Round 4
Penrith Panthers 42 d. Wests Tigers 22

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Panthers go back to back
Sat April 4, 2009
Source: www.panthers.com.au

The game was barely 20 seconds old when the Lachlan Coote had everyone standing as he sprinted from his own 20 metre line. Over the halfway with Paul Aiton and Brad Tighe in support they stopped short of the line.

Luke Lewis, playing out of his skin, crossed for the first try with just 5 minutes gone on the clock. Panthers possession and the way they dominated that possession was reaping its rewards early.

Again in the opposition twenty, Luke Lewis played a hand in the next try with a nice cross chip to Jarrod Sammut. Michael Gordon kicked his 17th consecutive conversion to take the Panthers to a 12-nil lead.

Benji Marshall proved to be dangerous as was expected in the lead up to the game. A sideline run down the western touch line finished off with a cross field grubber allowed the Tigers to score their first points.

On the back of a double penalty, the first for offside and the second for backchat captain Petero Civoniceva opted for the 2 points. Handing the ball to kicker Michael Gordon around 35 metres out there was little doubt the kick would ever miss.

Despite Panthers playing an exciting brand of footy the Tigers hit back to go within 2 points.

The bust on the 40m line by Trent Waterhouse which then allowed him to run another 30 metres was a great piece of play. With the fastest player in the team joining the effort, Michael Jennings was passed the ball and crossed to extend the lead even more.

Heading to the break with the scoreboard in favour of the Panthers it was obvious that the team under Matt Elliott's guidance had done some work on their attack. Having lacked any real potency in the oppositions twenty metres in previous weeks Penrith looked to have solved that with opportunities emanating in that zone.

Momentum shifted in the second half allowing the Tigers to level. The decision not to take the kick at goal before the tries were scored may have been the wrong one had the chance to kick again not presented itself.

As the scoreboard tick into the last 10 minutes of the it was the narrowest of leads that Penrith clung to.

Panthers fans can take heart in knowing that Frank Pritchard is again shaping up to the one of the most lethal attacking weapons in Panthers arsenal. Matched with Jennings the pair were responsible in getting the Panthers further in front. Coote, not wanting to be left out sealed the win with his own try.

In the end the score blew out to 42-22 for the Panthers to make back to back wins. What was just as remarkable was the fact the Panthers did it on a "short" week after playing last Monday night - something that hadn't been achieved in the 2009 competition.

Crowd: 15,813

NRL Stats: Panthers v Wests Tigers
NYC Stats: Panthers v Wests Tigers
Panthers v Wests Tigers Discussion Thread


Preview: Panthers v Wests Tigers - NRL Round 4
Sat April 4, 2009
A restricted preparation after playing Monday Night Football is only one concern for Penrith coach Matt Elliott who faces the challenge of refocussing his players after they produced the biggest upset of the season so far with their 12-10 win over Manly.

No team has managed to conquer the Monday night factor after the opening rounds of the season with Canberra and the Wests Tigers (round one) and Cronulla and Newcastle (round two) all succumbing to their next opponents. Fatigue gripped all four clubs in the second half of their ensuing games; although admittedly three of the four played their next game in warm Sunday afternoon temperatures.

The Panthers have maintained a strong record against the Wests Tigers over the last decade, often creating havoc on the fringes with powerful surges by wide-running back-rowers.

But the Tigers have shown signs of defensive improvement in early wins over Canberra and the Roosters with prop Keith Galloway and former Leeds second-rower Gareth Ellis impressing.

The Panthers' short preparation should favour the visitors so look to a Tigers try as First Scoring Play ($2-10) and a Wests Tigers win by 13+ points ($4-10).

Best hopes for First Tryscorer include Michael Jennings ($11), Michael Gordon ($13) or Brad Tighe ($15) for the Panthers or Taniela Tuiaki ($11), Tim Moltzen ($15) or Chris Lawrence ($13) for Wests Tigers.

Saturday April 4, 2009
Penrith Panthers vs Wests Tigers at Penrith Stadium, Mulgoa Road, Penrith, Sydney (NSW)

Penrith Panthers
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 Michael Gordon, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Brad Tighe, 5 Shane Elford, 6 Wade Graham, 7 Jarrod Sammut, 8 Matthew Bell, 9 Paul Aiton, 10 Petero Civoniceva, 11 Trent Waterhouse, 12 Nathan Smith, 13 Luke Lewis. Subs: 14 Masada Iosefa, 15 Frank Pritchard, 16 Frank Puletua, 17 Gavin Cooper, 18 Tim Grant, 19 Adam Woolnough, 20 Joseph Paulo, 21 Maurice Blair (four to be omitted).

Wests Tigers
1 Tim Moltzen, 2 Taniela Tuiaki, 3 Dean Collis, 4 Chris Lawrence, 5 Beau Ryan, 6 John Morris, 7 Benji Marshall, 8 Bryce Gibbs, 9 Robbie Farah [c], 10 Keith Galloway, 11 Gareth Ellis, 12 Chris Heighington, 13 Todd Payten. Subs: 14 Rhys Hanbury, 15 Dene Halatau, 16 Corey Payne, 17 Danny Galea, 18 Rocky Trimarchi (one to be omitted).

Date: Sat April 4 2009, 5:30PM AEDT GMT+11 [Sat April 4 2009, 6:30AM GMT]
Referee: Ben Cummins, Phil Haines

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Wests Tigers by 4
Paul Booth: Panthers by 12

OVERALL:
Total Games: 15
Penrith Panthers wins: 11. [Pts: 398]
Wests Tigers wins: 4. [Pts: 305]
Draws: 0

Biggest wins:
Penrith Panthers: 34 pts: 2001 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 25 - [View] Sat Aug 25: Panthers 44 d. Tigers 10 [Crowd: 11172]
Wests Tigers: 17 pts: 2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 17 - [View] Fri: Wests Tigers 43 d. Penrith Panthers 26 [Crowd: 12395]

Biggest Crowd: 2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 8 - [View] Fri Apr 30: Panthers 22 d. Tigers 20 [Crowd: 20028]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
Penrith Panthers: LWWWLWWWWWWLLWW
Wests Tigers: WLLLWLLLLLLWWLL

Last 10 games:
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 20 - [View] Sat: Penrith Panthers 24 d. Wests Tigers 10 [Crowd: 14075]
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 4 - [View] Mon: Wests Tigers 8 l. Penrith Panthers 30 [Crowd: 11898]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 17 - [View] Fri: Wests Tigers 43 d. Penrith Panthers 26 [Crowd: 12395]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 11 - [View] Sun: Penrith Panthers 24 l. Wests Tigers 25 [Crowd: 17337]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 16 - [View] Sat: Panthers 24 d. Tigers 20 [Crowd: 16120]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 26 - [View] Sun: Tigers 22 l. Panthers 38 [Crowd: 17256]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 8 - [View] Fri Apr 30: Panthers 22 d. Tigers 20 [Crowd: 20028]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 24 - [View] Sat Aug 23: Panthers 44 d. Tigers 28 [Crowd: 10924]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 11 - [View] Sun May 25: Tigers 4 l. Panthers 26 [Crowd: 4125]
2002 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 14 - [View] Sat Jun 15: Tigers 18 l. Panthers 22 [Crowd: 8658]

NRL Live Scores & Stats: Panthers v Wests Tigers
NYC Live Scores & Stats: Panthers v Wests Tigers
Panthers v Wests Tigers Discussion Thread
Round 4 Teams, STATS and Predictions

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