NRL Finals 2024: Penrith Panthers win 30-10 over Sydney Roosters to book fifth-straight preliminary final
Nathan Cleary was back to his brilliant best as he guided Penrith to a preliminary final berth with a 30-10 win over the Roosters, sending shivers down the spines of their NRL rivals.
The Olympics might be over but there were perfect tens all around for Penrith as they booked their spot in a fifth-straight preliminary final with a dominant 30-10 win over the Roosters as Nathan Cleary made a terrifying return from injury.
The Panthers made it 10 finals wins in a row and continued their dominance over the Roosters who have now lost 10 on the trot against Penrith and must regroup quickly with a game against either Manly or the Bulldogs on the horizon.
“I thought that was our best half of footy for the whole year,” Ivan Cleary said.
“Experience gives you something and we understand how to play finals and our style is suited to it.”
Cleary was on another level in his first game back after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury, with the Panthers halfback setting up three tries and kicking the Roosters to death with a performance that would have the other teams sweating bullets.
There were fears the two-time Clive Churchill Medal winner would be a liability in the defensive line but he was rarely tested as the hosts raced out to a 24-0 halftime lead before they had to survive a minor scare after the break.
But all the hard work had been done in the opening 40 minutes with Brian To’o getting the party started before Cleary took over.
He had the stadium and the uprights rocking when his kick cannoned into the post and into the arms of Izack Tago before he linked up with halves partner Jarome Luai who danced his way over.
Cleary could do no wrong, even chasing down a charged down kick to deny Connor Watson a certain try, with the champion playmaker eventually icing the contest with a grubber for Luke Garner to score his second.
The Panthers now get a week off and Cleary can rest his shoulder for a few days knowing he could do some heavy lifting in a few weeks when he lifts the trophy for the fourth year in a row.
“I thought he was all right. I thought he was outstanding,” his coach said.
“He makes a big difference to our team through the way he plays and he gives everyone confidence. He’s got a knack of being out for a while and then he can come straight back and click into gear.”
FAST FORWARD
The Roosters were awful in the first half but two tries in four minutes gave them life as they pegged the score back to 24-10 with more than half an hour to go.
The game was locked in a tense grind with neither side able to gain the upper hand, only for the Roosters to break down the left edge with a series of passes that had Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii racing away for his second try.
The Roosters faithful were in raptures but they hadn’t heard Ashley Klein’s whistle for a forward pass from Daniel Tupou that was line ball at worst.
“I didn’t think it was forward, I don’t think anyone thought it was forward except for the ref,” Trent Robinson said.
“Looking at the replays and the angle of the pass, that was a big call at that moment, and you can’t get that wrong.”
HORROR SHOW
The Roosters couldn’t have picked a worse night to run into the Panthers with the black cats torturing their opponents in a traditional Friday the 13th bloodbath.
The 10-game losing streak against Penrith has to be a mental thing by now with the Tricolours seemingly out of ideas on how to beat the three-time defending premiers.
Trent Robinson’s men have bullied plenty of teams over the years but they are made to look second rate whenever they face the Panthers, but this was on another level.
This was utter dominance from the outset, with Lindsay Collins running for three metres by the time the hosts had scored their fourth try while the always reliable Daniel Tupou dropped two kicks in the first half.
Sandon Smith had a tough night with a poor kick caught in goal before he missed tackles on Luai and Garner as the margin got ugly by halftime.
He also put a foot on the sideline when he picked the ball up at dummy-half late in the game, with the spine failing to fire as Watson was placed on report for a crusher tackle on James Fisher-Harris.
“We haven’t had an 80-minute performance all year, especially against teams like Penrith and Melbourne,” James Tedesco said.
“We can’t come out in a final and give them that much possession and that much ball because it’s hard to run down. We can do it in patches, but we’ve got to execute for 80 minutes.”
HOME TRUTHS
A lot has been made about the players the Panthers have lost over the years, but not enough has been said about the home ground advantage they’ll sacrifice when BlueBet Stadium gets redeveloped.
Their fans will still travel to Parramatta for the next two years, but it won’t be as hostile as it is in their true home which was as rowdy as ever on Friday night.
Spencer Leniu may have won three premierships with Penrith but he was booed when he came on the field, while the pre-game cheers were so loud that they drowned out the fireworks display above the stadium.
They somehow got louder in the second half when their team needed them most, with Dylan Edwards and To’o inspired by the fans to kill the visitors with three big breaks off kick returns.
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Originally published as NRL Finals 2024: Penrith Panthers win 30-10 over Sydney Roosters to book fifth-straight preliminary final
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