Tigers v Panthers: Five things we learned from Tigers' 26-6 victory over Penrith

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Tigers v Panthers: Five things we learned from Tigers' 26-6 victory over Penrith image

With seven Origin players out for Penrith, no fan was sure what to expect from Penrith in their biggest test of the season so far. 

Travelling to a parochial Leichhardt Oval can be tough at the best of times. But when you're severely undermanned it's even worse. 

And the Tigers faithful were vocal on Friday night as they put in one of their best performances of the year to help get their club over the line. 

On the back of a physical first half, the Tigers finished the night 26-6 victors over the Penrith Panthers. 

Here's what we learned from the Tigers-Panthers clash on Friday at Leichhardt Oval.

Playing for penalties becoming all too common

It's crept into the game as a result of the high tackle crackdown and it's pretty clear fans and commentators alike don't love it. 

Players staying down when there's been the slightest bit of high contact. 

Both sides in the first half were accused of staying down just that little bit too long. 

Daine Laurie attracted a penalty after he was brushed in the face during a tackle. As soon as the whistle was blown, he was straight back to his feet with a massive grin on his face.

Minutes later, Paul Momirovski stayed down after a high tackle from David Nofoaluma. 

Nofoaluma was placed on report and the Panthers got the ball back. Momirovski took one of the hit ups in the next set. 

It's an issue the NRL will have to iron out because it is clear the crackdown won't be ending anytime soon.

The most frustrating thing is that if The Bunker deems there to be high contact, they won't hesitate to go back and pull it up. 

Balmain legend Steve Roach was incredibly vocal about the issue in commentary. 

“I’ve got an issue with it, especially from my team,” Roach said on Fox League

“The Wests Tigers laying down like that... this ain’t soccer.

“You’ve got to get to your feet. He won the penalty but people won’t appreciate that.”

Let the refs ref. Don't stay down and try and do their job for them. 

Speaking of the referee, Grant Atkins' whistle certainly got a workout on Friday night. 12 first-half penalties and a total of 21 for the match. The game felt stop-start and that was why.

Mid-Season Blues as Origin football lowers NRL standard

It was surprisingly a topic that wasn't brought up much this week. Maybe it's because last year's post-season Origin distracted us from reality. 

But if you needed a reminder of the impact Origin has on the NRL, then Friday night was it. 

It's fantastic to see some young guys get to make their debuts during the Origin period. It's one of the best parts about it. 

However, some of the footy produced on Friday night was not to the standard prime time deserves. 

Penrith had seven of their best players out through Origin and their attack suffered. 

The Wests Tigers were physical in defence but just produced some pretty poor errors and their discipline let them down. 

One penalty kick early in the second half didn't even reach the touchline. 

It will always be a downfall of Origin being played in the middle of the season that footy suffers. Thankfully, it's only for a few weeks.

One thing that was a positive, footy at a suburban ground. There's nothing better. Only 9,127 fans packed into Leichhardt but it felt like 20,000. 

They certainly weren't letting Ivan Cleary off easy either. The Penrith coach was caught blowing kisses to Tigers fans at one of their clashes last year. 

He received enough air kisses from Tigers fans on Friday night to make any man blush. 


Jacob Liddle's runaway try lights up Leichhardt

In a stale first half, it was only going to take a small moment of brilliance to bring the crowd to its feet. 

But when Wests Tigers hooker Jacob Liddle picked up a loose ball and ran 90 metres to score a memorable try, the sound inside the ground was deafening. 

Liddle stuck a foot out expertly to trap the ball and outran the Forbes Ferrari himself, Charlie Staines, to score in front of the hill. 

Only Matt Burton managed to get close for Penrith as Liddle created one of the moments of the season at Leichhardt. 

For a player who has been through so many injuries to produce a highlight moment like that, it is certainly worthy of watching over and over again.


Luke Brooks slowly but surely growing into his season

There have been some really positive signs for the Wests Tigers halves combination in recent weeks. 

Ever since Michael Maguire made the massive call to move Adam Doueihi back to centre, there has been a bit of extra stability for the Tigers around the park. 

And it has allowed Luke Brooks to grow into his game and show off some of his attacking capabilities. 

It was subtle but Brooks' running was really impressive against the Panthers. 

He wasn't afraid to take the line on and on multiple occasions used some great footwork to break through the first line of defence. 

Brooks has a lot of work to do to completely win over Wests Tigers fans, but Friday's performance was a step in the right direction. 

It's clear he still needs to do a bit of work on his fifth-tackle options but overall the Tigers had the momentum throughout the match. 

What was evident was the work he has put into his defence. Brooks produced a couple of massive stops against much larger opponents. 

Brooks has a point to prove and he's showing it with his footy.

Matt Burton's quality there for all to see even without his spine around him

In a disappointing night for the Panthers, one man shone head and shoulders above the rest. 

For 21-year-old Matt Burton, this was a chance for him to steer the team around at five-eighth in the absence of Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and Api Koroisau. 

When he got the ball in his hands, he looked dangerous and he certainly worried the Tigers' defence. 

His solo effort to get Penrith's first points of the night as a brilliant piece of heads-up play. He saw a gap, pinned the ears back and didn't hesitate.


Throughout the night, Penrith were reluctant to dedicate too much of their attack through Burton and their lethal left-edge. 

As a result, Stephen Crichton barely saw any of the ball and after running for over 300 metres against the Bulldogs, he barely hit 100 on Friday. 

Penrith's attack was clearly hampered by having Tyrone May in the halves. It was obvious he wasn't comfortable in the position. 

It was also thoroughly impressive that Burton was one of the first Penrith players to front up and admit it wasn't a good performance from him and his side. 


This kid has a good head on his shoulders and a temperament that will go well in the NRL.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Ivan Cleary suggested that he wasn't that impressed with Burton's performance and neither was the 21-year-old.

It also suggests the high standard that he is held to by those around him and the level of expectation for him.

And while Panthers fans wouldn't have been too happy with their performance on Friday, Bulldogs fans would have been ecstatic at the thought of next year with Burton in the halves. They lack direction and spark, Burton will bring that.

 

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