Suffocating an opponent is one thing, but strangling them?
That’s how Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall described his side’s 36-2 loss to a clinical Penrith Panthers at CommBank Stadium yesterday in a result sure to send shivers through the rest of the NRL.
Welcoming back their NSW origin stars, the Panthers dominated possession and field position in the six-tries-to-nil thumping, showing their title defence isn’t merely back on track, but peaking at exactly the right time.
“The thing with Penrith is they don’t beat themselves,” Marshall said after the game, pointing to the Tigers’ self-inflicted errors and lack of resilience to defend those errors.
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‘We got strangled to death tonight’
“I thought we got taught a lesson on game management, field position and kicking,” Marshall said.
“We got strangled to death tonight, they were outstanding—they just kept putting pressure on us, hence why they’ve won four competitions in a row, they’re a great team.”
Indeed they are, and the increasing question is, who can stop them?
The Panthers have now won their last seven matches, surging to the fifth on the NRL ladder, just three points behind the wobbling Warriors.