The Panthers overcame both searing heat and the Sydney Roosters in a 38-10 NSW Cup victory at Parker Street Reserve on Saturday.
After a disappointing season-opener, the Panthers roared to life in Round 2, running nine tries past the Roosters as the temperature rose close to 40 degrees celcius.
Kick-off, originally set for 2pm, was brought forward by two hours due to heat concerns, but the Panthers appeared unphased by the schedule shake-up.
Asu Kepaoa scored a hat-trick, and was joined on the scoresheet by Luron Patea, Jaxen Edgar, Tom Jenkins and Brad Schneider.
Match Summary
By Stewart Moses for NSWRL
Penrith has atoned for its disappointing opening round performance recording a resounding 38-10 win over the Roosters today.
The visitors were unable to repeat their round one heroics against last year’s Grand finalists the North Sydney Bears, with the game played in oppressive heatwave conditions at Parker Street Reserve, Penrith.
Having scored the opening two tries of the game inside the opening 13 minutes, Panthers winger Asu Kepaoa finished the game with a hat-trick when he scored again in the 44th minute.
Luron Patea was next to score for the Panthers in the 16th minute, with the prop forward scoring his second try at this level, both ironically against the Roosters.
The Panthers were scoring better than a point a minute when NSW Cup debutant, fullback Jaxon Edgar scored on his junior home ground midway through the first half and with Schneider’s successful conversion, the visitors were up against it trailing 22-0.
The visitors finally opened their account in the 30th minute with centre Billy Smith, celebrating his return from injury with a try, converted by Jake Elliott.
But the Panthers reaffirmed their dominance heading into the main break with 28-6 lead after a late first half try to centre, Thomas Jenkins.
With Kepaoa sealing his hat-trick early in the second half to extend Penrith’s lead out to 32-6, the oppressive conditions began to take their toll on both teams, especially with their attack.
An unconverted try to Tom Rodwell in the 69th minute was cancelled out by a converted try to Brad Schneider in the 75th minute. The try capping a fine game by the Panthers half, who finished the game with a try and five conversions from seven attempts for a personal haul of 14 points, as the Panthers ran out 38-10 winners.
Key Points
- The game’s kickoff was brought forward nearly two hours to avoid players being subjected to high 30 degree plus temperatures.
- Fullback prospect Jaxon Edgar made his NSW Cup debut on the ground he called home as a Penrith Brothers junior.
- Trent Toelau’s early return from injury meant new recruit Blaize Talagi had to settle for playing right centre in front of NRL coach Ivan Cleary.
- The Roosters were forced to activate their 18th man Tyler Moriarty just before halftime after Jaxson Allen was ruled out of the game having failed his HIA.
Key Play
For the last 60 minutes, the scoreline read Penrith 16 Roosters 10 but the devastating opening 20 minutes when the Panthers scored four unanswered tries to lead 22-0 ultimately was the difference between these two sides as the visitors struggled to handle the oppressive conditions early on.
Next Up
The Panthers will be looking for back-to-back wins when they travel to Lakeside Sporting Complex, Raymond Terrace to take on the Newcastle Knights next Sunday.
