Panthers 26 Wests Tigers 18
Powerful cats by name, ruthless rugby league sides by nature.
The Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers look set to be top-eight sides at season's end if the way they battled it out at the base of the Blue Mountains last night is any indication.
Penrith dominated as the game opened up over the final 20 minutes and Wests were cramped on defence.
Lock Luke Lewis stormed strongly onto the ball to bend the defensive line while Lachlan Coote earned further respect as a custodian by deftly diffusing a potential try from a Benji Marshall grubber.
He finished off a Lewis charge with a try to give him a brace for the night.
They were further helped by indomitable props Tim Grant and Petero Civoneceva who exhausted their opposites with a barrage of runs. Adrian Purtell had a strong game too, breaking the line and getting away three decent offloads.
The two disciplined outfits completed close to 90 per cent of their sets in the first half before fatigue caught up in the second.
The Tigers tended to tackle more and had slightly more verve on attack.
Wests Robbie Farah was a noted presence as he scraps for the Blues State of Origin hooking job with the Bulldogs' Michael Ennis.
On top of 44 tackles he featured in the try of the match which involved his dart up the middle through the ruck which led to Lote Tuqiri picking up a spiralling pass off his toes before setting lock Chris Heighington clear.
Heighington regularly provided a spur to the Tigers' attack. Marshall also showed sharp form ahead of the Anzac test on May 7 in Melbourne, especially with a cut-out pass to send across Chris Lawrence.
Panthers centre Michael Jennings was regularly elusive and kept the defence honest - he was also able to breach it with a dash across from dummy-half to help the scoreboard ledger balance at 12-all.
Frank Pritchard, sporting a heavily strapped thigh, proved that, like Marshall, he should be ready for Melbourne in less than a fortnight, making a bullocking 127 metres and discouraging the opposition.
He also received a generous interchange spell in the second half before returning for the final 15 minutes.
Penrith 26 (L. Coote 2, M. Jennings, M. Gordon tries; Gordon 5 goals) Wests Tigers 18 (C. Heighington, C. Lawrence, M. Flanagan tries; B. Marshall 3 goals). Halftime: 14-12.
