Wests Tigers 8 Penrith 30

THE league world might need to see a bit more proof before it is absolutely convinced, but Penrith appear to have rediscovered their desire. Last night, they overcame massive injury problems to hang tough and beat a Wests Tigers side that could smell blood in the second half, but couldn't get close enough to tear the wound open.

The Panthers have gone win-win in their last two games, in a turnaround from their lose-lose start to the season. The Tigers, on the other hand, have gone lose-lose after starting win-win. It's that sort of competition, where the only sure thing is that there is no sure thing.

Penrith prop Adam Woolnough and second-rower Trent Waterhouse were both forced out of the game in the last few minutes before half-time - Woolnough with suspected anterior cruciate ligament damage to his knee, which would mean a reconstruction and the end of the season for him, and Waterhouse with an ankle injury. Fullback Rhys Wesser was struggling with a corked thigh by that stage as well, but with the numbers already down he was forced to continue into the second half.

The Panthers tried to protect Wesser by putting him on the wing, with centre Michael Jennings going to fullback, but their injury problems weren't over yet. Second-rower Frank Pritchard suffered rib cartilage damage early in the second half and was forced to leave the field in the 49th minute. That reduced the Penrith bench to just one man, but, with the situation desperate, Pritchard bravely returned to the field 12 minutes later.

After going to half-time with a 16-point advantage, Penrith kicked further ahead, to 24-2, before understandably tiring. But the Tigers could only pull one try back and it was the Panthers who ended up finding a new lease of life to finish the better, with centre Brad Tighe scoring a runaway try three minutes from time.

Pritchard was hitting hard enough in his return to be reported, for a high tackle on Tigers five-eighth Tim Moltzen.

The withdrawals through injury of hooker Robbie Farah and centre Dene Halatau, announced on Sunday, had left the Tigers with their backs to the wall. They were already missing four regular members of their 17-man squad - including star five-eighth Benji Marshall, who provides the X-factor in their attack when he is available - and the absence of Farah and Halatau further diluted their ability to score.

Playmakers were thin on the ground for the Tigers, with inexperienced pair Moltzen and Stuart Flanagan at five-eighth and hooker respectively, and fullback Brett Hodgson's role changed under the circumstances. From the start of the game he stood up in the attacking line as a second five-eighth, similar to how Darren Lockyer played when he was at fullback for Brisbane.

But, while Hodgson appeared one of the more dangerous Tigers players with the ball in his hands, it wasn't enough to prise open the Penrith defence in the first half. The Tigers opened the scoring through a penalty goal from Hodgson, but the Panthers came up with three first-half tries to lead 18-2 at the break.

Penrith have had their problems, one of which is their penchant for getting too cute within sight of the line and coming undone on the final pass, but it was a fairly basic approach that saw them create that advantage. They rolled forward through their big forwards, got the defence on the back foot, and pounced - through hooker Luke Priddis from dummy-half; centre Michael Jennings off a grubber kick from halfback Jarrod Sammut; and five-eighth Maurice Blair off a sharp long ball from Priddis at dummy-half.

The Tigers did not look like scoring a try until the last minute before half-time. Second-rower Chris Heighington charged on to a ball from seven metres out, the defence was slow to react, and he was suddenly a chance of reaching the line. He went down in a tackle and referee Jason Robinson sent it to video referee Paul Simpkins for a decision, but replays showed Heighington had finished just short.

PENRITH 30 (M Blair M Gordon M Jennings L Priddis B Tighe tries J Sammut 5 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 8 (B Ryan try B Hodgson 2 goals) at Campbelltown Stadium. Referee: J Robinson. Crowd: 11,898.