The Panthers NYC Team has continued their recent winning streak with a victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at St Mary’s Leagues Stadium.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the third minute with Dylan Edwards slotting through a well-placed grubber that was collected by Robert Jennings who planted the ball near the left hand corner. The kick from Corey Harawira-Naera sailed smoothly through the uprights to open the scoring at 6-0 to the Panthers.
The Sea Eagles were soon to follow with their first points of the day in the 7th minute with Liam Knight scoring underneath the posts despite the Panthers best defensive attempts. The successful conversion leveled the score at 6-6.
The even possession in the opening stages from both sides showed that this contest would be hard fought and won only by completed sets with minimal errors. The Panthers consistency finally paid off when Sam Elwin barreled through two defenders, offloading to Brent Naden who slipped the ball to Moses Leota to crash over the line with defenders on his back in the 12th minute. The ball just skewed away from the uprights unsuccessfully to bring the score to 10-6 to the Panthers.
The Panthers reclaimed possession in the 16th minute with an intercept from Dylan Edwards, his 40 metre solo sprint pushed the Panthers forwards deep into the opposition’s half. Maliko Filino took advantage of scattered numbers on the left hand wing with a cut out pass to Christian Crichton who planted down just inside the corner post. The conversion was unsuccessful, but the added points pushed the Panthers’ lead to 14-6.
The Panthers continued their momentum in the following sets, quickly capitalising on a high lift to gain twenty metres in the 24th minute. Maliko Filino slipped easily through a waiting gap on the open side of the field before bringing the ball to ground near the uprights. The conversion from in front extended the Panthers lead to 20 – 6.
The Panthers dominant attacking streak was not to be slowed. In the 36th minute, Paea Pua slipped a nice pass to Brent Naden who backed himself over the final thirty metres to score again on the favoured left hand side of the pitch. The conversion fell just short of the centre bar – increasing the score line to 24-6..
Penrith closed the half ensuring that their opponents did not add to their score line before the break. James Fisher-Harris finished a set highlighted with an impressive display of possession by powering through two defenders before Cameron Collins support play was rewarded with the final try of the half.
HALF TIME: Panthers 28-6
Despite a strong attacking display from the Sea Eagles the Panthers were back on the attack from the first whistle and their persistence paid off in the 47th minute. A cross field kick sailed into the waiting hands of Fuimanu Enese who outpaced the defenders on the right hand wing before bringing the ball back close to the posts to push the Panthers lead to 36-6.
The strong early opening sets from the Sea Eagles were finally rewarded with their second set of points on the board for the day through Tom Trbojevic. The successful conversion from Manly brought the score to 36-12 in the 52nd minute.
Penrith were quick to dismiss any question of their dominance with the attacking displays that followed, A surging run from Robert Jennings and a well placed offload from Dylan Edwards set up Maliko Filino for the final foot race to touch the ball down close to the posts in the 60th minute. The successful conversion hit the inside upright, pushing the Panthers lead to 42-12.
The remainder of the game was highlighted by entertaining displays from both sides. Manly’s Tom Trbojevic contributed his second try for the afternoon in the final five minutes.
FULL TIME: Panthers 42-16
