The Penrith Panthers have taken care of the Sydney Roosters with a 22-16 win on Thursday night at Allianz Stadium.
In a clash which many believed to be a potential Grand Final preview, the Panthers were back at their finest and proved to be no match for a Roosters side, who was their own worst enemy on the night.
Both sides entered this match down on some key personnel with the Panthers missing Nathan Cleary and James Fisher-Harris, whilst the Roosters were without Lindsay Collins and Spencer Leniu.
The hosts were favoured by many to put on a statement performance prior to kick off but as the Panthers do, they found a way to match the star-studded Roosters.
After starting off the game on the front foot, the Roosters fell victim to the ruthless Panthers pack that started to assert dominance on the game.
Penrith trapped the Roosters in their own half in the opening stages of the game and it was only a matter of time before they cracked the hosts’ defensive line.
Jarome Luai broke open the opposing defensive line with a skilful step, giving his team the chance to go wide and find Sunia Turuva in the corner, where he ducked under Daniel Tupou for the opener.
With Penrith’s main kicker Nathan Cleary out, Dylan Edwards stepped up and slotted the kick from the sideline, maintaining his 100 per cent conversion success rate for his career.
The Panthers’ fullback doubled his side’s lead moment later with a sensational solo effort where he kicked for himself from ten metres out and was first to the ball inches before the line.
With Penrith threatening to run away with the game, Joey Manu had an answer for the hosts when he crossed the line with an impressive display of strength.
However, upon review a clear obstruction on Dylan Edwards in back play was deemed enough to overturn the on-field decision and denied the Roosters an opening try for the time being.
The Roosters were eventually rewarded for their efforts with 45 seconds remaining in the first half after a perfectly placed grubber kick from Sam Walker found an oncoming Sitili Tupouniua, who managed to ground the ball in a tight space.
Heading into the halftime break, it was Penrith who held a 14-6 lead but looked destined to put on more points in the second half.
Penrith looked impressive to start the second half and didn’t take long to find the white line minutes after the restart.
Turuva, albeit under controversial circumstances had the first try of the second half in the 46th minute, shortly before he completed his hat trick in the 51st minute.
With Lindsay Smith looking worse for wear, the Panthers brought on Mavrik Geyer for his NRL debut, much to the approval of the travelling fans.
The son of NRL legend Mark Geyer and nephew of Brandy Alexander was keen to get his hands on the ball and looked fierce with his first hit-up in first grade. Both sides continued to trade blows in the final period of the game but it was the Panthers who continued to hold the upper hand.
The in-form Izack Tago got in on the action when he barged through a sea of Roosters defenders to cross the line but a no-try call from the on-field referee was supported by the bunker, leaving the Roosters with a glimmer of hope.
Out of seemingly nothing, Brando Smith’s burrow from dummy half was enough to get the Roosters their second try of the game, giving the fans a grandstand finish.
The Roosters reduced the deficit to six points with 25 seconds to go, but it was too little too late as the Panthers held on in the final seconds.