Infotainment Factory: Benji's telling admission after shock Manly win

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall says his young team is beginning to figure out what works for them as the Tigers scored a shock come from behind 34-26 victory over Manly on Thursday night.

While the most of the competition is still battling it out for top eight honours, the Tigers have found purpose down the back end of their season despite languishing at the foot of the table.

The club's view of the top eight has been from the outside for over a decade and is still fighting to avoid a third straight wooden spoon.

But there's a glimmer of hope for Marshall's men as they scored their second win on the trot and will gun for their third straight NRL win next week for the first time since 2018.

"We're starting to find a little bit of what works for us," Marshall said in his post-match press conference.

"Last week we found something - and don't forget we've got a team of kids who are still learning how to manage games, how to play games and we've got some great leaders who, like tonight, led us home at the back end."

Marshall had a special mention for young five-eighth Lachlan Galvin, who was reportedly unhappy at the club earlier in the season.

"Lachie Galvin, just the emergence of these guys and then Latu Fainu gets on and his first touch (he scores).

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"He is a great young kid, very silky with the ball, tough in defence, never shirks his responsibility. But you've got to remember he's 19 and it takes time.

"We want to finish the season on a high, we've got a bye then Parramatta in the last round so at least we're giving ourselves a shot at it.

"But I'll be clear, we're not happy finishing 16th or 17th. We want to be higher than that but we accept where we are and you've got to identify how to move forward and we've got a plan and we're working on it.

"But we've got to celebrate the moments like tonight too, we need to enjoy that."

Tigers skipper Api Koroisau also praised the 18-year-old Galvin.

"He's one of those kids that just has raw talent, he's not flustered by what's happened, he plays what's in front of him," Koroisau said.

"When the game is on the line he's one of those guys that wants his hands on the ball. It's great to play with someone like that, especially at 18, sometimes they can go missing or quiet but he just takes his opportunities."

As for the Sea Eagles, they could have wrapped up a first finals berth since 2021 with victory against the last-placed Tigers but poor discipline let them down.

They gave up six first half penalties and also lost three players to the sin bin as the Tigers grew in confidence as the match went on.

Manly had their own finals destiny in their hands but now will have to beat either Canterbury or Cronulla in the final two rounds, or if they lose both, they'll have to rely on the Dolphins losing one of their final three games.

"You get what you deserve in the NRL. We've deserved some really good results because we've played some really good footy but tonight we weren't there," Manly coach Anthony Seibold said.

"We'll go back and prepare well because we've got a big game against the Bulldogs next Friday night. We know how well they've been playing."

Ahead of the Tigers loss, Seibold said he was "very confident" the Sea Eagles would play finals football this season.

When asked about his confidence levels after the match, the Sea Eagles reaffirmed the belief he has in his team.

"I'm confident in our team, of course I am," he said.

"I'm not sure what the ladder looks like after tonight but we've been reasonably consistent over the last little period of time.

"We were well beaten tonight. But I'm confident in the group, we've got a really good side there. Our destiny is in our own hands.

"It's disappointing but it's not the end of the world, right? We're fighting in this competition and we'll go again.

"It's going to be a disappointing 24 hours but then we need to wash it after that."