NRL Round One: Penrith Panthers leave it late to crush North Queensland Cowboys 24-0

The Panthers outclassed the Cowboys but it took late in the second half for them to run away 24-0 winners.

Dylan Edwards, centre, of the Panthers celebrates with his teammate Jerome Luai after scoring a try during the round-one NSW Cup match between Penrith and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Panthers Stadium, on Saturday. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The Penrith Panthers outclassed the Cowboys on Saturday night, but it took late in the second half for them to finally pile the score on, running away 24-0 winners against North Queensland.

The Panthers led by just eight until Dylan Edwards sliced through a lazy North Queensland middle to score in the 53rd minute in front of 14,077 people.

The cohesion was again there for last season’s runners-up but they just lacked the polish at times as they cruised to their 10th consecutive win at Panthers Stadium.

Their attack was led by the direct running of Nathan Cleary and a side-stepping Jarome Luai – both looked a threat for different reasons. The relentless of the Panthers attack eventually took its toll on the Cowboys.

Penrith had to wait 46 minutes in between their first and second try. But only nine minutes separated their Edwards try and their fourth through co-captain Isaah Yeo.

Their third came just five minutes later when the destructive left edge of Luai and Stephen Crichton combined to send winger Brian To’o diving over the line before Yeo’s try.

The Panthers dominated the opening proceedings and their ball movement was slick, but they failed to capitalised on all the territory and possession they had. After Kurt Capewell’s try, they could only add a penalty goal in the opening half.

Paul Momorivski dropped the ball over the tryline as part of eight first-half errors by the Panthers.

The Cowboys could not get a crack inside the Panthers’ 20m line until midway through the first half but failed to throw anything threatening with the ball.

While the Cowboys showed great grit defending their tryline, they kept making simplistic errors coming out of their own end, heaping pressure on their defence.

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

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