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It might be their biggest priority, but they will take everything that comes their way.
The Panthers pick up the J.J. Giltinan Shield again, their third in four years, thanks mostly to Brisbane’s defeat on Thursday night, but confirmed by a comfortable 44-12 win at home to the Cowboys, for whom the season is now over.
North Queensland have been in and out all year, and will now get the off-season to think about where it all went wrong. Canberra qualify without playing a game, and all that remains is to determine the order.
First through fourth is now settled, with Penrith confirmed to host the Warriors next week at Bluebet Stadium.
“Really pleasing, it’s a great night for everyone,” said Ivan Cleary.
“Four years in a row where we are first or equal first at the end of the season, so I’m really proud of that.
“Consistency is such a big part of being successful and I think we’ve shown that for a long period of time and I’m really proud of that.
“We’ve done it three different ways the last few years and you couldn’t say any one of them was the best, it’s just the way we went this time.”
The writing was on the wall for Todd Payten as soon as the Broncos lost to the Storm and opening the top of the ladder to the Panthers. Once it became clear that Penrith would not rest players, it was a near-impossible task.
That said, the same problems that have dogged North Queensland all year were back. They had ball, but nowhere near enough adventure to challenge a defence as good as the Panthers. Save for a period at the start of the second half where they chanced their arm, they were never a threat.
“It was hard to watch,” said Payten.
“With everything to play for and get put on the back foot, not showing any real resolve, was hard to cop.
“When you’re playing a good physical team and you show any sign of weakness, they get real hungry. That first period after 20 minutes, the only real bloke I saw standing up physically was Luc (Leilua).
“We were shell-shocked. The boys were looking at each other waiting for someone else to do something when we needed to come together as a team and fight together, that was the hard part to watch.”
Meanwhile, the ominous feeling that it is Penrith versus the rest in the finals were only underlined here. Nathan Cleary is well and truly back up to speed, the backline is purring and Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton might be in career best form.
The score blew out late, but it would be a tough judge who said that it wasn’t deserved.
What happens if you go to Penrith and try to play them at their own game? You lose, of course.
The Cowboys are inherently quite a conservative team who struggle to attack against the best defences, so perhaps expectations that they could keep their season alive here were a little optimistic, but this, for a long time, looked like them exiting for 2023 in a little of a whimper.
North Queensland failed to trouble the scorers in the first half, and didn’t really trouble the Panthers either. They went through their usual motions, running hard and playing late in the sets, but the lack of penetration was obvious: no tries, no line breaks.
Then, when already 26-0 down, they decided to play some football. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, the Cowboys attacked the game, put air under the footy and found a little reward.
Four line breaks to start the second period and points on the board through Griffin Name and Zac Laybutt.
Round 27 isn’t the time to upend your play style, but there surely must have been a realisation that, in a one-off game that they had to win, going into the Panthers’ backyard and trying to keep it tight simply would not work.
Had the Cowboys started the first half with the same endeavour with which they began the second, they might have given Penrith a bloody nose and taken it from there. They might have lost by even more, too, but they’d have given themselves a chance in the process.
Instead, it’s game over, season over.
The Panthers know exactly what their plan is for the next month, but there are still a few creases to be ironed out.
This was the second time that Jack Cogger and Nathan Cleary have started together in the halves, and the signs already look good.
The Panthers have been at pains to point out that they don’t want Cogger to be Jarome Luai, and that they want their guy to play his own way.
If they do that, they’ll get something very different, which might not be a bad thing. Cogger is more of a 7 than a 6 and more adept at swapping sides of the field, as evidenced by him popping up on the right for Liam Martin’s side.
In that same move, he linked up perfectly with Isaah Yeo, too, which is very encouraging for the Panthers.
Luai is unique player with a skillset that has been incorporated into the Penrith system, giving him frere rein over the left and plenty of flexibility to play off the cuff, crab across the line and run when he sees fit.
He is, obviously, a lot better than Cogger and his is probably not a role that his replacement can fill – but that isn’t to say that he can’t help this team in different ways.
If Ivan adapts his attack to empower Cogger to take a greater share of the kicking than Luai, to double up on sides when the opportunity arises and to control like a second halfback, they might have found an excellent Plan B.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The Dolphins have ensured the Warriors finished fourth on the NRL ladder with a 34-10 upset win at Suncorp Stadium.
The Warriors will now play the NRL minor premiers away in week one of the finals no matter what the result of the remaining games in round 27.
Andrew Webster was without eight front liners due to injury and a deliberate resting policy, but the Dolphins also had seven top-30 players unavailable.
Whether the comprehensive loss has an impact on the Warriors’ finals campaign will play out in the weeks ahead.
The Dolphins started on fire in front of 35,438 fans with centre Tesi Niu finding winger Jack Bostock with a slick ball and the flying winger scoring out wide.
Half Sean O’Sullivan made it 12-0 with a classic show and go.
Prop Jarrod Wallace sent rookie utility Isaiya Katoa over with a sensational inside ball before season-leading try and points scorer Jamayne Isaako finished of a sweeping movement to give the hosts a 22-0 lead at the break.
The Warriors clicked into gear in the 57th minute with a try to hooker Freddy Lussick from dummy-half and winger Marcelo Montoya finished a long-range movement two minutes later.
When Dolphins hooker Max Plath, son of Brisbane Broncos legend John, scored it was all over. Veteran forward Kenny Bromwich iced the win with a runaway try under the sticks.
Isaako took his try-scoring tally to 24, three ahead of his nearest NRL rivals, and now has 244 points for the year and will finish top of the table.
The Warriors are set to make an early exit from Brisbane on a Saturday afternoon flight back to Auckland to give themselves the best preparation for next week’s first final where they will be away.
Wayne Bennett’s men moved temporarily to 13th position, finishing the season with nine wins, after being tipped by some pundits to finish last and not win a match.
With AAP
© AAP