The Penrith Panthers NYC team have continued their winning form with a dominant display against the Parramatta Eels.
The opening stages tested the Panthers defence, with an attacking onslaught from the hungry Eels, who were unfortunate not to come away with a try for their efforts.
Despite the Eels’ strong show of play, the Panthers were the first to strike.
Soni Luke powered through, drew the defenders and slipped the ball to Stanton Albert to score under the posts. Corey Harawira slotted the conversion to open the game 6-0 to the home side in the 16th minute.
The Panthers were unfortunate not to score only two minutes later with Moses Leota scooping up a short ball but fumbling the ball just short of the try line.
However the Panthers' momentum soon resulted in more points. Dylan Edwards took advantage of dominant numbers on the right hand side of the park, spreading the ball wide as Fuimanu Enese found space before sprinting the final ten metres to slide over the line. Harawira fell short with the conversion, pushing the score to 10-0 Panthers in the 26th minute.
The next try followed with Tyrone May playing the ball short to Maliko Filino who was too strong for Parramatta’s defence and barrelled over the line with three defenders on his back.
Harawira impressive kick from the sideline cemented his second conversion for the night and pushed the score to 16-0 for the home side.
The Panthers closed out the half strongly as Dylan Edwards carved through Parramatta’s backline with an inspiring twenty metre run to score. Edwards then stepped up to convert and push the score to 22-0.
HALF-TIME SCORE: 22-0
The Panthers were unfortunate not to score in the opening two minutes of the second half with Christian Crichton denied for the second time.
In the 50th minute Paea Pua found the Panthers first points for the half, slipping the ball to a powering Moses Leota who surged through the defensive wall to score.
Crichton was finally rewarded for his strong supporting efforts with the winger receiving the perfect pass from Maliko Filino. He challenged a defender one-on-one and dived to ground the ball in the 61st minute.
Edwards’ conversion attempt skewed just outside the uprights. But the extra four points pushed the scoreline to 32-0.
Parramatta finally found their much-needed points in the 75th minute, with a spiralling kick from half back Sam Elwin collected by Abbas Miski, who shrugged off two would-be tacklers to score.
The blue and gold quickly capitalised on their success with another try one minute later after a costly fumble from the home side.
Despite the resurgence from the Eels, the Panthers closed out the game strongly. A spiralling wide pass found Tuigimala on the wing who raced in to claim the final try of the game. The successful conversion pushed the scoreboard to 36-12.
FULL TIME: PANTHERS 36-12
