Panthers bounce back against Tigers in NRL

Penrith have bounced back from their horror NRL round-one showing with a 36-2 thrashing of the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

Panthers centres Dean Whare and Tyrone Peachey starred on a sapping Sunday in Sydney’s southwest, with the former scoring two tries and the latter carrying the ball for a game-high 191m.

It was the first time in a year that the Tigers had been held tryless, as stars James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks were kept quiet in front of a disappointed home crowd of 12,232.

The win could come at a cost for embattled star Bryce Cartwright, who capped off a controversy-plagued week by coming off with an ankle injury in the first half.

However, the loss of their second-rower failed to prevent the Panthers reversing a season-opening hammering of their own from St George-Illawarra.

The pre-season premiership favourites were back at their enterprising best against a Tigers side who, in contrast, looked a shadow of the unit which had blasted South Sydney in round one.

Panthers debutant Viliame Kikau and youngster Dylan Edwards joined Whare in cracking the game open with a three-try burst in a 12-minute period leading into halftime.

Kikau produced a defensive highlight moments before his four-pointer, crunching Tigers fullback Tedesco with a ground-shaking tackle in a memorable first performance.

Penrith continued their dominance in the second half through a shock try to Leilani Latu, who climbed over David Nofoaluma to take a Te Maire Martin bomb in the 49th minute.

The visitors sealed the win with tries to Whare and Nathan Cleary late in the second half.

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