The Panthers prevailed in the Battle of the West at CommBank Stadium once again on Sunday, overpowering Parramatta Eels in a 32-10 victory.
Despite the absence of three NSW Origin stars and a 10-6 deficit on the stroke of half-time, the Panthers roared to life with five unanswered tries to reassert their status as Kings of the West.
Highlights: Panthers v Eels
Nathan Cleary came from the bench for a show-stealing, 51-minute cameo, topped off by a match-sealing try.
Tom Jenkins opened the Panthers account before Luke Garner snatched an unlikely lead on the half-time siren, setting the stage for Penrith to blow Parramatta off the park in the second stanza.
Tries to Izack Tago and Paul Alamoti put the Panthers in control, before Cleary iced the game and Lindsay Smith completed the rout.
The Panthers fifth consecutive win sees them finish the round in 6th on the competition ladder with eight games to play in the regular season.
Press Conference: Panthers v Eels
Coach Ivan Cleary chose to rest NSW Origin trio Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o and Liam Martin, and started co-captain Nathan Cleary on the bench. This saw the Panthers enter the Battle of the West with just one of their Blues stars on the field in Isaah Yeo.
The Panthers got off to a sluggish start, as Parramatta opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a converted try to Kitione Kautoga.
With one of their first attacking opportunities, however, the Panthers hit back as Tom Jenkins beat two defenders and found the chalk with an enormous reach.
Jenkins stretches to score
After Paul Alamoti’s missed conversion kept Parramatta ahead, Nathan Cleary was injected to the game in the 25th minute.
The Panthers drew level with an Alamoti penalty goal, but the Eels skipped back ahead when Bailey Simonsson sent Zac Lomax over with a freakish offload.
Parramatta looked set to hit the sheds with a 10-6 lead, before the Panthers landed a sucker punch on the stroke of half-time.
Panthers dazzle to keep it alive
Stuck in their own half in the 39th minute, the Panthers shifted right and surged upfield with two audacious kicks from Paul Alamoti.
Then, as the half-time siren sounded, the Panthers spread the football left where Luke Garner sliced through for a game-changing try.
Panthers pounce on the siren
Paul Alamoti converted to hand the Panthers an unlikely 12-10 lead at the break.
Buoyed by their big finish to the first half, the Panthers returned to the second half with a spring in their step.
This was typified when Izack Tago skipped through the Eels red-zone defence, before beating two cover tackles to score a big try in the 55th minute.
Tago scores with hustle and bustle
Alamoti converted to put the Panthers up by eight points.
With 20 minutes to play, a blockbuster finish loomed. Parramatta looked certain to close the gap when Zac Lomax set his sights on the try line, only for the winger to put the football down.
Tom Jenkins picked up the scraps and set sail, launching a Panthers counter attack.
The Panthers spun the football from left to right, where Tago unleashed Alamoti. The winger made a 50-metre dash down the touch line, and beat Isaiah Iongi's last-ditch defensive effort to score in the corner.
Alamoti scores try, sips tea
At 22-10, the Eels were still in the fight. That was, until Nathan Cleary fired the Panthers home.
The Panthers halfback secured victory in the 71st minute when he toyed with the Eels defence before bursting through the line and wrestling the football over.
Nathan Cleary pulls trigger on Eels
Still not satisfied at 26-10, the Panthers piled on a sixth try in the closing stages for good measure.
An unlikely hero, Lindsay Smith jumped out of dummy half and brushed off three defenders to score his first try of 2025.
Lindsay Smith lands final blow
With a 22-point triumph, the Panthers secured their second victory over the Eels at CommBank Stadium in the space of six weeks, while extending their winning streak over Parramatta to four games.
After a short rest, the Panthers return to CommBank Stadium on Friday to face the South Sydney Rabbitohs with a sixth consecutive win on their horizon.
