Finals Series
The Tigers played their first ever semi-final against fifth placed North Queensland Cowboys, a team who had played in the 2004 final series. After a tight opening, the Tigers ran riot to score a 50–6 win. Both teams qualified for week two with the Tigers meeting six time premiers the Brisbane Broncos in a knock-out game. The Broncos dominated early possession with Benji Marshall preventing a Darren Smith try before scoring a long range intercept try against the run of the play. Towards the end of the game the Tigers kicked clear to win comfortably. The win saw the Tigers meet the Dragons in a Grand Final qualifier. In the lead up to the game there was controversy over the venue with calls for the game to be moved from Aussie Stadium to the much larger Telstra Stadium. As the Dragons had qualified for this game after week one their fans had an extra week to buy tickets to the game. As a result the majority of the capacity crowd were Dragons fans. An early Marshall try gave the Tigers a lead they never gave up. The 20-12 win meant the Tigers qualified for the Grand Final.
| Wests Tigers 2005 Finals Series Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Opponent | Result | Date | Venue | Crowd | Referee |
| Qualifying Final | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 9 September 2005 | Telstra Stadium (H) | 26,463 | Paul Simpkins |
| 50 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Hodgson 3, Richards, Fulton, Whatuira, Fitzhenry, Elford; Goals: Hodgson 9) 6 - Cowboys (Tries: Sing; Goals: Hannay) |
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| Semi-Final | Brisbane Broncos | Win | 18 September 2005 | Sydney Football Stadium | 36,563 | Tim Mander |
| 34 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Fitzhenry 2, O'Neill, Prince, Marshall, Hidgson; Goals: Hodgson 5) 6 - Broncos (Tries: Lockyer; Goals: Seymour) |
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| Preliminary Final | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Win | 24 September 2005 | Sydney Football Stadium | 41,260 | Tim Mander |
| 20 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Halatau 2, Heighington, Marshall; Goals: Hodgson 2) 12 - Dragons (Tries: Barrett, Naiqama; Goals: Ennis 2) |
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| Grand Final | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 2 October 2005 | Telstra Stadium | 82,453 | Tim Mander |
| 30 - Wests Tigers (Tries: Payten, Fitzhenry, Laffranchi, Richards, Gibbs; Goals: Hodgson 5) 16 - Cowboys (Tries: Sing, Norton, M Bowen; Goals: Hannay 2) |
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