Media Reports

[Guest]

PENRITH BEAT WESTS TIGERS 26-18 IN NRL
By Wayne Cousins
24/04/2010 6:12:55 PM

Wests Tigers recorded back to back losses for the first time this season following a 26-18 defeat to Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium tonight in round seven of the Telstra Premiership.

The loss leaves Wests Tigers with four wins from their first seven games.

Penrith opened the scoring in the fifth minute when half-back Luke Walsh passed to second-rower Frank Pritchard who turned the ball back inside for full-back Lachlan Coote to score near the posts.

Winger Michael Gordon converted the try for a 6-0 lead.

Wests Tigers opened their account when Farah darted from dummy half to split the defence. Farah raced 50 metres downfield before linking up with winger Lote Tuqiri in support on the inside. Tuqiri ran torwards the left wing area before giving an inside pass back to second-rower Chris Heighington who raced 25 metres to score a superb try i front of a crowd of 19,220.

Five-eighth Benji Marshall converted the try from out wide for a 6-6 scoreline after 12 minutes.

The Panthers got a repeat set in the 24th minute when centre Chris Lawrence defused a Walsh grubber kick in-goal. Prop Andrew Fifita was then penalised for laying too long in a tackle.

The pressure told when centre Michael Jenninmgs darted from dummy half to step past Heighington to burrow down to the line to score despite the attempted tackles of Marshall, second-rower Liam Fulton, and Lazarus.

Gordon converted the try to give Penrith a 12-6 lead after 27 minutes.

From the re-start, Fifita gave another penalty away to take the home side into the Wests Tigers half. A cut out pass from lock Luke Lewis found centre Adrian Purtell who linked up with Brad Tighe. The winger kicked the ball ahead only for it to roll over the dead ball line with Lazarus watching it closely.

Wests Tigers got back to trailing 12-10 when Marshall threw a cut out pass to put Chris Lawrence into a hole to score untouched out wide in the 33rd minute. Marshall converted the try for a 12-12 scoreline.

The Tigers got down in the Panthers quarter on the back of a left wing sideline break by Tuqiri who ran 40 metres before being tackled.

Marshall went for a 32 metre field goal attempt four minutes before half-time from almost in front but the ball went wide on the last tackle.

Penrith received two sets of six in the final two minutes before half-time and constantly attacked the left hand edge. The Panthers got a penalty 13 seconds before the break when Marshall was penalised for a high tackle around the neck/shoulder of Lewis. It appeared it was play on until referee Shayne Hayne awarded a delayed penalty 15 metres out from the posts.

Gordon converted the penalty attempt to give Penrith a 14-12 lead at half-time.

2nd Half

Coach Tim Sheens would have been far from impressed when Marshall tried one of his fancy flick passes behind his back to Tuqiri, only to see the ball go to ground for Penrith to pick up 25 metres out.

The Tigers forced the ball dead on the last tackle from a grubber kick to give Penrith another set. Fortunately for the Tigers, a grubber kick by Walsh saw Lazarus pick up the ball.

On the next tackle, Fulton dropped the ball to give Penrith the feed 22 metres out. The pressure was eased when the Panthers were penalised for a shepherd.

Some poor handling by Wests Tigers has let the side down in some good attacking raids midway through the second half.

Extended pressure on the back of a repeat set saw Penrith extend their lead to 18-12 when Lewis juggled the ball before sending Coote over for his second try next to the posts.

Gordon converted the try for a 20-12 lead after 67 minutes.

A 50 metre break by Ryan put Wests Tigers 30 metres out from the Panthers line. Three plays later, a grubber kick by Farah saw Jennings knock the ball dead to give Wests Tigers the ball back.

Wests Tigers took full advantage when Heighington brushed off two defenders in a 15 metre run to offload an inside ball to fresh interchange forward Mark Flanagan to score next to the posts.

Marshall converted the try for a 20-18 scoreline after 71 minutes.

A Walsh crossfield bomb saw Gordon leap high above and behind Lawrence to catch the ball to dive over to score near the posts for a 24-18 lead with six minutes remaining.

Gordon converted his own try for a 26-18 scoreline after 76 minutes.

A Walsh bomb saw Ryan spill the ball forward for Lewis to catch it off Coote's shoulders to stumble his way to the tryline to score next to the posts in the 77th minute. The try was not awarded by the video referee Steve Clark.

Wests Tigers have now won just two from 10 matches at CUA Stadium.

Wests Tigers will head to Campbelltown Sports Stadium for the first time this season when they tackle the Sydney Roosters on Sunday, May 2, at 2pm in round eight of the Telstra Premiership.

The match will also mark the 600th premiership game for respected Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens.

 

[Guest]

Panthers topple the Tigers to thrill bumper crowd
April 24, 2010 - 7:29PM

Andrew Fifita is brought down by Petero Civoniceva. Click for more photos
Panthers tame the Tigers
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Panthers 26 Wests Tigers 18

A Lachlan Coote double helped Penrith join St George Illawarra at the top of the NRL ladder after a hard fought 26-18 win over the Wests Tigers at CUA Stadium.

In a high quality battle, which didn't live up to the pre-match expectation of a scoring fest, the Panthers scored four tries to three, with Michael Gordon booting five from five, in front of a crowd believed to be the biggest at the foot of the Blue Mountains since 2004.

Instead, the 19,220 fans were treated to an arm wrestle between two of the competition's early high-fliers.

The result means Penrith join the Dragons, who play the Sydney Roosters on Sunday, on ten points with five wins from seven games, including four straight.

The Panthers led 14-12 at the break and it stayed that way until Coote's second in the 64th minute, superbly laid on by in-form lock Luke Lewis.

Tigers interchange forward Mark Flanagan helped his side back to 20-18 in the 70th.

But Gordon clinched the deal when he grabbed a Luke Walsh bomb in the 74th minute.

The Panthers had forced the Tigers to play catch-up in the first half.

Penrith were on the board in just the fifth minute when Frank Pritchard offloaded for Coote's first try, but six minutes later the Tigers posted a contender for try of the year.

A Robbie Farah bust began an 80-metre effort finished by Chris Heighington, with Lote Tuqiri also showing superb hands in the movement.

Michael Jennings helped the home side to 12-6 with a superb solo effort from dummy half in the 26th minute before Benji Marshall put Chris Lawrence through a hole seven minutes later.

 

[Guest]

Panthers prevail in thriller

Updated April 24, 2010 20:02:00
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Top spot on the NRL ladder provisionally belongs to the Panthers after they secured a 26-18 win over Wests Tigers in an attacking showcase at Penrith Stadium on Saturday night.

Full-back Lachlan Coote scored a try on either side of half-time to twice give the home side an advantage over the Tigers, who showed their offensive prowess with some brilliant counter-attacking football.

The teams were closer than the scoreboard indicated, and Penrith clung to a two-point lead at half-time thanks mostly to Michael Gordon's flawless boot.

After the break the tempo changed markedly as the focus switched to defence from both camps, resulting in 25 minutes without a point scored.

Panthers skipper Petero Civoniceva told Grandstand that defence was what won them the match.

"It was a pleasing victory. The Tigers, we knew what they were going to bring tonight," he said.

"I'm very proud of the efforts from the boys tonight.

"There was so much attacking potential right across the board, their nine [Robbie Farah], their six [Benji Marshall] are very dangerous outside backs.

"We knew what we had to bring tonight with our defensive efforts and we stayed strong."

Coote broke the drought to register his second try and suddenly Penrith looked rejuvenated, but Wests were never far behind.

When the Panthers got a little over-eager with their passing, the Tigers took advantage through a Blake Lazarus intercept, the young half-back gaining 50 metres, but Michael Jennings made a desperate save to knock a grubber kick dead.

Regardless Wests hit back from the resulting drop-out as Chris Heighington fooled Nathan Smith with a deft sidestep before putting Mark Flanagan over to bring the Tigers to within two points again.

Gordon was not done yet though, crossing for a four-pointer of his own in the 74th minute to seal Penrith's fourth win on the trot.

The first half displayed some flashy, go-forward rugby league as each team scrambled to counter the opposition's drives.

Penrith had the lion's share of early possession and the home side capitalised on a knock-on that gifted it the ball on the Tigers 20-metre mark to get Coote over the line for his first try.

But Wests - especially code-jumping winger Lote Tuquri - made the most of their opportunities and made some threatening inroads into the Panthers' half.

Farah carved through a yawning hole in the Penrith defence and streaked away on a run that Chris Heighington eventually finished to the left of the posts.

Soon after, Kangaroos hopeful Michael Jennings hit back to score under three tacklers before Marshall threw a pretty cut-out pass to put the visitors over to lock it up at 12-12 not long before the break.

Tuqiri made 139 metres of his own and showed glimpses of his peak form, but there were moments where he struggled in the second half, such as when he seemed completely oblivious to a behind-the-back pass that hit him and fell to ground.

 

[ron_burgandy]

LOL at jennings being a roo hopeful,

 

[westTAHger]

does not mention in media report, that wests-tigers at time were their own worst enemy, in pushing the stupid/dumb pass when its not on, giving ball back to opponent.
why the hell they persist with doing this is beyond me.
heeellloooo, you need to have the ball to be able to score points!!!!