Whilst Penrith’s 44-32 loss to Souths at Centrebet Stadium today shows just how far Penrith still has to go before becoming a competitive force in the NRL, it also showed how far the club has come in such a short space of time under coach Ivan Cleary.
There was no doubting the superiority of Souths today – they were bigger, more powerful and easily more dangerous than the Panthers – but what can also not be denied is Penrith’s newfound spirit that almost saw them claim the most unlikely of victories.
Down 34-16 at half-time, it was no surprise that most expected Penrith to further crumble in the second half, particularly given how easily the Rabbitohs were scoring points in the opening 40 minutes. But instead, fans were treated to an impressive rally that displayed a never-say-die attitude.
It was an attitude well and truly on display just minutes into the second half, when Souths had consecutive sets at Penrith’s line and could have wrapped up the game with another try. One tackle in particular – where Greg Inglis was held up by no less than seven Penrith players before being forced back into the field of play – showed the spirit that coach Ivan Cleary hopes embodies his team more regularly as time progresses.
Such attitude and spirit was also on display when Penrith went on an impressive attacking raid, scoring three unanswered tries in 19 minutes to put the game in the balance, with the Rabbitohs leading 34-32 leading into the final 10 minutes.
But perhaps the game’s biggest highlight for Penrith fans came when Tom Humble and Dean Whare chased down a flying Greg Inglis in the 66th minute, keeping the Panthers in the game at a time when it would have been easy to allow Souths off the hook.
Despite Penrith’s proud comeback and obvious fighting spirit, there can be no denying that the side also showed their inefficiencies today.
Nathan Merritt scored three tries down Penrith’s right-hand side defence, showing up Wes Naiqama and David Simmons. And whilst the Panthers’ last tackle plays were much better than in the previous two matches, there’s still huge question marks over the kicking game of Luke Walsh, who tried hard in his 100th game but still fails to lay the killer blow when it is needed most.
The Panthers were certainly assisted by the return of Brad Tighe from injury – he scored a brilliant try in the first half, and whilst a little rusty in his first match of the season, offered some speed out wide that has been missing in recent weeks.
Penrith return home next week to play the Gold Coast.
Souths 44 (Tries: Nathan Merritt 3, John Sutton, Andrew Everingham, Bryson Goodwin, Greg Inglis, Ben Te’o. Goals: Adam Reynolds 6) def Penrith 32 (Tries: David Simmons 2, Sam McKendry, Brad Tighe, James Segeyaro, Wes Naiqama. Goals: Luke Walsh 4). Crowd: 12,940.
