Griffin unsure how far Panthers go in ’16

After watching his team all but secure a spot in this year’s NRL finals series, Penrith coach Anthony Griffin admits he’s no idea how far his team can go in 2016.

The Panthers have emerged as this year’s premiership darkhorses after impressively disposing of the Wests Tigers 40-10 at Pepper Stadium on Friday night.

It was their third victory on the trot – all of which have produced at least 38 points – as well as their second biggest win over their neighbourhood rivals, leaving the Tigers’ finals hopes in tatters.

For Penrith, they are now three points ahead of the eighth-placed Gold Coast.

“It’s nice. We’re learning and we’ve improving at the right time of the year,” Griffin said post-game.

“I don’t know how far this run will go, but from being involved in the club at the moment, there’s that improvement there every week which is what you work for.”

Griffin said he was most pleased with a defence that limited the Tigers, who have scored at least 20 points in seven of their past eight games, to just ten points.

It was the Tigers’ lowest score in almost three months.

“Even though we probably had the game in hand, our defensive effort was as close to an 80-minute one that we’ve had. We’re learning,” he said.

“A few weeks ago, we might’ve lost control of that last 20 minutes. Even though it got a bit scrappy, we held our composure with the ball, and defensively.”

Skipper Matt Moylan steered clear of talking up his team’s finals chances.

“We’re just improving each week,” he said.

“The last month of footy we’ve improved and it’s been good to see. A lot of the players have matured from the start of the year. There’s a few that are starting to come into their own and it’s good to see.”

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