins in each of their past two seasons and a crop of new faces in the squad, Wests Tigers players could be excused for not knowing the team song after Saturday night’s 32-6 defeat of Cronulla at Leichhardt Oval.

However, the club has introduced a new song that pays tribute to the heritage of Western Suburbs and Balmain, who formed a joint venture 25 years ago.

The song begins, "we are the boys from Western Suburbs", and includes the lines, "we play to win with all our might", and "our motto is do or die", before finishing with, "we are the Tigers".

After watching his team live up to the values of the song, with a performance featuring 18 offloads and some desperate defence, Marshall led the singing in the dressing room, along with and 2005 premiership winning team-mates Robbie Farah and Chris Heighington.  

“We're not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Marshall said. It's one win, and we will definitely enjoy it because they've been few and far between the last few seasons, but that’s the standard that we have to follow now.”

Kumuls centre Justin Olam echoed Marshall’s demands after scoring his first try for Wests Tigers in a starring debut with his new club after joining Wests Tigers from Melbourne.

“It’s my first game here, at Leichhardt, and my first game for the club, so it's good to get a win with the boys in front of a packed Leichhardt Oval,” Olam told Fox Sports.

“I'm really enjoying the vibe here and hopefully we can put up this kind of performance every game because that’s our new standard.

“Obviously there's a lot of improvement still to be done, but that's our standard from now on so hopefully we can take that into the next game.”

Wests Tigers players spoke about Marshall’s calmness as a coach and the confidence he has instilled by backing them to make decisions on the field and providing clarity around their roles.

Star fullback Jahream Bula scored two tries, while 18-year-old five-eighth Lachlan Galvin – a Magpies junior – had another strong game after making his NRL debut in Canberra last week.

“Benji gave me some good advice at the start of the year, and it's about trusting those guys,” captain Api Koroisau said.

“They're in the team because they can play footy and when they're calling for the ball, sometimes you have just got to give it to them. I think they did so well tonight.”

Halfback Aidan Sezer, who started in the Wests Tigers No.7 jersey for the first time, said he was also enjoying playing under Marshall after returning from a stint in Super League.

“For me, it's been really refreshing. He's so relaxed but he definitely knows what he wants and he has simplified my role,” said Sezer, who produced two try assists from kicks.

“When I came out onto the park I knew what I had to do and for me, as a player, I enjoy clarity. Just kick to the corners, not give them easy possession and apply pressure, whereas I think we let them off last week against Canberra.”

Galvin said Marshall had also made him feel comfortable in his two NRL games by giving the teenager a free reign on the field.

“He's made it so easy for me, he just tells me to go out there and play my game,” Galvin said.

“He says if you see something, go out and do it. If you see the pass, throw it. If you see you can run, run. If you can see you can kick, kick.

“That's made it so good for me and made me go out there and just have fun and enjoy playing NRL.”