NRL 2020: Liam Martin terrorises Matt Moylan as Panthers power on
Matt Moylan endured an unhappy homecoming to Panthers Stadium, as his Cronulla side were rolled by Ivan Cleary’s red-hot side and he was terrorised by a rising star.
Panthers
Don't miss out on the headlines from Panthers. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Penrith’s 10 straight wins is like something out of a dream, but what Liam Martin did to Cronulla on Friday night is proof he’s become a nightmare for the opposition to handle.
Martin terrorised Matt Moylan in the 38-12 win over the Sharks — twice he blew past the Cronulla five-eighth for clean breaks that lead to tries, with a one-on-one steal thrown into the bargain.
All told, it was one of the best performances of Martin’s young career. He finished with a try, a try assist, 146 metres from 11 runs, six tackle busts, two line breaks and 25 tackles.
Going after Moylan was part of the job, and one Martin executed to a tee.
“It was, I got told to do my role and make his job a bit harder. I went out there with that game plan,” Martin said.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
“It’s a pretty good feeling, to end the week with that. I’m on a bit of a high at the moment.
“I’m happy so far, but I’m trying not to get complacent and to stay hungry. I’m still trying to build on my game, I’ve still got a lot of improvement to do.
“Week by week I’m trying to build on that.”
The Temora product inked a two-year contract extension with the Panthers during the week and looks to be a long-term first grader.
He started the year on the outside looking in after Penrith recruited Kurt Capewell from Cronulla, but an injury to the former Shark gave Martin his chance and he’s made the most of it.
Martin’s mobility, footwork and aggression have made him a standout for the Panthers, and his budding combination with Nathan Cleary improves by the week.
Where raw aggression used to be Martin’s guiding star, the 23-year old now has a greater understanding of the game, which is a huge reason for his strong form of late.
“With the likes of Ivan (Cleary), Trent (Barrett), Cameron (Ciradlo), they’ve got us in video and I’m learning a lot more than I used to.
“I used to just go out and play, run hard and tackle hard, but especially Cirro, he got me thinking that my communication has to be better, I need to identify shape, that sort of thing. He’s been a big help.”
Panthers put rivals on notice with heavyweight showing
If it was any other show you might get bored of it after 10 weeks of repeats, but nobody will dare look away from Penrith after the mountain men racked up their 10th straight victory courtesy of a 38-12 belting of Cronulla on Friday night.
A star turn from halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai and a tremendous display from backrower Liam Martin were the highlights as the Panthers moved three points clear at the top of the ladder and proved, once again, they are heavyweights in the race for the 2020 premiership.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary is keeping a sharp eye out for any sign Penrith are resting on their laurels, but even he can’t seem to find too much to critique.
NRL NEWS
Lavish parties, savage sprays: Boyd opens up on Knights nightmare
Was this the biggest hit in NRL history?
Human face of why NRL must ban crusher tackles
“If I saw any complacency, or anyone getting ahead of themselves - and I’m certainly looking for it, in case it’s there, but I haven’t seen it,” Cleary said.
“There’s so much energy around the place, and they’re loving every minute of it but they’re preparing well and the way we’re starting each game shows that.”
The sole blemishes for Penrith came when Api Koroisau failed to finish the match due a calf injury and Viliame Kikau was placed on report for a late shot on Cronulla halfback Braydon Trindall.
NO SJ, NO WAY
Cronulla were dealt a serious blow when in-form halfback Shaun Johnson was ruled out hours before the match with a groin injury.
His replacement, Braydon Trindall, is a player of promise who did some nice things in attack, but Penrith’s fearsome left side trio of Viliame Kikau, Stephen Crichton and Josh Mansour would have been unlike anything he’s seen before.
The Panthers ran in three tries in the first stanza down that side - first Kikau isolated the smaller Trindall close to the line, then Luai found Josh Mansour with a delicious cut out pass and just before halftime Stephen Crichton flew high to claim a Nathan Cleary kick.
Throw in a try to Brent Naden down the right and the lead at oranges was 22-6 - which given Penrith’s resolute defence, meant the match was all but gone.
“There’s no excuse for our defensive effort today. I thought it was horrible at times,” said Sharks coach John Morris.
“We just put so much pressure on ourselves. They’re too good a team, you have to build pressure, put some fatigue into them and we weren’t able to do that today.
“We probably got what we deserved.”
Johnson is expected to be fit for next week’s clash with North Queensland.
MARTIN PICKS OUT MOYLAN
Not so long ago, Matt Moylan was the heir to Penrith’s glorious future, a local boy who rose through the ranks to captain the club and, presumably, lead them to the promised land.
Those days feel far away now, but it’s only three years since Moylan joined Cronulla and he almost always aims up against his former club, but in this match Moylan had a devil of a time dealing with Panthers backrower Martin.
The pride of Temora was seemingly playing with a single purpose - picking out Moylan every time he ran the ball.
Martin was superb, busting past Moylan for two line breaks that lead to tries, one to Naden in the first half and one to Martin himself just after halftime.
He also threw in a one-on-one steal on Moylan for good measure - it was a hell of a way to celebrate after Martin inked a two-year contract extension with the Panthers during the week.
THE DIFFERENCE
Cronulla are not a bad team by any means. They’d won eight of their last 11 heading into this to sit in seventh spot with their only real blemish this season coming via a 56-24 thrashing a few weeks ago at the hands of - you guessed it, Penrith.
Where the Sharks, blessed with up and coming talent but cursed with the inconsistency youth can bring, are still finding their way, and will occasionally have off nights like this one, the Panthers have no doubt of what they want to do or how they want to do it.
You can see it in the power of forwards like James Tamou and James Fisher-Harris, who were both superb again, and in Luai’s improvement and Cleary’s ascension.
Cleary was excellent again, setting up two tries - he seems to be in total control of everything his team does on the field.
This is a team hungry for success with the form of a potential champion and the match showed the difference between a finals challenger and a top contender.