Former Raiders junior Komiti Tuilagi lifts Wests to first win of John I Dent Cup

Winger Komiti Tuilagi scored a double to lead Wests to a win against Easts at Griffith Oval on Saturday, scoring a crucial try when the game was on the line in the second half.

Wests secured their first win of the John I Dent Cup campaign after withstanding an Easts comeback in a 44-27 triumph.

Tuilagi emerged as the game-breaker when he got his second 15 minutes before full-time and with his team ahead by just five points.

The 20-year-old hopes his decision to leave rugby league sparks a rise into Super Rugby after spending three years in the Raiders' development system.

"I'm grew up in Samoa and originally played rugby union, but I switched to league in 2016," Tuilagi said.

"I decided I wanted to come back to union ... the first club there was Wests so I decided to come here.

"I just had the feeling this year to get back to it. I'm happy to be back, my main goal right is to play here and to try to make it to the top. I want to make it to the top."

Wests were dealt an early blow when ACT Brumbies back Chance Peni was forced to leave the field in the first half with an ankle injury. Peni will need scans to determine if there's any ligament damage or if he will be free to play for the Brumby Runners next week.

But power winger Tuilagi made sure Wests got off to a blistering start and the visitors opened up a 32-15 lead in the round-five clash.

The challenge for Wests, though, was trying to bury the frustrations of surrendering big leads in two of their three games so far this year.

Easts took their opportunity to pounce and cut the gap to five points when they scored two tries while Hayden Scott was in the sin bin.

The momentum of the game had changed completely, until Tuilagi got his hands on the ball in open space and made Easts pay.

Playmaker Declan Meredith then put the icing on the cake with a last-second try to breathe life into Wests' hopes of forcing their way back into the finals this year.

The result and Tuggeranong's win across town leaves Easts and Queanbeyan as the only teams to taste victory this season.

Easts coach Tim Cornforth gave his players a stinging reminder of what they need to do to turn their season around, describing parts of the loss to Wests as "hopeless".

"Wests just out-enthused us from the get-go. We were playing catch up the entire time," Cornforth said.

"We were hopeless ... we do some good things but then it's the same old story. Hopefully we can turn it around, otherwise it's going to be a long, long year.

"You can't just play for 20 or 30 minutes. We're playing patchy at the moment, and it doesn't work. Our boys are working hard, but when are we going to flick the switch?"

Tuggeranong ran in 50 points to topple Queanbeyan at Viking Park while Royals held on for a 33-25 win against the Uni-Norths Owls at Phillip Oval.

Wests are hoping they can build their own winning momentum after a mixed start to their year. "The boys stuck at it ... very positive," said Wests coach Craig Robberds. "We've been playing well but haven't been able to finish. So to fight back and win is great."

AT A GLANCE

John I Dent Cup: WESTS 44 (Komiti Tuilagi 2, Joel Astle, Liam Rasch, Ryan Kiely, David Dwyer, Declan Meredith tries; Declan Meredith 3 conversions, penalty) bt EASTS 27 (Albert Watego, Tiko Twist, Samuel Samueli, Connor Brebner tries; George Morseu 2 conversions, penalty); TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 50 bt QUEANBEYAN WHITES 29, ROYALS 33 bt UNI-NORTHS Owls 25.

Women's: Easts 76 bt Wests 0, Uni-Norths Owls 54 bt Royals 7.

Second grade: Royals 36 bt Uni-Norths Owls 19, Easts 36 bt Wests 17, Tuggeranong Vikings 68 bt Queanbeyan Whites 17.

Colts: Royals 40 bt Uni-Norths Owls 29, Wests 34 bt Easts 32, Tuggeranong Vikings 36 bt Queanbeyan Whites 10.