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'On good money': Freddy puts Tigers stars on notice

League legend Brad Fittler has called on a number of Tigers stars to "stand up" as the club looks to end its five-match losing streak.

After a promising start to the season with two wins out of three the Tigers now sit in 15th ahead of their clash with Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.

While it hasn't been an ideal start to the Benji Marshall era, Fittler believes it's not panic stations yet but admitted he'd been "disappointed" with recent performances. 

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"I think round 20, 21, is going to be more telling," he said on Wide World of Sports' Freddy & The Eighth.

Tigers hooker Api Koroisau with head coach Benji Marshall.

"At the moment I think they could've been better, there's two games I've seen out at Campbelltown I was really disappointed in, I think the team had to get up for them. They had full crowds and part of their future is moving out there, I thought surely the team had to get up for that.

"I'm thinking give them a bit more time, give the blokes a bit more opportunity to play together and I reckon we start questioning (their performance) later in the season when we've had more time.

"Most of this team has barely played games together and then there's some players that need to show they want to be there.

"There's some big players like (Isaiah) Papalii, (John) Bateman, these sort of players are on good money, they're leaders that need to show that. I don't think they've shown that."

League icon Darryl Brohman added the absence of captain Apisai Koroisau had an impact during the side's 22-14 loss to the Bulldogs.

However, the Tigers will have to find a way to move forward without another key player with Aidan Sezer suspended for four matches. 

"If they're going to fire you're going to need your best players on the field and he's (Koroisau) their best player," he said.

"They'll miss their halfback (Sezer) ... he's actually surprised me how well he's gone, I think he's directed them around the park really well.

"They've got to get a bit more out of everyone I reckon, they're off the pace at the moment, they've lost a few in a row now and they don't want that being eight or nine in a row because that would devastate them."

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Brohman went on to praise 18-year-old five-eighth Lachlan Galvin who's become the shining light for the Tigers.

However, Fittler believes the fanfare around Galvin exposes the need for senior players to step up. 

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"That's the problem, we talk about the leadership, we're relying on a 19-year-old kid to be the star," he said.

"Obviously a lot gets created around Api but Galvin was out for a week and it was like everyone was going 'we need to get him back', like seriously?"

With Sezer gone for an extended period of time, big money off-season signing Jayden Sullivan will step into the halfback role.

The halfback was another Fittler called upon to improve.

"He went there with big expectations, it's time to stand up," he said.

"A few of those boys, I think it's time to stand up."



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