‘50 is the old 30’: Why Blake Austin is unconcerned by Tigers’ thumping loss to Sharks

A week ago he was cautioning Wests Tigers fans about getting too carried away with their team’s hot start to 2026.

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But following the Tigers’ 52-10 humbling by Cronulla on Sunday afternoon, Blake Austin isn’t twisting the knife.

Speaking on this week’s Footy IQ podcast the former Panthers, Tigers and Raiders playmaker was at his diplomatic best, suggesting there is still plenty of reason for optimism at Concord.

“A wise man once told me you don’t celebrate another man’s downfall, and I actually I love what I’ve been seeing from the Tigers (in 2026),” Austin said.

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‘They’ve just sent a little warning shot to the Tigers’

The 122-game NRL veteran also took the opportunity to re-iterate the thinking behind his pre-Round 9 warning, which was ultimately vindicated.

“You’ve (Tigers) been struggling for a fair while and if you get a bit too carried away too quickly, there is always someone up there that will bring you back down to earth,” he said.

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As it turns out that ‘someone’ was the Cronulla Sharks.

“The scoreline actually doesn’t worry me too much,” Austin said.

“I reckon 50 points is the old 30 (under the new set restart rules) so maybe 70 might be the new number that if you concede that you can’t win the comp?

“I think it could have been worse too, the gods could have gone even harder—they’ve just sent a little warning shot to the Tigers.”

Looking ahead, Austin suggested Tigers fans should also be encouraged by the way head coach Benji Marshall reacted to the nine-tries-to-two hammering.

“It was their first bad performance all year in my opinion, Benji was really disappointed and I actually love that he was disappointed,” Austin said. 

“They’ve lost no admirers…they’ve certainly turned a corner (this season), they’ll have to get back on the horse this week and remind everyone what they’re capable of.”

The Tigers head to AAMI Park to face the struggling Storm in NRL Round 10 next Sunday afternoon.

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