Penrith have become just the third team in history to start a season with 12 straight wins, thumping bottom-placed Canterbury 30-4 at BlueBet Stadium.
It was far from the domination many expected given the lopsided match-up, but the Panthers flexed their muscle in the end to make it a comfortable win.
Penrith led 10-0 at half-time thanks to an early Charlie Staines try and a four-pointer to Spencer Leniu on the buzzer.
The Bulldogs continued to test the Panthers in the second half but Ivan Cleary’s side four tries in the space of 20 minutes to put the game to bed.
"THAT IS THE PENRITH PANTHERS!"#NRLPanthersBulldogs
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Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said the Bulldogs certainly tested his side but labelled the performance patient and professional.
“We just stuck at it. Defensively it was a pretty good day, we scored three tries directly from defence,” he said.
Troy Dodds is the Weekender’s Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.
