Benji Marshall was at his dazzling best in Wests Tigers' win over Melbourne yesterday but a mini-injury crisis added a sour note to the festivities at a sold-out Leichhardt Oval.
Marshall produced one of his trademark flick passes on the way to a hat-trick which has put the Tigers in
the box seat for a top-two finals finish, but there were mixed feelings afterwards, with coach Tim Sheens assembling an alarming casualty ward leading into the playoffs.
The worst of the wounded is star centre Chris Lawrence, who left the field with a broken jaw after four minutes of play.
Sheens said Lawrence had a weakened jaw from a previous injury, which might explain why the damage was so severe from what appeared to be an innocuous hit from Jeff Lima, who wasn't even put on report.
"I'd like to hope the boys play well enough to give him another opportunity," Sheens said.
"In the meantime guys like Geoff Daniela and [Mitch] Brown and company [could get an opportunity]."
Evergreen prop John Skandalis suffered a nasty buttocks injury which forced him off and he will miss a couple of weeks at best.
Fullback Wade McKinnon aggravated his ongoing hamstring problem and will at least miss this Friday's clash with Gold Coast.
Front rower Bryce Gibbs has a knee injury and second rower Liam Fulton a calf problem, which could keep them out again this week, while Gareth Ellis has a nasty cork. Inconsistent football saw the Tigers cling to a 10-8 lead at the break.
A crowd of 20,168 went wild in the 13th minute when Marshall started and finished one of the tries of the season.
Marshall slid through the defensive line, set off 40m downfield before flicking inside for Mitch Brown, with the ball ended up with Marshall again to cross down in the corner.
A soft Ryan Hoffman try got Melbourne back in the contest at 16-14, before Tigers skipper Robbie Farah burrowed over in the 68th minute and Marshall completed his treble with a runaway effort at the death. AAP
