Nicho Hynes sent for a HIA after copping some knees from Panthers defenders
The Sharks halfback passed his HIA but was ruled out of the game at halftime with a calf injury.
Jamie Soward played a key role for Penrith in hammering a battered St George Illawarra with another NRL body blow on Saturday night but said afterwards the victory wasn’t any sweeter just because it came against his old club.
Soward made a crucial line break in the lead-up to Josh Mansour’s 54th-minute try that all but sealed the match for the home side but the former Dragons’ playmaker, who was dumped by the club mid-season last year, played down the personal satisfaction he gained from the win.
“I have moved on a long time ago. I am committed to the boys out here,” Soward said.
“I am an emotional player and I’m happy to get the win tonight.
“I don’t really think about that (everything that happened). I’m in a good place; I love coming out to Penrith.
“I am enjoying my footy. I think you can see I am enjoying my footy – that stuff doesn’t worry me.”
With both sides scoring three tries in the Panthers’ 18-14 victory, Soward’s faultless goalkicking – kicking three from three conversions, all from the sideline – was the difference between the teams.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was more forthcoming in his praise of Soward.
“There is no doubt when you play your old club, it is there. I guess with Jamie’s case, it was highly publicised, there was a lot of talk about that but, to his credit, I didn’t really see too much difference in how he prepared for the game,” he said.
“But obviously it would have been there. It was an issue, but I thought his performance tonight was pretty solid.
“He came up with a couple of crucial plays and touches in that try for us in the second half that was the difference in the game, as it turned out, and his goalkicking was excellent, too.
“Whatever he has done, he handled it pretty well.”
The win was the Panthers’ fifth in a row, but Dragons coach Paul McGregor admitted it was getting increasingly difficult for his side to quality for the finals.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The Sharks halfback passed his HIA but was ruled out of the game at halftime with a calf injury.
Why do we ever doubt them? The Panthers went to the Shire as outsiders and walked back to the sheds for half time 28…
Panthers forward James Fisher-Harris stayed down trying to win a penalty, claiming Tom Hazelton got him high - but no one was fooled.
The NRL have confirmed that two players are to be subject to the league's no-fault stand down policy with immediate effect. The first is…
Nicho Hynes would have been the best option to partner Nathan Cleary as NSW halfback but the Sharks star is needed elsewhere, namely in…
The NRL is set to use its discretionary powers to stand down Panthers centre Taylan May following his arrest on domestic violence charges. The…