What a difference a week makes.
Seven days ago Penrith held their opposition to nil. Today, they had 40 points put on them by a Souths side that over-powered them from the start.
Things turned sour for Penrith from the opening seconds, with Travis Burns dropping the kick-off and gifting the Rabbitohs great field position for their first try. Souths quickly piled on two more tries and led 18-0 after just 12 minutes.
It laid the foundations for a powerful win, and even though Penrith would eventually fight their way into the contest, Souths always had the answers.
The lead was reduced to 12 when Dayne Weston created some great second phase play that led to a break by Lachlan Coote and a try under the sticks by Kevin Kingston. Soon after, Travis Burns scored the first of a double and Penrith were back in the contest at 18-12.
But two penalties for late tackles on the kicker in the final minutes of the first half saw Souths extend their lead to 22-12.
Fresh from the break, Souths started the second half like they did the first – with points. Greg Inglis powered his way over the line, with Penrith’s defence no match.
Inglis continued to have a solid game and was difficult for the Panthers to contain. When they went up 34-12 with 29 minutes remaining, the game was all but over.
Panthers captain Luke Lewis summed it up best.
“We were s**t, they were good,” he said.
“They out-played us everywhere… everything they done was faster than us.”
Coach Ivan Cleary said it was a disappointing day at the office.
“Too big, too strong really,” Cleary said.
“The best side won. We were just totally out-played, particularly physically.”
Cleary knows that his side needs to start winning at home after two losses this season.
“You want to play well at home and give yourself and your fans something to be proud of and today wasn’t it,” he said.
Penrith face a quick turnaround before their next game against the Eels on Friday night. They will need to turn up in a far better frame of mind than they did today.
