Tigers ambush Panthers 30-4 with freakish early blitz at Suncorp
A shattered Ivan Cleary has declared the Panthers will conduct a full review of the entire football department after slumping to last on the premiership ladder following a 30-6 loss to the Tigers.
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A shattered Ivan Cleary has declared the Panthers will conduct a full review of the entire football department after slumping to last on the premiership ladder.
Describing it as the club’s worst performance of the season, Cleary said he will wield the axe after his Penrith side were belted by a tough Tigers outfit which produced a 20-point scoring-blitz in just six-minutes.
Scoring the least amount of tries in the entire competiton, the misfiring Panthers could conjure just one try against the Tigers.
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The Panthers dismal form that sees them with a 2-7 record has also thrust NSW coach Brad Fittler’s loyalty towards Blues halves James Maloney and Nathan Cleary in the spotlight.
“We have to change something, whether it’s personnel or something else,’’ Cleary said.
“If we keep what we’re doing it’s not good enough.
“We need to discuss this with the players, staff, particularly over the next 24-hours - there needs to be some answers.
“When you’re a third of a way through the season and we are where we are, you’ve got to review what you’re doing.
“There needs to be some serious reflection
“We need some answers. That’s pretty obvious.’’
THE CARVE-UP
Six minutes to shatter Penrith’s season.
That’s all it took for the Wests Tigers to carve-up the Panthers.
The Tigers scored four rapid-fire tries between the 5th and 11th minutes through Moses Mbye, Luke Brooks, Esan Marsters and Corey Thompson.
The stunning six-minute points-blitz left the hapless Panthers chasing a 20-0 nil scoreline with an almost non-evident attacking style.
The Tigers then jumped to 24-0 after 21-minutes.
“We spoke all week about effort and then we come out and do that in the first 20-minutes,’’ Nathan Cleary said.
“It’s not up to standard. We have to start being honest with ourselves. It’s up to us as players to do our job - and we’re not doing that at the moment.’’
SPINE TINGLING
The decision is near on what the Tigers do with veterans Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah.
It should be pretty simple - let the Leichhardt legends go round again for one more season.
Alongside captain Moses Mbye and halfback Luke Brooks, the old firm of Marshall and Farah chimed in to help control the entire tempo of the match.
In his first game back from injury, Benji came up with a brilliant 40/20 while Farah was particularly strong, producing three tackle busts which had many in the stands looking to turn back the clock.
“Benji and Robbie, I think it’s going to be asked every week (whether they’ll play on), but for both those boys, they see this year as very important in what we’re doing.
“We’ve got plenty of football to be played and Benji needs a lot of work each week to get himself right, and he’s doing that.’’
LISTEN! Latrell-mania has hit fever pitch but can he be considered among the game’s best players? And Matty also recalls the day the legendary Steve Rogers knocked on the door of the Johns family home. Tune in for the Matty Johns podcast with Kenty and Hoops.
BLUE MATTO
On the surface Ryan Matterson would sit perfectly under the “Origin bolter” category.
But don’t write it off just yet.
He was sensational on Friday night, running the perfect line to put Moses Mbye over for the opening try and then with a super pass for Corey Thompson to strike.
By halftime, Matterson had two try assists, three tackle busts, one line break and almost 100-metres gained.
A former Emerging NSW Blues team member, Matterson has also won a premiership with the Roosters, where he boasts a proven combination with a host of current Blues.
“He’s showing a lot of improvement in his game, he can play a number of positions,’’ Maguire said.
“He can ball play through the middle, he can play on the edge and he can jump into the halves if need be.
“He’s definitely one that I hope (NSW selectors) are considering.’’
WESTS TIGERS 30 (E Marsters 2 L Brooks R Jennings M Mbye C Thompson tries E Marsters 3 goals) bt PENRITH 4 (D Whare try) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Chris Butler, Chris Sutton. Crowd: 35,122.
Originally published as Tigers ambush Panthers 30-4 with freakish early blitz at Suncorp
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