Nathan Cleary was underdone in his comeback game from shoulder surgery but still head and shoulder above Cronulla as Penrith kicked off their drive for five premierships in a row in style.
Cleary toyed with the Sharks at times as he manoeuvred his team around Allegiant Stadium with the skill of an NFL quarterback to orchestrate their 28-22 victory.
Labelled “the Tom Brady of the NRL” in one of the many attempts to seek publicity in the lead-up to the Las Vegas extravaganza to open the season, Cleary is halfway towards beating the former New England Patriots star’s record of seven championship rings.
Penrith didn’t have it all their own way as the Sharks stormed back after trailing by 14 with back-to-back tries to set up a grandstand finish before Daine Laurie clinched the victory with his second try.
After blowout scorelines in the three previous matches on the Vegas big stage, the headline act delivered with a thrilling contest which went right down to the wire.
Premiers rusty but still a class above
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary joked he got “a few more grey hairs” at Allegiant Stadium as he eventually was able to celebrate his 54th birthday with a win.
“Our execution down their end of the field won us the game,” he said. “They just did enough tonight to get the job done.
“There was clearly some rust around which was always going to happen.
“We have five or six players in our current time who will be Panthers Hall of Famers. If you’ve got that many players of that calibre, you’re still in a pretty good space. Their cohesion together should continue to improve.”
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Both teams were clunky in the opening exchanges and Penrith winger Casey McLean’s night ended before the third minute was out when he was concussed after his head collided with Will Kennedy’s knee in a tackle.
Despite failing to find touch from a penalty, Cronulla were able to post first points when Nicho Hynes double-pumped a pass to put the defence in two minds and Jesse Ramien thundered over the stripe.
Penrith had been playing well below their brilliant best for the first 25 minutes but champion teams have the ability to flick the switch when needed.
Isaah Yeo stepped through a stretched defensive line to put the reigning four-time premiers in front and after Blayke Brailey booted the restart out on the full, Penrith’s other co-captain made his mark on the next set.
Cleary caught the defence unawares when he took a Vegas gamble by kicking on play four with the perfectly weighted chip allowing Izack Tago to hit the jackpot by collecting at high speed for a 12-4 lead.
“It was a perfectly weighted kick,” Yeo told Fox League in a post-game sideline interview.
“His ability just to read the D with everyone standing back watching him, we’ve got to deal with it at training but it’s nice when we’re on his side up against the opposition. He was outstanding off limited prep coming off the back of his shoulder (surgery).”
The Sharks are nothing if not resilient and after the Panthers gave away a couple of six-agains, Cronulla cashed in with six points when Braydon Trindall followed Cleary’s lead with an early kick to a vacant in-goal area for Briton Nikora to reduce the gap to just two points at the break.
Cleary bounced back from a late hit from Nikora which rattled his ribcage to set up a try to replacement winger Daine Laurie 10 minutes into the second half for a 18-10 lead.
Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo ran in to rough up two defenders after a tackle which turned out to be fine and ended up conceding a penalty deep in their own territory with Penrith again capitalising with Cleary launching a raid on the right.
Mulitalo compounded his error by rushing up on Dylan Edwards just after the star fullback had slipped the try assist pass for winger Paul Alamoti to open up a 14-point advantage.
Trindall spiralled a clever cut-out pass for Kayal Iro to reduce the margin to eight on the hour mark and when Addin Fonua-Blake barged over 10 minutes later, it was down to two.
“Sometimes the best players don’t need block plays and shapes, they just need the footy and he delivered,” premiership-winning Sharks hooker Michael said on Fox League when summing up Fonua-Blake’s timely show of strength.
The Sharks failed to make the most of ensuing field position but the first chance Penrith got up the other end of the stadium, Cleary pulled the right string yet again as the ball skipped through the hands for Laurie to seal the victory in the corner.
Sharks choke in key moments
When the pressure was on, and sometimes when it wasn’t, the Sharks choked at Allegiant Stadium.
Trindall shanked a penalty kick for touch at the end of their first set and Brailey sent a kick restart out on the full to help Penrith turn their first six points into 12.
Hynes fumbled a kick-off at the other end of the stadium to take the wind out of their sails after Nikora’s try and Mulitalo’s petulance midway through the second half also proved costly.
Isaah Yeo is tackled. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
With the Penrith goal-line defence on their knees, some of them literally, Trindall had a chance to ice an improbable comeback win but was indecisive on the last play and went to ground with the ball.
These are the kinds of errors that can haunt you against any team – they add up to a one-way ticket to defeat when you are up against Penrith.
“I think we missed a mark on a couple of things,” captain Cameron McInnes conceded. “The occasion shouldn’t be too big for us now.”
Until the Sharks show the mental toughness to nail these moments in the big games, they will remain on the outside looking in at the Panthers and Storm as the two teams to beat in the race for the 2025 title.
“[Penrith] are four-time premiers for a reason. They know what to do when it gets into those situations and they got a bit too far ahead and knew how to close a bit better than us,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. “Plenty of lessons
“It’s a bit better than the last few times we played them, so we’re getting closer.”
‘That’s ridiculous’ – Bunker’s no-try call blasted
Penrith looked to have equalised when Lindsay Smith had the star-spangled Steeden knocked free by Kennedy’s hand before Cleary touched down but the Bunker ruled the prop fumbled it on impact instead of the ball being stripped by the Cronulla fullback.
“That’s ridiculous,” Ennis said on Fox League.
“He’s not playing at anything else – eyes on the ball, the right hand strikes the point of the ball. That’s a tough call.”
Storm legend Cameron Smith, on the Nine call, didn’t often agree with Ennis during their playing days but he was on the same page as his former rival rooker.
“He’s got full control of the football, he’s going to place it down and Kennedy knocks the ball loose. They dodged one there, the Sharks.”
