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The Penrith Panthers have recorded a four-point victory over the New Zealand Warriors in very tough conditions at AMI Stadium in Christchurch, running away during the second half.
REPORT: PANTHERS BLOW AWAY WARRIORS
The Warriors would have the breeze behind them in the first half, and after suffering an early deficit made it count to take the lead into the halftime break.
Shaun Johnson controlled his kicking game well, while Solomone Kata provided plenty on the left edge in both attack and defence. Their hooker rotation of Jazz Tevaga and Isaac Luke was also fantastic.
From a Panthers point of view, Jamie Soward put in a complete 80-minute performance in terms of his kicking game. He controlled the Panthers all night, and managed to keep the Panthers either in the contest or in the lead.
Tyrone Peachey was in a perfect position to finish a couple of times on the left edge, and it showed on the scoresheet. Matt Moylan also added plenty of creativity, while Peter Wallace was good – particularly from hooker.
After the forwards were fairly even throughout the first half, Penrith – on the back of Trent Merrin, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Bryce Cartwright who injected himself into the game well managed to take over.
Leilani Latu also added plenty from the bench while James Segeyaro complemented the Soward and Moylan combination well.
The scoring opened in the fifth minute with a try to Solomone Kata after Shaun Johnson threw on a lovely little tap pass. Kata danced the defence, going right and left before finding a hole.
At the other end, with the Warriors under all sorts of pressure off a great Soward kick, Johnson had it in a tackle and tried to prevent a goal line drop out with a pass, but it hit the ground and Soward was able to dive on it and score.
It took eight minutes for the Panthers to extend their lead beyond 2 points after a penalty goal, with Tyrone Peachey being the next to score off a lovely executed play through Soward and Matt Moylan.
The Warriors hit back with a pair of tries. Jonathan Wright was the man with the second try after a long pass from Tuimoala Lolohea, with Shaun Johnson setting him up from inside.
Blake Ayshford then scored the last try of the first half after a great run from Shaun Johnson who stepped through the line, then passed to Bodene Thompson who threw on a wild ball for Ayshford.
The second half, as mentioned saw the Panthers take over but it wasn’t without ease. The Warriors were very strong early on but couldn’t convert it into points at any points with their execution lacking.
It would take 20 minutes for any scoring in the second half as the arm wrestle took over, with Tyrone Peachey crossing for his second try off a nice Matt Moylan pass.
Dallin Watene Zelezniak would then cross out on the right edge, flying outside the field of play to score in the corner.
Penrith would complete the deal with yet another try for Tyrone Peachey. The Warriors, only a converted try behind were on the attack, but a poor offload from Kata would see Zelezniak streak away 70 metres. They then quickly shifted to the left where Peachey would benefit from a Josh Mansour pass.
In the end, a great win for the Panthers at ‘home’, and they have two in a row for the first time this season, moving well inside the top eight.
Final Score
Penrith Panthers 30
New Zealand Warriors 18
The Penrith Panthers take a home game across the Tasman to AMI Stadium in Christchurch, with what shapes as a massively important match against the New Zealand Warriors. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 3pm (AEST).
Both sides come into this match – expected to be a sell-out – on the back of last start victories. Neither team would have been overly impressed with the nature those victories came in, but at this point in the season, sitting outside the top eight two points are two points.
For Penrith, it is their second home game in a row that isn’t at Pepper Stadium. They played the Canberra Raiders in Bathurst during Round 9 – which seems like an eternity ago thanks to the Representative Round – and managed to come away with a single-point victory.
Peter Wallace would kick a field goal in some rather controversial circumstances as a potential obstruction was eventually ignored by the bunker after the on-field referees had referred it.
The Warriors on the other hand, coming into a match against the St George Illawarra Dragons on the back of a 42-point flogging at the hands of the Melbourne Storm, had dropped a huge amount of players, and looked to be right up against it.
However, with debutants all over the park they managed to put in an inspired performance to take a 16-point victory – one that was unexpected at best.
Many of the Warriors youngsters stood up with lock John Palavi and young hooker Jazz Tevaga particularly impressive. Interestingly, only Ben Matulino and Bodene Thompson make their return out of the suspended six, while Tuimoala Lolohea and Thomas Leuluai also are back from injury. Jeff Robson, Matthew Allwood, Sione Lousi and Toafofoa Sipley all sit out.
Penrith have added Waqa Blake to their squad, with Suaia Matagi going to 18th man and Issah Yeo into the second row.
A very intriguing battle here is that of the hookers for each side. Isaac Luke had his best game of the season coming off the bench against the Dragons, and will do the same here – while James Segeyaro has the ability to flip a game on its head in a matter of minutes.
Kicking games, and control will also be important. Both of these teams can put points on in a hurry so prolonged pressure on the defence is important.
Prediction
The Warriors whole performance almost comes down to Shaun Johnson, although Isaac Luke provides a lot of the bench. If Jamie Soward gets his kicking game right though, the Panthers outmatch the Warriors across the park.
Panthers by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this important Round 10 match from 3pm (AEST) and don’t forget you can get involved by leaving a comment.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde