Sunday arvo footy: Wests Tigers v Panthers; Sharks v Dragons

Half-time: That is time on a stunning half of football. It could be the best 40 minutes the Panthers have played all year, Nathan Cleary pulling the strings as his side ran in six tries to zero. The Tigers were their own worst enemies, making six errors to repeatedly hand possession back to their opponents. To sum up their half, the Tigers dropped the ball in the final play before the siren sounded. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 36. 

36th minute: Brian To'o was denied a couple of minutes ago, but this time he's broken through for a four-pointer. The Tigers were deep in their own end, Jarome Luai attempted a speculative offload, Liam Martin intercepted it, passed to To'o, who beat five defenders on the way to the tryline. To make matters worse for Benji Marshall's men, Jock Madden picked up an arm injury while trying to tackle To'o. The halfback has had his elbow strapped up and will play on. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 36. 

34th minute: Penrith have been denied a sixth try after Nathan Cleary fired a bullet pass to Brian To'o. The winger would have scored untouched but the pass travelled forward and the Tigers survive. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 30. 

27th minute: Nathan Cleary take a bow. The Panthers halfback has been pulling the strings all afternoon, this time he's run on to the ball with pace around the halfway line, thrown a dummy and gone straight through the Tigers defensive line. Cleary drew the fullback before linking up with his co-captain Isaah Yeo, who had just enough pace and momentum to get over the line for his second try of the year. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 30. 

20th minute: We've got a Penrith Captain's Challenge after a frenetic couple of minutes. Tom Jenkins broke through on the kick return to put his side straight back on the attack. The Tigers scrambled to hold out the Panthers before Heamasa Makasini deflected a pass. The loose ball was then knocked on by Paul Alamoti and picked up by Liam Martin in an offside position, who was penalised on the field. But the challenge is successful, with the first infringement the knock on by Makasini. Penrith immediately capitalise, running a set play from the scrum for Jenkins to score in the corner. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 24. 

18th minute: Penrith have their third. A Sunia Turuva error handed the Panthers prime attacking field position and they quickly capitalised. Moses Leota was stopped inches short of the line, Freddy Lussick threw the dummy from dummy half and sliced through for a simple try. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 18.

12th minute: Errors continue to hurt the Tigers and Penrith have capitalised to score their second of the game. Isaiah Papali'i caught the ball at first receiver, attracted multiple defenders, passed out the back to Nathan Cleary and the halfback dives over for the try. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 12.

7th minute: The Tigers defence fought bravely but they eventually ran out of puff and the Panthers have the first points of the game. An error by Fonua Pole put Penrith back on the attack and the pressure continued to build with multiple set restarts. The Tigers held firm until Paul Alamoti got on the outside of Heamasi Makasini and slid through to score the try. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 6.

3rd minute: The Tigers have made a big defensive statement in the opening minutes of the game, defending multiple Panthers attacking sets to hold their opponents out. Multiple Penrith players came close, but the Tigers scrambled to defend their line. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 0.

Kick-off: We are underway at CommBank Stadium, with the two teams playing for the Royce Simmons Cup. A Panthers legend and Tigers assistant coach during their 2005 premiership, Simmons is battling dementia. The two clubs are raising funds for the Royce Simmons Foundation to further research into the condition. Penrith are flying high at the top of the table, while the Tigers returned to form last week with a win over the Bulldogs. Wests Tigers 0 - Panthers 0. 

Stat Attack

• Wests Tigers have won their last three games at CommBank Stadium.
• The Panthers have won five of their last six games against the Tigers.
• Wests Tigers have won six from eight when Api Koroisau has played this season.
• Panthers centre Casey McLean has scored seven tries in his last seven games at CommBank Stadium.
• Tigers winger Jeral Skelton has scored six tries in five games at CommBank Stadium.

Late Mail

Wests Tigers: No further changes in Sunday's final team update, with Heath Mason dropping out of the extended squad. Coach Benji Marshall confirmed on Friday morning that young gun Heamasi Makasini is on track to take his place in the side despite suffering a shoulder injury last weekend. "He had an AC injury that we thought was worse than what it is, he'll be right to play this week," Marshall said. The loss of Sione Fainu (concussion) will see Mavrik Geyer come in for his second game of the season, while lock Charlie Murray is set for his first outing of the year. Young guns Ethan Roberts and Javon Andrews dropped out when the squad was trimmed to 20 on Saturday. 

Panthers: One minor change in Sunday's final update, Billy Scott coming into the six-man bench at the expense of Billy Phillips. Origin trio Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Brian To'o are all set to return after being rested last weekend. Jack Cogger, Liam Henry and Izack Tago will shift to the bench while Paul Alamoti moves to centre to accommodate the return of To'o. Utility Jack Cole and Luron Patea dropped out in the 24-hour team update.

Sharks v Dragons at Ocean Protect Stadium