Star halves Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary cruised the Panthers to a comfortable 26-6 victory over the Storm at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night.
The defending champs are closing in on another minor premiership after shutting out the Melbourne heavyweights, holding their place on top of the competition ladder over the Broncos for another week after making it eight straight at home.
Losing Jahrome Hughes (ankle) and Xavier Coates (hip) throughout the week didn't help Melbourne's cause but errors (11) and missed tackles (41) cruelled any chances of causing an upset in Sydney's west.
Melbourne surprised the home side early when they had the first four-pointer with centre Young Tonumaipea taking the ball from one end to the other with the boot before scooting over in the next play to score his second try of the season.
Young Tonumaipea try 15th minute
Tonumaipea continued an impressive first half, when he came up with a try saver on Brian To'o in the 20th minute but the NSW winger couldn't be stopped again four minutes later, with a slick right-side raid creating an overlap in the corner.
Cleary missed the conversion but with both sides kicking an early penalty goal the scores were locked 6-6.
Errors began to creep into Melbourne's game and the Panthers began to steal momentum with Cleary mesmerising Storm defenders to send a weaving Luai over the line to score.
A penalty against Storm forward Josh King for a crusher tackle on Matt Eisenhuth gave Cleary a shot from right in front and he converted for an eight-point lead.
Stephen Crichton try 37th minute
The Panthers' well-oiled machine was full of running at the back end of the first half with Cleary looping a nice pass over the top for Stephen Crichton who scored on the left to extend the home side's lead further.
The Storm got into an arm-wrestle in the opening stages of the second term but the Panthers all but put the game to bed when Zac Hosking handed To'o a double with a nice catch and pass to the right.
Melbourne stars Cameron Munster and Harry Grant tried to threaten the line through the game but in the end ran out of answers as the Panthers took another step towards a three-peat to defend their way to victory.
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Match Snapshot
- Storm lock Josh King was placed on report in the 35th minute for an alleged crusher tackle on Matt Eisenhuth.
- Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai was placed on report for an alleged shoulder charge on Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
- Storm winger George Jennings left the field in the 15th minute of the match and did not return after suffering suspected medial ligament damage.
Brian To'o try 23rd minute
- Panthers lock Isaah Yeo set the tone for the Panthers with 214 run metres and 40 tackles and just two misses.
- Storm hooker Harry Grant was reliable in defence again with 53 tackles for the losing side.
- The Panthers have now won five of their past seven games against the Storm since losing the 2020 grand final.
- The Panthers have now won their past eight games at BlueBet Stadium.
- Panthers winger Brian To’o has now scored 14 tries in his past 10 games at BlueBet Stadium.
Play of the Game
Penrith's deadly spine combination was on show in the third try of the night after Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai controlled proceedings midway through the first half.
It started with Isaah Yeo at lock who found Cleary on the left and the halfback linked up with his No. 6, squaring up with Storm defenders before passing off to Luai who spun his way into the in goal.
Jarome Luai try 27th minute
What they Said
"We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot, we just blew our feet off in the first half. The Panthers are really good at playing the field possession game and they did a great job in the first half but with all due respect, we really helped them. It was just like we were looking for short cuts and that doesn't work against a team like that, you need to be squeaky clean to go with them. Just some dumb things and that put a lot of pressure on us. The second half was a real arm wrestle but we were fatigued and didn't look likely to score a try." - Storm coach Craig Bellamy
"Very happy tonight, I thought we started a little scratchy but the back end of the first half was really strong. The second half was a little different, they had the field position. I thought our defence in the second half was as good as it's been all year. It's really good against a quality team who threw plenty at us and the boys kept finding a way and kept turning up which was really pleasing." - Panthers coach Ivan Cleary
NRL Press Conference: Panthers v Storm - Round 23, 2023
What's Next
The Panthers will kick off Round 24 when they travel to 4 Pines Park to meet with the Sea Eagles while Melbourne will host Raiders at home. Izack Tago (leg) should be back on deck after falling short while the Storm will be hoping Jahrome Hughes and Xavier Coates will be available.