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Penrith coach Matthew Elliott will continue experimenting with Jarrod Sammut in the No.7 jumper as he looks to fill the void left by Craig Gower’s offseason departure.
Sammut, who turned 21 last Friday, made an instant impact when thrown into the NRL at fullback last year.
But with Gower gone and Rhys Wesser ready to resume his role as the Panthers’ first-choice custodian, Elliott said Sammut could find a new home for himself in the halves.
He had his first run there last night when the Panthers registered a 28-0 win in a 30-minute trial against the Erina Jim Beam Cup side at Windsor, and Elliott liked what he saw.
“Jarrod started out his career as a half and and he really made a fist of his first opportunity there last night,” Elliott said.
“I dare say that he’ll get another crack at it over the coming weeks.
“If he’s playing his best footy he’ll be there somewhere in the 17.”
Former Souths halfback Joe Williams missed the trial due to injury, Sammut forming a new-look halves combination with former NSW Origin winger Luke Lewis.
“Luke finished the season at No.6 last year and we were really happy with the way he contributed there,” Elliott added.
The Panthers step up their preseason program with a trial against Parramatta in Albury on Friday night.
In other trial action last night a youthful Gold Coast outfit pushed Canberra all the way before going down 34-28 in Ipswich while Brisbane beat North Queensland 20-10 in Rockhampton.
The Titans’ impressive performance was all the more commendable considering they played most of the game with only 12 men after centre Kingi Aka-Oula was sent off for a high shot on Michael Brophy.
The NRL will look into whether any further action will be taken against the young three-quarter while Brophy will undergo scans for a suspected fractured eye socket.
He was one of only a few casualties on the opening weekend of NRL trials with Raiders halfback Michael Dobson (hip flexor) also failing to finish the match.
The highlight of the match was undoubtedly a 40th-minute try to Titans fullback Shannon Walker who showed blinding pace and some fancy footwork to beat Raiders fullback Bronx Goodwin on his way to the tryline.
Front-rower Ben Hannant was impressive for the Broncos in their easy first-up win while stand-in skipper Justin Hodges got himself on the scoreboard after seizing on an errant Anthony Watts pass before jogging 60 metres for an intercept try.
On Friday night premiers Melbourne warmed up for the World Club Challenge with a dominant 56-10 win over Manly at Gosford while Newcastle came from behind to beat the New Zealand Warriors 22-14 in Auckland.
The Sydney Roosters kick-started 2008 by racking up a whopping 94 points in a series of trial games against regional teams at Port Macquarie.
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