The Panthers dismantled the Roosters 48-4 at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night to send an ominous warning to anyone with designs on taking their premiership crown.
With Jarome Luai staking an undeniable claim for the NSW No.6 jersey and Scott Sorensen producing the best game of his career, the Panthers put the match to bed by half-time with four unanswered tries.
Having conceded the opening try in their previous four matches, Penrith ended that streak in emphatic fashion in the 10th minute when James Fisher-Harris put Sorensen over with a nice offload.
A dropped ball by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 20 metres out from his own line gave the Panthers a shot at a second try but the Roosters defence held firm and a penalty got them out of their own end.
Sorensen opens the scoring
The Panthers extended their lead in the 22nd minute when Sorensen exploded into space on the left edge and found Tyrone Peachey who was tackled just short but got an offload away for Dylan Edwards to score.
Luai showed his class with two try assists in the space of two minutes late in the half as the premiers really flexed their muscle.
First it was Sorensen the beneficiary as Luai went across field and put the rampaging back-rower into a gap and then Peachey grabbed the 53rd four-pointer of his career courtesy of a dazzling Luai line break.
Clinical Panthers cross again
The second half started the same way the first had ended for the Roosters with errors cruelling any chance they had of mounting pressure but their defence held firm until the 61st minute when Isaah Yeo turned playmaker with a cross field kick for Brian To'o to score. Nathan Cleary's conversion made it 30-0.
The Roosters finally got across the line with 15 minutes to play when Billy Smith put Corey Allan over in the corner with a neat flick pass.
With 10 minutes to play it was Sunia Turuva adding his name to the tryscorers list courtesy of some slick lead-up by Luai and Peachey.
Luai then capped a magnificent game with a try in the 76th minute as the score blew out to 42-4 before Peachey grabbed a double after Jaxson Paulo made a mess of cleaning up a grubber kick.
The Panthers have now won their past seven games against the Roosters, who also lost big guns Joey Manu and Waerea-Hargreaves to injury on a horror night at BlueBet Stadium, a ground they have not won at since 2017.
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Match snapshot
- The Panthers have won 30 of their past 33 games at BlueBet Stadium.
- Brandon Smith came into the game in the 27th minute off the Roosters bench.
- The Panthers had five line breaks to one and 12 tackle breaks to five in the first half as they raced to a 24-0 lead.
- Scott Sorensen's superb first half included 13 runs for 96 metres, two tries, two line breaks and two tackle breaks. He finished the night with 181 metres.
- Panthers second-rower Zac Hosking left the field for a HIA in the 31st minute which he passed.
- Star back-rower Liam Martin made a strong return from a hamstring injury with seven runs and 84 metres in 35 minutes of game time.
Razzle dazzle Panthers
- Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves played just 17 minutes before he was forced off with a strained pectoral.
- Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo ran for 210 metres and made 28 tackles for good measure.
- The win was the Panthers' biggest ever against the Roosters, eclipsing the 48-6 victory in Round 11, 2009.
- Victor Radley and Nat Butcher made 116 tackles between them for the Roosters.
- Penrith's back three of Edwards, To'o and Turuva ran for 505 metres between them.
- Jarome Luai's five-star display included 11 tackle breaks, two try assists, two line breaks and a try.
A Peach of a try
Play of the Game
On the night the Panthers celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 2003 premiership it was fitting that skipper Isaah Yeo produced a magnificent cover tackle to deny Roosters skipper James Tedesco a try in the 28th minute. Roosters winger Corey Allan broke clear down the left and found Tedesco in support as always, only for Yeo to put in a mighty chase and drag his Blues and Kangaroos teammate down 15 metres out from the tryline. There may not have been as much at stake as grand final night in 2003 but Yeo's effort certainly evoked memories of Scott Sattler's legendary tackle on Rooster Todd Byrne in the big one.
Yeo all effort
What They Said
"I think Jarome has been trying really hard the last few weeks, he has been heavily involved and running the ball, defending well. I didn't think he was far away [from having a big one]. He's like a lot of individuals, they get the outcome from a really good team performance and I thought that was the case tonight. Each individual did their job and a little bit more and then you get some good outcomes and gives everyone a bit of confidence. That edge with Jarome and Scott Sorensen has been growing together and all their work paid off tonight so it was good to see." - Panthers coach Ivan Cleary
Panthers: Round 11
"A lot of the things we started the year with have just fallen completely away - the kick-chase, the kick pressure - and we got an incredible lesson tonight. We got bitten pretty hard tonight so that's on me and I have to make sure I get that right and turn that around very quickly. You never get too down because there's always a chance to turn things around, that's the beauty of being in this comp, you always get a chance to turn it around but we have to find it quickly. It's more in effort and attitude and we have to get connected again." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson
Roosters: Round 11
What's Next
The Panthers head to Brisbane in Round 12 for a Friday night blockbuster against the Broncos.
The Roosters face the Dragons for the second time in four weeks after beating them 27-26 on Anzac Day. The Round 12 clash will be staged at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Friday night.