Penrith suffered a shocking defeat on Thursday night, extending their losing streak to three games as a dominant South Sydney side overwhelmed them with a relentless first-half performance.
Missing key players Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards, the Panthers struggled at Accor Stadium, while the Rabbitohs capitalized on their absence. The home side surged to a commanding 28-0 lead by halftime—their largest halftime deficit in seven years.
Keaon Koloamatangi scored twice in the opening 30 minutes before Jye Gray added another just before the break. By halftime, Penrith had only 28% possession, committed eight errors, and conceded five penalties. Costly mistakes, including Paul Alamoti kicking the ball dead on the full and uncharacteristic errors from Liam Martin and Daine Laurie, compounded their struggles.
“Panthers are in a frantic, submissive sort of mood,” Phil Gould said on Nine. “We haven’t seen this for years. They are being out-muscled and out-enthused.”
Early in the second half, South Sydney’s errors gave Penrith a glimmer of hope. Liam Martin and Brad Schneider ignited a potential comeback, and Moses Leota appeared to have further closed the gap, but his try was controversially disallowed by referee Ashley Klein and the Bunker.
“That’s alright—hand on the ball, ball on the ground—fun police,” Gould commented.
That decision seemed to drain Penrith’s momentum, with further mistakes and forced passes dooming their chances of a comeback. South Sydney held firm to secure a vital 28-18 victory.
Post-game, Penrith captain Isaah Yeo admitted their performance was riddled with mistakes.
“We were just frantic on our line and we don’t have enough resilience at the moment,” Yeo told Nine. “We are shooting ourselves in the foot… The damage was done.”
Adding to their woes, Brian To’o limped off late with a hamstring injury, while Scott Sorensen suffered a concussion early in the match.
“Soz looks alright, but it was a category one, so he won’t be playing,” coach Ivan Cleary confirmed. “I don’t really know about Bizza yet. Great night of footy, really.”
Meanwhile, South Sydney’s strong start to the season continues, winning three of their first four matches despite the absence of stars Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray. Mitchell is expected to return in round five against the Roosters.
