The game was in the air until the final minutes with both sides holding their own in the high scoring encounter but a try from Black and Whites Steven Broome secured the 42-32 point win for his team.

While coach Craig Morriss was happy with his team's effort in attack, the defensive side left a little to be desired.

“We got off to a good start, but we didn’t back it up in defence,” he said.

“We gave away too many penalties early.

“There are two sides to footy and you have to be able to defend as well as attack.”

The Black and Whites hit the ground running to score three tries through George Broome, Andrew Lavaka and David Milne within the first 10 minutes.

It took only a matter of minutes for TLU to hit back with Michael Mitchell and James Williams crossing within five minutes and then approaching halftime Keanau Wighton scored to bring the game level.

Lavaka crossed for his second of the game to see the home side go in at halftime up 24-18.

The sides continued to trade tries with Lakes hitting the lead just after halftime with two tries to Wighton and Nathan Morris.

Black and Whites hit back quickly through Veti Mataa before Andrew Lavaka completed his hat-trick and restored the Panthers lead.

Jarrod Cahill crossed for Sharks late in the game to reduce the Panthers lead back to six points however Stephen Broome crossed with five minutes to go to wrap up the win.

Despite the result Morriss knows there is still room for improvement with his side.

“It is still a tight competition with not much between the top five sides,” he said.

“It comes down to how you approach each game.”

With the win the Black and Whites are now two points clear at the top.