Nathan Cleary made club history as the Panthers thrashed the Roosters 40-12 at Allianz Stadium, returning to winning form in style.
Cleary scored 14 points, overtaking Ryan Girdler as Penrith’s all-time leading point scorer with 1,573 points.
After a slow start, the Panthers rallied behind Cleary’s kicking and playmaking, with Paul Alamoti scoring twice before halftime to give them a 12-6 lead. The second half saw tries from Isaiah Papali’i, Blaize Talagi, Dylan Edwards, and Casey McLean as Penrith piled on the points.
Despite an early Roosters try and a brief second-half response from Robert Toia, the Panthers dominated proceedings, finishing with a flawless seven-from-seven goal-kicking display by Cleary.
Alamoti capped the win with a late penalty to push the score past 40. With their attack firing and new faces like Talagi and Papali’i crossing the line, the Panthers head into ANZAC Round full of confidence for their clash against Manly at CommBank Stadium.
