THE Wests Tigers were very impressive yesterday. With the aid of hindsight we probably should have seen it coming.

Last Monday the Tigers were courageous in their 30-18 loss to the Melbourne Storm - pretty good form, really, against the best team in the competition.

The question was whether that stoic performance would take a physical toll on the willing Tigers and provide them with a ready-made excuse for a weaker performance this weekend. Or, would it give them the confidence to believe they were getting back to winning form?

Their emphatic victory answered this question in the best way possible.

It was a great team effort.

The emotion and body language of the players during the contest suggested every player was making good on personal promises of commitment to his teammates.

The Tigers achieved massive improvements in several key areas of their game.

They improved their defence, particularly near their own goalline. They've been guilty of conceding soft tries from close range this season but yesterday they displayed great pride and resilience when under fire.

In the second half the Tigers limited the amount of defence they had to do at their own end of the field courtesy of a tremendous kicking game that continually turned Souths around. Of course, you can't have a good kicking game if you don't have a good "go-forward" game.

This was the big improvement in the Tigers' play compared to previous weeks.

The small Tigers team has had big trouble advancing the ball against stronger forward packs. In their defence it must be said they've been missing many big men through injury.

Yesterday they welcomed back big Keith Galloway. He was tremendous.

They've discovered this big lanky bloke called Daine Laurie from Yamba on the NSW north coast. He's as green as a billiard table but there's no mistaking his courage or ability. He's a real handful when he runs the ball.

Their other front-row forward, Bryce Gibbs, welcomed the assistance and turned in his best game for quite a while.

Now that their big men were punching out the hard yards and bending back the opposition, the versatile Tigers back row clicked into gear and found plenty of space.

Chris Heighington, Bronson Harrison, Liam Fulton and Ben Te'o were inspired by their forward leaders and supported them admirably with heavy workloads.

With the forwards now setting a solid platform, the Tigers' playmakers finally got their chance to shine.

Playing behind a beaten forward pack is never fun, and for several weeks Robbie Farah, Benji Marshall and John Morris had been stifled out of the action.

Not so yesterday.

I've seen Farah play halfback a few times and, to be honest, I've always thought he was unconvincing. Normally so effective out of dummy half, he's looked a bit uncomfortable in the role of first receiver. Yesterday he won me over.

Obviously enjoying the fact he was playing behind dominant forwards, Farah was instrumental in manufacturing his team's point-scoring efforts, and his kicking game was superb.

Marshall had his best game since returning from his horrendous run of knee injuries. He looked sharp, quick and free in his action. He gave us someone wonderfully brilliant moments, as only his skill set can deliver. His body language was much better too.

He looked like he was mentally strong and really into the contest rather than just out there trying to hold up an end and survive. He really showed something yesterday, and may well be a major force in the coming weeks as we start the countdown to the play-offs.

Now let's see here. The forwards went forward. The team controlled the ball. They kicked and chased enthusiastically, defended resolutely, dominated field position, and provided a great foundation for their creative playmakers.

All that was left was for the outside men to take advantage of their opportunities.

Well, take advantage they did.

Wingers Taniela Tuiaki and Beau Ryan each scored two tries, as did brilliant young centre Chris Lawrence.

It's an old formula - but it still works as good as new.

What more could a coach want from his team?