Manly proved far too good for a shocking Penrith outfit in Round 6 this year – scoring five tries to none and keeping the visitors scoreless in a 30-0 win that came despite the absence of Brett and Glenn Stewart, Kieran Foran and Tony Williams.
Leading 8-0 at half-time thanks to Jamie Buhrer’s solo try in the 26th minute and two goals to co-captain Jamie Lyon, the Sea Eagles stormed home with four second-half tries thanks largely to a starring performance from halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.
The Panthers were still in the hunt when they returned to the field after half-time but their mission quickly became much harder when Kevin Kingston spilled a pass on just the second tackle after the restart and David Williams crossed out wide from the ensuing set to make it 12-0.
A second Lyon penalty goal extended their lead to 14-0, a lead they held until the 68th minute when a late rush saw the scoreline blow out. Steve Matai touched down first after latching onto a Cherry-Evans grubber, Williams scored his second thanks again to great lead-up work from the No.7 and Anthony Watmough put the icing on the cake after Cherry-Evans kicked ahead twice in the lead-up.
Penrith made 348 tackles to Manly’s 276 and completed just 68 per cent of their sets to slump to their fourth loss of the season.
Cherry-Evans produced nine tackle-breaks and three try assists for the home side, while Kingston made 52 tackles for the Panthers.