PENRITH PANTHERS 28 CRONULLA SHARKS 22
TOM SMITH, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Sunday
NATHAN CLEARY’S Panthers repelled the Sharks in a second-half arm wrestle in the showpiece clash of the NRL’s supersized Las Vegas sojourn.
Without Tigers recruit and long-term halves partner Jarome Luai by his side, Cleary steered the ship in trademark style, setting up four tries with his composed playmaking.
Lock Isaah Yeo, who scored Penrith’s first try, and back-rower Liam Martin were also outstanding.
In a rematch of last September’s preliminary final, which the Panthers won comprehensively en route to their fourth consecutive premiership, the men in black registered another impressive victory to kick off their campaign for a fifth straight NRL crown.
Ivan Cleary was without winger Brian To’o and forward Liam Henry, then lost Casey McLean inside three minutes to a failed head-injury assessment.
When Jesse Ramien snared the opener for the Sharks, it looked like an upset may have been brewing.
But the Panthers struck twice in a flash to gain the ascendency, and looked home and hosed after stretching their lead in the second half.
The Sharks mounted a rally thanks to late tries from Kayal Iro and club debutant Addin Fonua-Blake, but Daine Laurie’s second score — having replaced McLean on the left flank — snuffed out the comeback.
On the team sheets, ex-Tiger Isaiah Papali’i made his Penrith bow and Jack Cole got the first crack at Luai’s number six jumper, while big-name Warriors signing Fonua-Blake lined up in the black, white and blue for the first time.
The Sharks opened the scoring within four minutes, when halves Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall combined to put Ramien down the right edge.
It took the reigning champs a while to bother the scorers, but they struck twice in consecutive sets when they eventually broke through.
First Yeo wrong-footed Fonua-Blake, then skipper Cleary delivered an inch-perfect chip to find Izack Tago in the in-goal.
However, Trindall grubber-kicked to Briton Nikora to close the margin to two at the break.
Cleary copped a crunching hit from Nikora early in the second half, but that winding didn’t stop the masterful playmaker from helping release fill-in winger Laurie into the left corner.
Ronaldo Mulitalo’s ill-discipline gave the Panthers another look — and the Panthers capitalised with another set piece orchestrated by Cleary and Dylan Edwards, which put Paul Alamoti into Mulitalo’s corner.
Mulitalo made some amends by forcing an error out of Martin, before Trindall assisted Iro to spark Cronulla’s fightback.
Fonua-Blake willed his way over the whitewash with three defenders on his back to claim a debut try and give us a tense finish to conclude a day of lop-sided contests.
Cronulla threatened to snatch the lead but Penrith’s defence stood tall, and Laurie’s second — set up by Cleary and Cole — gave them some breathing room.
The captain missed that conversion attempt to leave a six-point door ajar for the Sharks.
But with their last roll of the dice, Ramien burned his outside man Sam Stonestreet within sight of the stripe to leave it five tries to four.
GAMESTAR: Panthers captain Nathan Cleary dominated as he so often does, with his fingerprints all over four of his side’s five tries.
GAMEBREAKER: Daine Laurie — who came off the bench in the third minute to replace the concussed Casey McLean on the left wing — scored his second try late to sew up Penrith’s win.
MATCHFACTS
PANTHERS
1 Dylan Edwards
2 Casey McLean
3 Izack Tago
4 Luke Garner
5 Paul Alamoti
6 Jack Cole
7 Nathan Cleary
8 Moses Leota
9 Mitch Kenny
10 Lindsay Smith
11 Scott Sorensen
12 Liam Martin
13 Isaah Yeo
Subs (all used)
14 Daine Laurie
15 Isaiah Papali’i
16 Matthew Eisenhuth
17 Luron Patea
Tries: Yeo (27), Tago (29), Laurie (50, 76), Alamoti (53)
Goals: Cleary 4/5
SHARKS
1 Will Kennedy
2 Sam Stonestreet
3 Jesse Ramien
4 Kayal Iro
5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
6 Braydon Trindall
7 Nicho Hynes
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Blayke Brailey
10 Oregon Kaufusi
11 Briton Nikora
12 Teig Wilton
13 Cam McInnes
Subs (all used)
14 Daniel Atkinson
15 Siosifa Talakai
16 Braden Hamlin-Uele
17 Thomas Hazelton
Tries: Ramien (4), Nikora (36), Iro (59), Fonua-Blake (69)
Goals: Trindall 3/4
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 6-4, 12-4, 12-10; 18-10, 24-10, 24-16, 24-22, 28-22
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Panthers: Nathan Cleary; Sharks: Addin Fonua-Blake
Penalty count: 4-7
Half-time: 12-10
Referee: Ashley Klein
Attendance: 45,209