Penrith are at risk of dropping out of the top eight following 24-12 loss to Brisbane

A stampeding Payne Haas and some crucial errors have dealt Penrith’s finals chances a serious blow following their 24-12 loss to Brisbane.

Nathan Cleary (centre) of the Panthers is tackled by Andrew McCullough (left) and Tevita Pangai Junior (2nd from left ) and Patrick Carrigan (right) of the Broncos during the Round 22 NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Penrith Panthers at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Friday, August 16, 2019. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

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Penrith’s finals charge has been dealt a blow after going down 24-12 to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

The Panthers were seventh on the ladder leading into this game but have slipped to eighth position, leapfrogged by their opposition, the Broncos.

The western Sydney club could find themselves as low as 10th on the ladder depending on other results over the course of the remainder of the round.

“It’s disappointing… it was a game we really needed to win and we’ve just made it harder for ourselves now,” Penrith five-eighth James Maloney said.

“There was individuals breaking tackles, we knew that’s their real strength. We were a little bit loose with our attack, we turned over a lot of ball and couldn’t take advantage of opportunities.”

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It was a physical and furious clash. AAP Image/Darren England.

FORWARD BATTLE

Both packs are packed with size and Friday’s match was perfectly poised to be a battle won upfront. But only one team came to Suncorp Suncorp with the power game. The Broncos spent the early exchanges trying to go through the middle of the Panthers and Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai Jr did so with plenty of impact. Haas clocked 190 metres, made nine tackle busts and a two linebreaks.

In the 73rd minute, the NSW Blues prop put the result beyond doubt with a brilliant individual effort to beat three defenders on his charge to the tryline.

Haas was the best player on the field. AAP Image/Darren England.

But Penrith had different ideas and made their intentions clear early, shifting the ball with ease in an attempt to tire out the Broncos big men. The Panthers found plenty of territory as a result but not the points. It took an individual effort from halfback Nathan Cleary in the 36th minute for the Panthers to open their account.

“Penrith threw the ball around a lot but we hung tough and we defended our line really well in the end. We knew they were going to try and do that, they have some strong outside backs,” Broncos hooker Andrew McCullough said.

Pangai Junior sailed close to the wind all night. AAP Image/Darren England.

EARLY DRAMA

It only took seven minutes for the referees to continue their crusade on foul play. Brisbane halfback Jake Turpin was sent to the sinbin for a hit on the chin on Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards while he was on the ground cleaning up a loose ball. The referee ruled the contact was forceful and sent him for 10 minutes.

Despite being one man down it was the Broncos who struck the first blow through Katoni Staggs, who scored the opening try of the match

“I thought our first seven minutes and last seven minutes were good but in between that was pretty average. We were pretty immature, didn’t handle being one-man up. We put ourselves under massive pressure,” Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said.

Brisbane’s Tevita Pangai Jr suffered a similar fate to Turpin and was sin-binned for a forceful hit with only 90 seconds left on the clock.

FAST AND FURIOUS

With a place in the top eight on the line both sides burst out of the blocks playing at a frenetic pace and with some nervous energy. The Panthers struggled to contain the Broncos attack early and to make their tackles stick, especially at first contact. They missed 19 tackles in the opening 25 minutes alone.

“The Panthers are missing tackles because they’re all arms, there’s not enough shoulders. They get frantic at the start of a game but can’t get into a rhythm, ball movement is good but they struggled with execution,” Phil Gould said.

The Panthers just couldn’t get their attack together. AAP Image/Darren England.

It was a familiar story in the second half with a flying start to the second half from the Broncos. A sharp and swift shift right through the hands of Turpin, Anthony Milford and Stags found winger Jamayne Isaako to score in the corner.

TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM

With his side pinned in their own half, Panthers five-eighth James Maloney charged at the line with little thought for his own self preservation. Maloney’s chin was met by Matt Lodge and Thomas Flegler, drawing a penalty.

“He just said ‘I’ll take this up and get a hit in the head, i’ll take a bullet for my team’. He knows exactly what he’s doing. That set of six was going nowhere and Jimmy Maloney said ‘I’ll get us out of here’,” Gould said.

BRISBANE 24 (J Isaako 2 P Haas K Staggs tries J Isaako 4 goals) bt PENRITH 12 (N Cleary B To’o tries N Cleary 2 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, Ashley Klein.