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The Panthers have begun their premiership campaign in style, defeating the Eels this afternoon after trailing 14-nil early in the first half.
The Eels were all over Penrith to start with and it appeared that Parramatta would rack up a cricket score as Josh Hoffman and Corey Norman scored.
The Panthers though knuckled down and finished the first half strongly as Waqa Blake scored. Penrith then went on to score 24 unanswered points en route to a 10 point victory.
In a game that marked Jarryd Hayne’s first game for the Eels since 2014 and James Maloney’s Panthers’ debut, it was unlikely duo Blake and Viliame Kikau who sparked the home side to life.
Blake produced an impressive 35-metre individual effort to reduce the deficit just before halftime, before Kikau steamrolled over from close to the line soon after the break.
Back-to-back penalty goals to Nathan Cleary – the second of which resulted in Mitchell Moses in the sin bin for a professional foul – gave the Panthers the lead for good.
Blake completed his brace when he finished off a 70-metre run in the 59th minute, before Cleary sealed the win with a third penalty goal late in the match.
The Panthers star finished with a perfect six goals from six attempts, while fullback Dylan Edwards also impressed with a game-high 160 metres, eight tackle busts and three line breaks.
It was a stunning turnaround from Penrith, who appeared off the pace from the kickoff as they conceded a penalty in the opening minute and then turned the ball over in their first five sets.
It was in stark contrast to Moses’ hot start, which included drawing the penalty, forcing an error from Maloney, setting up the opening try and nailing the conversion from the sideline.
After just nine minutes, the Panthers had already made 75 tackles to 15, including 11 in their own 20-metre zone.
They looked to steady when Moses was taken off for a concussion test, but then showed little resistance to Corey Norman’s 21st minute try.
A rout was on when a sublime Brad Takairangi cutout for Hoffman gave the Eels a three-try lead, however Blake brought the 21,506 crowd to life just before the break.
Penrith Panthers 24
Parramatta Eels 14
With AAP.