Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers - report, commentary and highlights

Michael Di Lonardo

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Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers - report, commentary and highlights image

WESTS TIGERS v PENRITH PANTHERS - REPORT

An opening 20-minute onslaught left Penrith red-faced as the Tigers piled on a rapid-fire 24 points in the first quarter of action, shooting the Panthers down to last place on the NRL ladder.

The defence of Ivan Cleary's men was virtually non-existent as their edges were exploited by a Robbie Farah dart through, cut-out passing from Luke Brooks and slick hands from Ryan Matterson.

Penrith's season could be all but over just nine weeks into the season, slumping to a 2-7 record with September action merely a fantasy.

Brad Fittler would have to be mad to select incumbent pair Nathan Cleary and James Maloney who have both displayed absolutely nothing to warrant selection, in kinder terms.

After failing to score a point in the first 20 minutes all season, the Tigers responded to a 42-12 thumping at the hands of the Roosters last week with a near-perfect opening half.

The Tigers have squeezed back into the top eight. although a tough road against Melbourne, South Sydney and Canberra will test how they stack up against the competition's top dogs.

WESTS TIGERS v PENRITH PANTHERS - LIVE BLOG

80th minute: FULL-TIME! The siren sounds and the misery is over for Penrith. An opening 20-minute onslaught put the game to bed there and then with the Tigers scoring 24 points out of the blocks. It was one-way traffic from the get-go. Tigers win 30-4.

77th minute: Jarome Luai puts in a grubber but it is defused by the Tigers. Corey Thompson then makes a break and a few plays later the Tigers are held up on last tackle a few metres out from Penrith's line.

72nd minute: Another chance, another error for the Panthers. The hooter couldn't come sooner.

71st minute: Penrith win the short kick-off but two plays later Tyrell Fuimaono knocks it on.

68th minute: TRY! Luke Brooks has the ball on a string and chips a short grubber to Esan Marsters for his second try of the night. Tigers lead 30-4.

67th minute: Time has stopped with Reagan Campbell-Gillard pouring blood out of his face. Not a pretty sight.

65th minute: Mbye to the rescue again! Josh Mansour looked in for all money but Mbye puts his body on the line and forces a knock-on. 20-metre tap for the Tigers. Tigers lead 26-4.

64th minute: A rare penalty, but the Tigers are pinged for taking too long to pack the scrum. Panthers are 10 metres out but Cleay tries an early grubber which forces a drop out.

60th minute: Robbie Farah finds space on the short, links up with Benji who sens Corey Thompson down the field. Thompson's grubber is defused by DWZ and the chance is gone.

57th minute: James Maloney forces a drop out but he isn't happy with his chasers.

55th minute: Luke Brooks floats a ball to Robert Jennings out wide but it is slightly behind him and he drops it.

54th minute: Penrith are building momentum but Tim Grant is penalised for obstruction and it all goes to waste.

49th minute: Josh Mansour finds space on the left wing but Moses Mbye delivers a cracking try-saver to take him out of touch about 10 metres out from his try-line. Great tackle.

47th minute: The Tigers almost get a second 40/20 but it rolls outs just before the 20. The commentary team are convinced it went out after,

46th minute: The Panthers get in the red zone but a Nathan Cleary grubber is defused by Luke Brooks.

45th minute: Penrith get a lucky break. As a lead runner, Mahe Fonua hits James Maloney on the outside shoulder and the video referee scrubs a try off the board. Tigers lead 26-4.

42nd minute: In the first set out of the sheds, the Panthers concede 63 metres and DWZ lets a bomb bounce. Fortunately he regathers and the Tigers are penalised for tackling him in the air.

41st minute: KICK-OFF! The second half is underway and there is plenty of work to do for the Panthers.

40th minute: HALF-TIME! The hooter sounds, ending a horror 40 minutes for Penrith. The Tigers scored 24 points in a quarter of football. Tigers lead 26-4.

39th minute: A frustrated Wayde Egan drops the ball at the ruck and that should be the half.

38th minute: Penrith have one last shot in the final minute to pull back the deficit.

36th minute: Nathan Cleary comes up with a one-on-one strip to save the Panthers from another four-pointer. Less than a minute later they cough it back up. Yuk.

33rd minute: Moses Leota drops his lollies trying to pull in an offload on halfway. Sione Katoa then gives a penalty away for a two-on-one strip.

29th minute: TRY! Better late than never. Penrith are on the board as Dallin Watene-Zelezniak flicks it to Dean Whare to score in the corner. Tigers lead 26-4.

28th minute: I'm not sure what's worse - Penrith's defence or Peter Beattie's NRL knowledge?

26th minute: 24 points up and the Tigers have decided to take the two from right in front. They were almost scoring a try a set at one point. Tigers lead 26-0.

25th minute: A try goes begging! The edge defence of the Panthers is exploited again but Esan Marsters hogs it when he should have passed. Nathan Cleary holds him up but there is still three tackles to go.

24th minute: The disaster continues. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak drops a bomb and the Tigers get another chance. I wish I was sitting next to a Panthers fan right now.

20th minute: The Tigers have now scored the most points in an opening quarter of football in history.

19th minute: TRY! Believe it or not - the Tigers are in again. This time the space is out on the left edge as Luke Brooks hits Robert Jennings with a sensational cut-out pass.. Tigers lead 24-0.

17th minute: The Panthers give away a penalty and all their hard work is undone.

17th minute: Penrith looks dangerous with the ball but Caleb Aekins can't get the final pass off to James Maloney in space.

14th minute: Penrith have the ball for the first time since the third minute.

12th minute: TRY! The Tigers are in again. This time they find an overlap on the right edge and Corey Thompson goes over untouched. Tigers lead 20-0.

11th minute: 40/20! This is unbelievable from the Tigers. Benji Marshall slots it from his own 30 metres line and the Tigers are on the attack again.

9th minute: TRY! You are kidding. This is disgraceful from Penrith. Farah recognises space on the blind side and Mbye puts Chris McQueen into a gaping hole. McQueen finds Masters in support and the Tigers have three tries in less than 10 minutes. Tigers lead 16-0.

7th minute: TRY! Tigers are on the board again in quick succession as Robbie Farah darts through from his own half. Luke Brooks pushes up in support and it's all too easy. Ominous signs for Penrith. Tigers lead 12-0.

5th minute: TRY! A lovely block play as Benji Marshall and Luke Brooks combine. Ryan Matterson goes through a hole and offloads to Moses Mbye under the sticks. Tigers lead 6-0.

3rd minute: James Maloney's ill-discipline again, giving away a cheap penalty in the early minutes.

6.02pm: KICK-OFF! We're underway at Suncorp Stadium for the second fixture in Magic Round!

5.40pm: Here's a behind the scenes look in the Panthers sheds.

5.06pm: HUGE! Viliame Kikau has been named to start after it was initially feared he would miss six weeks with an ankle injury. He was considered an outside chance of playing. Luke Garner also drop out of the 17 for the Tigers. Scroll down for the full team lists.

4.18pm: Both teams have roamed the city of Brisbane in the lead up to their clash and their Twitter accounts seem to have the same administrators behind them...

WESTS TIGERS v PENRITH PANTHERS  - PREVIEW

Injury has been the theme at the foot of the mountains this week, but adversity needs to be the story that comes out of their Friday night clash with the Tigers. There has been a major reshuffle in their back-row with Isaah Yeo (shoulder) and Viliame Kikau (ankle) both not included in this week's line-up. There are fears Yeo could be out for the season, however Kikau is an outside chance of a miraculous recovery to suit up this round. The latter's impact in attack is far greater with much of Penrith's spark being generated through the left-edge monster. If ruled out, under fire halves pair James Maloney and Nathan Cleary must whip up a Plan B quickly with the clock ticking on their State of Origin jobs. If they are any chance of sneaking into the top eight, losing to the Tigers can simply not happen. Michael Maguire's men have respectably maintained a 50 per cent win rate as inconsistency halts their progress. The return of Benji Marshall is timely in light of Josh Reynolds' injury as they were trampled by the Roosters 42-12 last week with a lack of cohesion in the spine. Their last trip to Suncorp was a huge morale boost, knocking off Brisbane 22-16, however Penrith have won seven of their last meetings against the Tigers including a golden point thriller where Nathan Cleary iced the game in two clutch plays in round four.

WESTS TIGERS TEAM LIST

1. Moses Mbye 2. Mahe Fonua 3. Robert Jennings 4. Esan Marsters 5. Corey Thompson 6. Benji Marshall 7. Luke Brooks 8. Ben Matulino 9. Robbie Farah 10. Alex Twal 11. Ryan Matterson 12. Chris McQueen 13. Matt Eisenhuth 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Oliver Clark 20. Michael Chee-Kam 

Players cut: 17. Luke Garner 18. Paul Momirovski 19. Elijah Taylor 21. Russell Packer

Wests Tigers team news: Ryan Matterson returns to the second-row after covering various injuries in the halves with Benji Marshall set to return. Josh Aloiai (concussion) is out, with Matt Eisenhuth promoted to lock. Michael Maguire has again shown faith in Chris McQueen to start over Luke Garner, who has dropped out of the 17 for Michael Chee Kam in a late change.

PENRITH PANTHERS TEAM LIST

1. Caleb Aekins 2. Josh Mansour 3. Dean Whare 4. Waqa Blake 5. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6. James Maloney 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou 9. Wayde Egan 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 21. Viliame Kikau 12. James Fisher-Harris 119. Kaide Ellis 18. Jarome Luai 14. Sione Katoa  16. Moses Leota 17. Tim Grant 

Players cut: 15. Tyrell Fuimaono 18. Jarome Luai 19. Kaide Ellis 20. Dylan Edwards

Penrith Panthers team news: Viliame Kikau has made a miraculous recovery to slot in the starting side with initial fears the barnstorming forward would miss six week. Isaah Yeo (shoulder) is replaced in the second-row by James Fisher-Harris, with Kaide Ellis starting at lock in place of Hame Sele. James Maloney won his fight against a judiciary charge on Tuesday night to play, however Jarome Luai puts pressure on from the bench.

Michael Di Lonardo

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