Woods injured as Sharks shade Tigers

Apr 29, 2017 - 12:16 PM Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods looks set to be ruled out of the Australian side for next week's Test against New Zealand after going down in his side's 22-16 NRL loss to Cronulla.

Woods left Leichhardt Oval for scans before even speaking to his teammates after suffering a hamstring injury in the heartbreaking loss on Saturday night.

The Tigers were brave after being forced to play without their two biggest players in Woods and James Tedesco for most of the match but ultimately came up short.

It took a 69th minute try to Sharks No.7 Chad Townsend, who chipped and chased for himself, to close out the game for the premiers.

The Tigers skipper looked distraught in the sheds and coach Ivan Cleary said he was long odds to take on New Zealand in Canberra on Friday night.

"He'd be 1000s (to one), he's come off with a hamstring injury. But I'm not a doctor," Cleary said.

Woods was helped off the field clutching at his hamstring in the 25th minute after having his leg pulled in a tackle.

He is expected to on Sunday announce he has signed a four-year deal with Canterbury and for the second straight week was booed by his own club's fans as he was announced pre-game.

He was also the subject of a "Woods is a Dog" banner on the hill.

Sharks five-eighth James Maloney is also facing a nervous wait to see if he'll be able to take his place in the Australian squad after he collected Tedesco high just before the halftime break, with the incident to come under the scrutiny of the match review committee.

The Tigers fullback was taken off for a concussion test as a result and did not return after the resumption.

"We had a lot of very brave boys out there tonight, playing injured and we lost a few troops," Cleary said.

"There were positive signs there but in the end the tries we conceded were disappointing and we had every right to stop them."

Ex-Canterbury forward Tony Williams had a successful outing in his Cronulla debut, storming over for the side's opening try in the 10th minute.

Cronulla were far from impressive and made 14 errors but coach Shane Flanagan was happy to win ugly and get the two points.

"If you're going to be successful during the year, sometimes you're going to have those games," Flanagan said.

"It shows a bit of spirit to not play well and win games. It's 50-50 for me. I'm not overly happy with our performance but happy we got the two points."

Source: AAP