Penrith Panthers have claimed their second win of the Jersey Flegg season, recording a comprehensive 28-6 result over the Canberra Raiders at BlueBet Stadium.
It was a strong defensive performance from the Panthers, regularly forcing errors from the Raiders and keeping them pinned down their own end.
They went close to opening the scoring in the 6th minute following repeat sets, however Kristian-Li Mai was denied due to an obstruction.
It took until the 15th minute, however the Panthers finally opened the scoring when Aston Warwick crashed over on the right-hand side.
They went back-to-back down the right shortly after, this time through Li-Mai scoring with ease.
Another Raiders error gave the Panthers perfect field position in the 23rd minute and they capitalised again, with Ryley Smith backing up a strong surge to power over near the posts. Luke Philp converted to extend their lead to 14-0.
Strong goal line defence in the dying minutes of the half allowed the Panthers to maintain that scoreline to the break.
Both sides had chances to score in the opening minutes of the second half, however Penrith were denied due to an intercept and Canberra were denied due to an offside kick chase.
A penalty put the Panthers on the attack in the 42nd minute and they took advantage when Sam Lane won the race to a grubber.
Smart play from Luke Philp on the sideline saw him force a Raiders kick out on the full, giving the Panthers more attacking field position. A barnstorming surge in the following set from Zac Lipowicz saw him score to blow the lead out to 24-0.
A consolation try to Livai Koloutolu got the Raiders on the board, before Peter Taateo dived over out wide in the dying minutes to wrap up the 28-6 win for the Panthers.
