Milestone man James Fisher-Harris loaded late over the line to give the Panthers an 18-16 victory over the Wests Tigers at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
On an afternoon when both clubs played in the inaugural Royce Simmons Cup, former Panthers and Wests Tigers legend attended with future Tigers coach Tim Sheens to show off the new silver.
The new trophy seemed to pass into the hands of the joint venture after they were secured through Ken Maumalo with 12 minutes to go before a Scott Sorensen line break at the end of the match set the first defenders to score late.
Fisher-Harris, celebrating its 150th game in the NRL, ran into a pass from Mitch Kenny with six minutes left to get the visitors back by two points, a margin they maintained for most of the second half.
It was a blatant but impressive victory for the Panthers, as they had many Origin stars missing, while it is another unfortunate story for the Tigers in their horror season with their defensive problems with 10 minutes to go. final.
Earlier, winger Junior Tupou, called up by a sick David Nofoaluma, crossed first for the home team before Penrith seemed comfortable with the ball to advance 12-4.
Fiji international Viliame Kikau fired early, putting Izack Tago on the left wing before collecting a good goal to cross in the 23rd minute.
An excellent solo effort by Adam Doueihi in the melee, who was looking home with the five-eighth t-shirt, narrowed the gap before the locals were denied a half-try due to a offside at the start.
A poor second half that saw the completion rates collapse caused an unpleasant display for both coaches as both sides were able to take control of the match.
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Fisher-Harris crashes for leadership
Snapshot of the match
- The Panthers ’victory ensured they passed the undefeated representative period before defending the title in the coming months.
- Panthers hooker Mitch Kenny was reported in the 21st minute for dangerous contact with future teammate Luke Garner.
- Panthers strikers James Fisher-Harris (150th) and Matt Eisenhuth (100th) held major games.
- The Wests Tigers lost David Nofoaluma and James Roberts before the game due to illness.
- The Panthers rested their seven Origin representatives, including half-stars Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai.
- The Tigers were denied two decisive attempts for offside and obstruction while they were losing by two points.
- The Panthers have won nine of their last 11 games against the Wests Tigers.
Game play
Older men are not supposed to pick up the ball as well as Viliame Kikau has done throughout her NRL career. The Fiji star is a cargo king in general, but this time it was his ability to pull a draft of Sean O’Sullivan out of his boots to score a ripper.
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Kikau with cross-code skills
What they said
“I was actually very happy with it. Clearly there were a lot of mistakes at the wrong time, but I definitely thought we were the best team in the first half. The score probably didn’t reflect our dominance. In the second half we went up. with mistakes in a good field position where I thought we would do something. We could have lost the game easily, especially with young guys. It was probably very appropriate for our captain to score the winning try. ” – Ivan Cleary, Panthers coach.
“I thought the first half we were a little out of touch with what we were trying to achieve. In the second half I thought we understood how to play football and get into a process and get some second phase football and restrict how many meters they have. last five. We were canceled two attempts because of our discipline and that probably showed the difference in the end. ” – Brett Kimmorley, Wests Tigers interim coach.
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NRL Press Conference: Wests Tigers v Panthers – Round 18, 2022
That follows
The Panthers return to Penrith for round 19 with a battle to save the top four against the Sharks. Ivan Cleary will once again have all of his Origin troops in a disastrous sign for the rest of the competition in the final weeks of the season.
The Wests Tigers have a seven-day shift to prepare for a trip out of North Queensland, where they will face the Cowboys.
David Nofoaluma and James Roberts were close to playing for the Panthers, so you’d expect them to be available for the trip.
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Tigers with the brilliance of the scrum set game