Michael Gordon stamped his authority as Penrith's number one fullback for the 2012 season, while another of the game's leading number ones suffered a serious injury as the Panthers and Eels met in an NRL trial last night.
Penrith won 26-10, finishing the trials undefeated with two draws and the comfortable win over the Eels, which was somewhat of a showdown between Gordon and Lachlan Coote for the fullback spot in 2012.
Gordon played in the number one spot for the first half and scored an excellent try, while Coote took over in the second but didn't make the impact he would have hoped for.
But the most dramatic moment of the night was when Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne was assisted from the field with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. It was part of a devastating end to the pre-season for the Eels, which also saw Tim Mannah leave the field with a knee problem.
Without arguably their two best players in Luke Lewis and Michael Jennings, the Panthers looked sharp throughout the game, bouncing back from 4-0 down early in the contest to lead 18-4 at half-time.
Luke Walsh, who this week signed a new three-year deal with the club, was brilliant, while Blake Austin also produced a dynamite performance.
Penrith 26 (Tries: Travis Burns 2, David Simmons, Kevin Kingston, Michael Gordon. Goals: Michael Gordon 3/3, Luke Walsh 0/2) def Parramatta 10 (Tries: Chris Sandow, Ken Sio. Goals: Chris Sandow 0/1, Luke Burt 1/2).
