The Penrith Panthers have claimed an important victory in the NSW Cup, defeating the Newtown Jets 30-6 at BlueBet Stadium.
The result sees the Panthers remain in the top 5, while the margin also allows the Panthers to take the inaugural Wilson-Blacklock Cup on aggregate, following Newtown’s 29-16 victory earlier in the season.
It took the Panthers 11 minutes to open the scoring, with a shift to the left seeing Daeon Amituanai touch down in the corner. Jack Cole converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.
An error by Kyle Pickering in the 20th minute put the Panthers deep on the attack again, where a short ball from Jack Garner sent Luke Garner in for their second. Cole again converted to extend the lead to 12-0.
Strong defence on the right edge late in the half forced Newtown over the sideline, allowing the Panthers to maintain the 12-point lead to the break.
The Panthers made a perfect start to the second half, with Luke Sommerton finding space behind the ruck to extend the lead to 16-0.
In an end-to-end run of play that featured 14 minutes without a stoppage, the Panthers repelled several Jets attacking chances, before a break by Jayden Berrell saw him combine with former Panther Niwhai Puru, who sent Sam Healey in under the posts.
The Panthers strong defence continued to stop Newtown raids, before forcing a goal line drop out after a wayward pass at dummy-half. The short restart failed to go the 10, allowing Jack Cole to extend the lead to two converted tries with seven minutes remaining.
A try to Jack Cogger put the result beyond doubt a few minutes from full time, before Jesse McLean finished it with a spectacular try on the siren, with Cole converting both to wrap up the result 30-6.
