The Wests Tigers have scored an important win to keep themselves in touch with the top eight after defeating Penrith 34-26 in a high scoring game at ANZ Stadium tonight.
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There were errors by both teams mixed in with some entertaining end to end attack. The Tigers scored six tries to four and deserved their win.
Both teams traded early penalty goals before the Panthers scored tries in quick succession to skip out to a 14-2 lead after 23 minutes. Josh Mansour leapt acrobatically to score the first in the corner, before James Fisher-Harris scored under the posts after Tyrone Peachey batted back a last tackle Panthers’ bomb.
From there, it was all the Wests Tigers in the first half as they raced in 4 tries. Centre Tim Simona crossed twice (including an intercept), while Ava Seumanufagai and David Nofoaluma also scored.
In the second half, the Tigers continued where they left off, with Jordan Rankin and Robbie Farah crossing for tries to take the Tigers out to an unassailable 34-14 lead. The Panthers restored some respectability to the scoreboard with late tries to Trent Merrin and Isaah Yeo.
The Tigers backline attacked well tonight, with James Tedesco once again staking a strong claim for inclusion in the Blues’ State of Origin 3 team.
Prop Sam McKendry went off early for the Panthers with what looks like a serious knee injury. The loss sees Penrith slip out of the top 8 on for and against.
Final score
Tigers 34
Panthers 26
Stats
Try scorers (Wests Tigers): Tim Simona (2), Ava Seumanufagai, David Nofoaluma, Jordan Rankin, Robbie Farah
Top metres gained (Wests Tigers): David Nofoaluma (182), Tim Simona (139), James Tedesco (133)
Top tacklers (Wests Tigers): Elijah Taylor (39), Aaron Woods (30)
Try scorers (Penrith): Josh Mansour, James Fisher-Harris, Trent Merrin, Isaah Yeo
Top metres gained (Penrith): Josh Mansour (245), Dallin Watene- Zelezniak (168), Trent Merrin (160)
Top tacklers (Penrith): Trent Merrin (38), Isaah Yeo (29)
The Roar’s NRL MVP
3 – James Tedesco (Tigers). Should have cemented a spot in the Blues State of Origin team for game 3 with 2 try assists and 133 metres in attack, along with being safe at the back.
2 – Josh Mansour (Penrith). Made over 200 metres in attack for the Panthers and scored an acrobatic try.
1 – Chris Lawrence (Tigers). A try assist, 120 metres in attack and 28 tackles shows once again that his move into the backrow was a good career move.
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