Wests Tigers captain James Tamou wants the actions of a protester carrying a flare to serve as a wake-up call for NRL officials after four mid-match pitch invasions at Shark Park.
In a bizarre sequence of events, play was stopped for several minutes during the Tigers' loss to Cronulla on Sunday after a protester entered the field with a smoking orange flare in hand.
The man was able to get within touching distance of players before he was stopped by security and was at one point held by Tigers lock Joe Ofahenguae.
He was removed from the field, but shortly after three spectators entered the field as ground staff attempted to extinguish the after-effects of the flare.
The incident came just a day after a female pitch invader was heavily tackled by security on the Gold Coast in Parramatta's win over the Titans on Saturday night.
Questions will be raised over how the man was able to get a flare into the ground, and why he was able to get so close to players with it in hand.
"Luckily nothing happened but hopefully this situation puts a bit more urgency into upcoming games."
Cronulla captain Dale Finucane also expressed frustration over the incident.
"It obviously disrupted the game with a flow of it," Finucane said.
"I think the people who will be most disappointed will be our grounds people and people who work so hard behind the scenes."
Hapless Wests Tigers thumped by Cronulla Sharks
In the action on the pitch, pressure is set to intensify on Michael Maguire after the Tigers slumped to a 6-30 flogging by Cronulla, making it the worst losing streak in the joint-venture's history.
Maguire was under pressure to keep his job after last season, before an end-of-season review and subsequent board meeting saw him retained.
Without a win over the opening five rounds, the Tigers have now gone eight straight games without a victory, while also recording their worst-ever start to an NRL season.
While they were close in recent losses to both the Warriors and Gold Coast, there was little to like about the Tigers' output on Sunday afternoon.
In a rough Sunday outing at Shark Park, the Tigers missed 29 tackles and failed to break the Sharks' line once, with their only try coming from a Ken Maumalo intercept in the last minute.
"We gotta keep positive," James Tamou told ABC Grandstand after the match.
However, at 0-5 — and with games against heavyweights Parramatta and South Sydney looming in the next fortnight — the situation is only growing more difficult.
After losing fullback Daine Laurie to COVID-19 and James Roberts to a back injury before play, the Tigers were well beaten at the back and regularly stripped for numbers on the edges.
Cronulla's first try came when stand-in Tigers fullback Starford To'a dropped a Nicho Hynes bomb, while Jesse Ramien and Sione Katoa wreaked havoc on the right edge.
Katoa bagged a double, with his first coming when Matt Moylan went the short side and caught Maumalo defending deep in a disjointed defensive line.
The Tigers also failed to stop Hynes and Moylan when they attacked down that same edge later, allowing Ramien to again put his wingman over.
Ramien later claimed a try of his own down that edge, while Will Kennedy also crossed in the same zone moments later when Hynes put Cameron McInnes through a hole.
The Sharks' success wasn't just limited to their right, with Ronaldo Mulitalo crossing on the left wing after Cronulla rolled through the middle from a 20-metre tap.
In truth, it could have been worse if the Sharks had taken all their chances.
Dale Finucane and Andrew Fifita both dropped balls as they threatened to go over the line, while Mulitalo was denied another try when he put his foot out following some flimsy defence.
The victory marked the first time the Sharks have won four in a row since 2018, keeping them in the top two on the ladder and averaging 24 points per game.
While the Tigers will at least get five-eighth Jackson Hastings back from a ban on Easter Monday, there is otherwise little to look forward to.
"The worrying thing is, I don't know if they have hit rock bottom yet," Andrew Johns said in Nine's commentary.
Penrith Panthers ease past Canterbury Bulldogs
Penrith weren't at their clinical best but did enough to get past Canterbury and maintain the unbeaten start to their NRL premiership defence with a 32-12 win.
Ivan Cleary's side started strongly in front of 11,157 fans at Parramatta Stadium but slipped back into second gear after getting out to a comfortable lead on Sunday evening.
The loss was the fourth straight for Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett, who has tasted just two wins in his last 17 games in charge of Canterbury.
"It was a bit of a weird game," Nathan Cleary told Fox Sports.
"At times we felt like we were on top and then they'd come back firing.
"I feel like the Bulldogs have come a long way since the last couple of years, it was a tough game."
There were three Panthers players from last year's premiership-winning squad in the Bulldogs side — Matt Burton at five-eighth, Tevita Pangai in the pack and Brent Naden on the wing — but even that inside knowledge couldn't help the Dogs
The intrigue was not centred on those reunions but more on the return of Burton's halves partner Kyle Flanagan to first grade for the first time since round 13 last year.
Flanagan was deployed, Barrett said, to take the pressure off Burton and allow the Bulldogs' attack — which has now averaged eight points from the opening five rounds - to flourish.
Barrett was brought to Canterbury after masterminding Penrith's attack in 2020, but their sole first-half try came from a speculative Flanagan kick rather than intricate build-up play.
Jarome Luai, who has made a habit of winding up the Bulldogs halfback in previous encounters, dropped an in-goal chipkick and Pangai dived on the loose ball.
Apart from that it was one-way traffic with Dylan Edwards, Liam Martin and Taylan May crossing for Penrith as Nathan Cleary converted all three and added a penalty to give the Panthers a 20-6 lead at half-time.
Prop Spencer Leniu went over after the break.
Canterbury could have thrown up the white flag but when fullback Matt Dufty wasn't dropping bombs — he had four errors — they went toe to toe with the Panthers.
With captain Isaah Yeo given an early mark ahead of a five-day turnaround, Penrith became sloppier.
The Dogs took advantage when Josh Addo-Carr finally received some early ball in space and was able to tee up a supporting Joe Stimson for their second try to make it 26-12 with 17 minutes left.
Any hopes of a comeback were short-lived, however, when Mitch Kenny burrowed his way over for the Panthers.
AAP
