Perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into first-round form.
However, Trent Robinson will have his share of worries after the Panthers upset the defending premiers 20-14 on Saturday night.
If you’d only watched the first 20 minutes of this match, you would have thought that it was going to be a comfortable Roosters win.
They were clinical, with Kyle Flanagan, Luke Keary and James Tedesco working off a pack that was dominating. Mitch Aubusson crossed first after a contested bomb before Jake Friend fooled everyone other than Siosiua Taukeiaho when he rolled one into the in goal. The Roosters looked in complete control.
Against the run of play though, Jarome Luai’s kick for Brent Naden was pure class and the Panthers were back within six. Although the rest of the first half remained scoreless, you could sense the momentum had changed.
The teams traded penalty goals in the first part of the second half but the Panthers were gaining the ascendancy through Api Koroisau’s darts from dummy half and Nathan Cleary’s kicking game, which by this stage was outpointing both Flanagan and Keary.
The Panthers tied things up after some brillant work from Josh Mansour led to a Stephen Crichton try. Seven minutes later, a diving Cleary pass put Viliame Kikau into space and you don’t stop him five metres out in a one on one tackle attempt. A late field goal was missed but the Panthers had pulled off a remarkable comeback win.
It’s early days but Panthers fans should be optimistic about this season. Nathan Cleary stepped out of the shadows of James Maloney and delivered a great performance, his 40/20 one of the turning points of the match.
Their pack has been strengthened by the signing of Zane Tetevano and, if Kikau remains fit, they will beat most of their opponents. The backline are mainly young, but Brian To’o was a handful all night while Caleb Aekins was safe at the back.
Trent Robinson won’t be concerned about the loss itself, moreso the manner of the loss after being 12 points up and in complete control.
When the Panthers upped their game, the Roosters couldn’t respond. The few chances they had in the Panther’s quarter in the second half amounted to nothing, with the methodical Roosters nowhere to be seen. Tedesco tried hard but was well contained, with Cooper Cronk’s organising skills sorely missed.
(Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
You can’t blame young Kyle Flanagan for this, as you don’t just replace Cooper Cronk. Luke Keary is going to have to take more responsibility, however.
Robinson is a great coach, Boyd Cordner will return and the Roosters’ halves will get better. However, perhaps we didn’t realise how important Cooper Cronk was until he wasn’t there. The back-to-back premiers are of course not to be written off but, if they can pull off three in a row, it will be Robinson’s greatest coaching achievement.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
While it was good to see the lucky chooks lose Penrith played well and they play St-George-Illawarra next so it’s a big job ahead for MacGregor. Of course getting that 3rd premiership in a row will be a job MacGregor probably won’t ever have but I hope Canberra can beat them this year.
kk
Roar Pro
The Panthers stunned and for Albo's sake I hope they keep stunning.
armc2906
Roar Rookie
Great game and even better to seen Penrith getting a win in round 1. That said, maybe it was just a case of being a bit underdone and understrength, but it was a surprise that the Roosters couldn't go up a gear after the Panthers started challenging them late in the first half.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
You say Melbourne went backwards. Grand finalists the first year and runaway minor premiers the next.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
The scalp of the Premiers, great start and 2 precious points for the Panthers..looked pretty grim with events around main man Kikaku API , best game ever.the Sauce, what an enigma, shut my whining mouth. That Rooster left looked calmly,placid sans Mitchell.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Very promising signs for the panthers but too risky to read too much into that for the Roosters Josh Morris will be an important signing for them, allowing Crichton (even though he didn’t play last night) to play in the forwards. They’ve been skinny outside their top 17 or so for a while and more so this year. Cordner and Crichton to w come back The Panthers scored some excellent tries and there wasn’t much the roosters could do to prevent them I also liked Robinson’s response. No blaming refs or viruses... just a couple of simple things to focus on No panic for a round 1 away loss
JohnnyRipe
Guest
Pretty sad getting excited about an opposition team losing their first game of the year , but then again as a Raiders fan there’s probably not much else to get excited about, now is there :laughing:
Taree Raider
Guest
Cooper left the Storm & they went backwards. He led the Chooks to success, now he's gone the Roosters can only go one way. Cooper Cronk's record shows how good his was. Should be an immortal. The Roosters bought 2 premierships when they got him. There is no one they can buy to replace him & I'm loving it.
Ja ja klazo
Guest
Wouldn't read too much into this for the roosters. Of course it's going to be tough with changes to key personnel but they lost round 1 the last 2 years as well and we know how that ended. Robinson isn't a coach that goes for the super fast start, the roosters tend to only really get going around June/July.