Source : the age
Key posts
Cronulla aren’t letting this game get away from – they strike back straight away with a try for Cameron McInnes under the posts.
Nicho Hynes has an easy conversion in front, and the margin is back to eight.
Roosters 14, Sharks 6 after 15 minutes
It’s déjà vu on the Central Coast.
Hugo Savala puts the kick up for Daniel Tupou, and the veteran winger grabs it and scores.
Once again picture perfect from the Roosters, and an early double for Tupou.
Roosters 14, Sharks 0 after 13 minutes
The Roosters get a penalty for an illegal steal from Nicho Hynes and James Tedesco opts for his team to take the extra points.
Sandon Smith slots the penalty kick easily, and they extend their lead.
Roosters 8, Sharks 0 after 10 minutes
We’re into the action on the Central Coast, and it’s the Roosters who need just four minutes to post the first try.
It’s veteran winger Daniel Tupou who plucks a Hugo Savala kick from out of the air and manages to put it down safely over the line.
Sandon Smith nails the conversion, and the Tricolours take an early lead.
Roosters 6, Sharks 0 after five minutes
KNIGHTS 25, PANTHERS 6
On a chilly night in Bathurst, a capacity crowd witnessed the end of a dynasty.
Penrith’s empire had been in decline well before Newcastle, possessing the worst statistical attack in the NRL, blew them off Carrington Park with a 25-6 win.
Dylan Lucas scores his third try against the Panthers.Credit: Getty Images
The Panthers remain a mathematical chance of squeezing their way into the top eight. Which is to say, no chance at all. Not after slumping to the very bottom rung on the NRL ladder, an unimaginable fall from grace.
One of the hallmarks of this great Penrith side over the past five seasons has been the ability to overcome the absence of key personnel. But, on this night, the unavailability of Blues brothers Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o and Liam Martin proved insurmountable.
“I know a lot will be written about how we beat an under-strength Penrith, but seven of our best players – seven of them – are out,” Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien said.
“I don’t want to hear that story. To Penrith’s credit, geez they fought hard in the second half, we got across the line three or four times and they showed what a great club we’re all aiming to be.
“But I don’t want to here that we won because they were under-strength, because we were under-strength.”
Both sides were robbed of star power, but those who filled the Newcastle jerseys did them proud. Most notably Dylan Lucas, who bagged a hat-trick of tries in the space of just 14 minutes in the first half. The tally would have been greater still had he not attempted an extravagant put-down just before half-time.
This would also be a memorable night for many of his teammates. Fletcher Sharpe, filling in at fullback in the absence of Maroon Kalyn Ponga, produced his finest performance. Credited with 18 tackle breaks, the Panthers weren’t able to contain him.
Paul Bryan, having waited all of his life to make his NRL debut, wouldn’t allow a dislocated shoulder to end it.
Another first-gamer, Panthers forward Harrison Hassett, scored a try, but it was only of the consolation variety.
It was difficult to imagine, after witnessing the insipid performance against the Eels the previous week, where Newcastle’s points were going to come from. And yet when they went into the sheds for a half-time address, they’d already produced 24 without answer.
All they could muster in the second stanza was a solitary point, from the boot of former Panther Jack Cogger in the final minutes.
There is much for Newcastle to look forward to next season: the arrival of Dylan Brown and the chance to visit Las Vegas. When O’Brien this week claimed to have the full support of the board, it only raised further questions about whether he will still be around to experience them.
On this occasion, the players responded, handing over the bottom spot on the ladder to the premiers to relieve some of the pressure that had been building.
“We knew being united was our best chance, and we’re not out of it yet,” O’Brien said.
“There will be more written about us at some point, we just need to focus on putting in more performances like that more often.”
That’s full-time in Bathurst, where the Knights have blown Penrith out of the water.
It means the Panthers are officially back at the bottom of the ladder…yikes.
Now, our attention turns to the second match of the night – it’s the Roosters hosting the Sharks on the Central Coast. Reporter Robert Dillon is on the ground there – more from him later.
Full-time: Knights 25, Panthers 6
