NRL: Wests Tigers stun Penrith Panthers to secure famous win

Wests Tigers have secured their biggest win in years as the NRL strugglers showed some fight to stun reigning premiers Penrith.

The Tigers entered Saturday night’s contest in Bathurst on a 12-match losing streak, equating to 273 days,  with fans and pundits giving them little to no chance of beating the Panthers, who were aiming to leapfrog the Broncos to the top of the ladder.

But the stubborn Tigers gave the premiers a horrible night in treacherous conditions, with the much-maligned Luke Brooks putting in a performance worthy of his marquee price tag. 

Brooks said after the win: ‘It was good. It’s been a long time coming, I feel over the last few weeks we haven’t played too bad and we were confident coming into the game.

‘They [Penrith] have been the benchmark over the past few years and it was great to get the win. 

‘In these conditions our focus was to kick early, complete our sets and back our defence, and I think we did that perfectly. ‘

Brooks was at the heart of Wests’ first try as Brandon Wakeham latched onto his classy grubber to score in the third minute – by which point Penrith hadn’t even had a touch. 

‘Luke Brooks, has he started a game better in his 197 games,’ Dan Ginnane said on Fox League.

‘This is the biggest lead they’ve had all year, is there something bubbling here,’ he added.

More to follow.