The Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak in emphatic fashion and kicked off their seven-match winning streak with a 30-0 thrashing of Penrith at Centrebet Stadium in Round 7. The home side began poorly when winger Sandor Earl spilled a Benji Marshall clearing kick after just four minutes and from the ensuing set Marshall sent Adam Blair crashing over for an early 6-0 lead.
A concussion that forced Robbie Farah from the field soon after slowed the Tigers’ momentum and it took a wonderful chase by Tom Humble on a runaway David Simmons to prevent Penrith leveling the scores. However, the visitors soon found their groove again with Aaron Woods bursting through before offloading to Joel Reddy who put Tim Moltzen away for a 12-0 advantage.
Just minutes later they were over again as Marshall threw another well-timed short ball for Ray Cashmere to score alongside the posts and the match was as good as over.
The Panthers managed to hold on until the break and looked to be hauling themselves back into the match when Blake Austin broke through on the hour, but with the try-line beckoning he inexplicably slipped and was miraculously held up before the line. That was all the invitation the Tigers needed to put the icing on the cake as Tom Humble scored from the next set before Lote Tuqiri sparked a 70-metre effort that was finished by Moltzen.
Eight Tigers players ran for over 100 metres while former Penrith prop Matthew Bell topped the tackle count with 43. Luke Lewis starred for the Panthers with 155 metres and 33 tackles.
