Undermanned Panthers stun high-flying Warriors in NRL boilover
An undermanned Penrith have secured a critical 28-18 victory over the high-flying Warriors despite missing their swag of State of Origin stars.
The Panthers arrived in Auckland without five stars including Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo due to the travel factor from Origin II in Perth to New Zealand.
But the rookie outfit shocked the third-ranked hosts in their Saturday clash to bank a third straight win and continue their climb up the NRL ladder.
Depending on results the defending premiers could finish inside the top eight at the end of the round for the first time since Las Vegas in the opening round.
Winning seven of their past eight matches, the Warriors were expected to outclass Penrith but the Panthers' young halves Blaize Talagi and Brad Schneider stood up to steer the visitors home.
With Moses Leota leading the way up front with 147 run metres, second rower Scott Sorensen also stood tall, scoring two of their five tries.
The Warriors weren't helped by losing Marata Niukore to a head knock 10 minutes into the match and then winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury.
Sorensen went on report for the tackle that ended Watene-Zelezniak's night.
Trailing 6-8 at halftime, the Warriors' hopes of a big finish were also hobbled as halfback Luke Metcalf struggled with a quad injury.
The Panthers started with a bang with Sorensen held up over the line early but they made no mistake in the 16th minute when centre Casey McLean found winger Tom Jenkins, who bagged a hat-trick last week.
In a pulsating contest the Warriors soon levelled with a ball bouncing up for Jackson Ford after Leka Halasima skittled Penrith players leaping for a Metcalf bomb.
Sorensen again put his team ahead, scoring his first try with three minutes remaining in the half.
The Warriors edged ahead soon after the break through Jacob Laban but the full house at Go Media Stadium had little to cheer about until a 78th minute consolation try by Moala Graham-Taufa.
In the meantime, the Panthers piled on a further three tries, with Talagi and winger Paul Alamoti getting in on the action, to seal the win.
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