The season is only four rounds old, but is Penrith’s incredible run finally over?
The four-time premiers went down to South Sydney 28-18 on Thursday night. They had all the running in the second half, and things could have been different had Moses Leota not been denied a try because of an alleged dropped ball over the try line.
But Penrith dropped a third straight game for the first time since 2019. They have now conceded more points than they did across the opening 13 rounds in 2021, the year they started their premiership reign.
Scott Sorensen was ruled out of the game early with a concussion, then winger Brian To’o hobbled off with a hamstring injury late.
Nathan Cleary was already missing because of a concussion, as was Dylan Edwards (groin). However, those two are back on deck next Friday when Penrith celebrate Isaah Yeo’s 250tgh game at CommBank Stadium against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Staying on top for so long – and losing players because of salary-cap pressure – meant the long, long run on top for Penrith was bound to eventually come to an end.
TV commentators were asking if playing tough games for so many years was finally catching up with some of the personnel.
There were only five Penrith players involved in Thursday’s game that played against Souths in the 2021 decider.
Alex Johnston after scoring against Penrith.Credit: Getty Images
They were starved of possession and field position in the first half and did not help themselves with the raft of errors they made.
They threw forward passes, kicked out on the full, and gave up some soft tries from close range.
The Panthers were pretty ordinary against the Sydney Roosters in round two, showed a bit of fight to hang in the contest against the Storm last weekend, but were proper off their game early against the Bunnies.
They got back to 28-12 and had all the running when Leota crashed over. The bunker ruled Leota had knocked on. It was a tough call, and Phil Gould said on the Nine commentary: “I have seen worse than that given.”
After the match, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was just as miffed.
“I honestly thought it was a try, and it would have been handy, very handy. Maybe that was just the night,” he said.
Souths, meanwhile, have won three of their first four games, and now welcome the return of Latrell Mitchell for next Friday’s grudge match against the Sydney Roosters.
Keaon Koloamatangi had a first-half double and continued his excellent start to the season on the left edge.
Alex Johnston returned from an Achilles injury and scored a try, only to injure his left shoulder in the process and fail to return in the second half. Johnston, the long-serving Rabbitoh, is off contract, and doing his best to overhaul Ken Irvine’s long-standing 212-try haul. His four-pointer in the tenth minute took his tally to 196 tries.
