Brooks says Wests Tigers can't take depleted Panthers lightly

Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks says his team can’t take Penrith lightly despite their opponents missing eight key players for the Friday night blockbuster.

The Panthers will be without seven State of Origin stars, as well as suspended prop Moses Leota, for the Leichhardt Oval clash — however Brooks is still expecting a motivated Penrith outfit.

“They’ve still got a great side and their confidence would be through the roof,” Brooks said.

“Even their reserve graders are going well — they lost their first game last weekend.

“The players that are going to come in are going to be confident because they’ve been winning.

“It’s going to be a tough game against the team coming first.”

Having beaten St George Illawarra last Friday night, Wests Tigers will be aiming to remain in the winner’s circle for consecutive weeks.

“It’s very important to build momentum off that game against the Dragons,” Brooks said.

“We haven’t had a back-to-back wins this year, so we’re looking to put in a good performance, especially against the Panthers, who are undefeated at the moment.”

Wests Tigers return to Leichhardt Oval for the first time since the Round 5 loss against North Queensland Cowboys — and they’ll be eyeing an improved performance this time around.

“We all love playing at Leichhardt,” Brooks said.

“We’re looking forward to getting out here on Friday night against Penrith — looking forward to it being a big crowd and we’re going to build off the energy that they bring.”