The Panthers are into a fifth straight preliminary final after Nathan Cleary dominated in his comeback match to dismantle the Roosters 30-10 on Friday night.
Penrith put together their best first half in finals since 1980 to lead 24-0 at halftime as the NRL’s best defensive team manhandled the competition’s best attack.
“I thought that was our best half of footy for the whole year,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said after the game.
“Experience gives you something and we understand how to play finals and our style is suited to it.”
Cleary returned after three weeks out with a shoulder injury and improved his incredible record alongside halves partner Jarome Luai to 76 wins in 87 NRL games together.
The Roosters were never in it at Penrith Park and they’ll now face the winner of the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles in an elimination final next week.
Cleary was everywhere in the first half as Brian To’o, Izack Tago, Jarome Luai and Luke Garner all crossed for the tries.
Roosters stars Joseph Suaalii and James Tedesco scored the opening tries of the second half before Garner crossed for a second to seal it in the 70th minute.
The three-time reigning premiers have now won 10 finals games in a row and continued their dominance over the Roosters who have lost their past 10 against Penrith.
The Panthers get a week off and Cleary can rest his shoulder for a fortnight before he tries and leads his club to an NRL-era record fourth straight title.
“I thought he was all right. I thought he was outstanding,” his coach said.
“He makes a big difference to our team through the way he plays and he gives everyone confidence. He’s got a knack of being out for a while and then he can come straight back and click into gear.”
The Roosters were awful in the first half but two tries in four minutes gave them life as they pegged the score back to 24-10 with more than half an hour to go.
The game was locked in a tense grind with neither side able to gain the upper hand, only for the Roosters to break down the left edge with a series of passes that had Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii racing away for his second try.
The Roosters faithful were in raptures but they hadn’t heard Ashley Klein’s whistle for a forward pass from Daniel Tupou that was line ball at worst.
“I didn’t think it was forward, I don’t think anyone thought it was forward except for the ref,” Trent Robinson said.
“Looking at the replays and the angle of the pass, that was a big call at that moment, and you can’t get that wrong.”
Leave a Reply