A clinical display from start to finish has seen the Penrith Panthers keep their Tarsha Gale Cup dream alive, thumping the Parramatta Eels by 44-12 at UOW Jubilee Oval.
The ladies from the foot of the mountains controlled the tempo of the game to perfection, building on a 24-8 advantage at half-time to move into the
preliminary finals of the inaugural competition.
Cassie Ormsby scored four tries, while teammate Emily Perring contributed three, an amazing feat in a 36-minute match.
Outside of the try-scorers, Ashlee Harrison was a standout for the Panthers, leading from the front and playing a hand in a number of her team’s attacking raids.
Parramatta had some moments of individual brilliance, but in the end, it was their mistakes and ball handling that let them down on the day.
After both teams failed to complete their opening sets with possession, Penrith opened up the scoring in the third minute of play through Leone Tuivati-Higgs. Paramatta lost the ball the following set, allowing Cassie Ormsby to stroll over out wide for her first try, giving Penrith an early 10-0 lead.
Brittany Starr caught the Penrith defence napping on the next possession, crashing over from dummy half to post first points for Parramatta. Their defence was unable to hold out however, as Ormsby picked up her second try on the stroke of quarter time, taking the lead out to 14-4.
A mistake on the opening set of the second quarter from the Eels gifted quality field position to the Panthers, who made them pay when Emily Perring scored. She had a double just minutes later off the back of relentless pressure and her blistering pace down the far touchline.
Despite finding themselves down by 20, Parramatta made use of some field position of their own, as Christine Pauli used her strength to power over and reduce the deficit to 24-8 at half-time.
Perring completed her hat-trick early in the third quarter, regathering an expertly placed kick from Ashlee Harrison to extend the lead back out to 20 points. Parramatta responded shortly after through a powerful burst by Paris Ruwhiu, however they were left lamenting after Ormsby scored her third try for the morning, giving Penrith a 34-12 advantage at three quarter-time.
The fourth quarter played out in a similar fashion to the previous three, as Ormsby scored her fourth try of the game as she burrowed over from dummy half. Cheryl Varga put the icing on the cake with just a minute of play left, getting on the outside of her defender and racing away to complete a one-sided affair.
Penrith will now face Illawarra to earn a spot in the first ever Tarsha Gale Cup grand final, a team they beat 48-28 in Round 8.
Penrith Panthers 44 (Tries: Cassie Ormsby 4, Emily Perring 3, Leone Tuivati-Higgs, Cheryl Varga – Goals: Christian Pio 2, Varga, Ashlee Harrison) defeated Parramatta Eels 12 (Tries: Brittany Starr, Christine Pauli, Paris Ruwhiu)
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