Lethal Luai torches Sharks in perfect Origin tune-up

A Jarome Luai masterclass led the Panthers to a 42-0 shutout of ladder leaders Cronulla at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday night.

With his place in Michael Maguire's Blues side already assured, Luai made a bird of it with his most dominant display of the season as the Panthers claimed their first win at PointsBet Stadium since 2012.

A dropped ball by Sharks winger Sione Katoa in the fourth minute handed the Panthers early field position and James Fisher-Harris powered over from close range to give the premiers the perfect start.

When Jesse Ramien put the ball down on Cronulla's next set it was Luai displaying speed and footwork from 10 metres out to make it 12-0 with Dylan Edwards' conversion.

With the Panthers cranking up their defensive intensity it was pressure from Luai forcing Nicho Hynes to put a kick out on the full but a mistake by Liam Martin let the Sharks off the hook.

Another kick out on the full by Hynes put the home side under more pressure before Katoa spilled his second kick of the night and Paul Alamoti scored from the srcumbase to make it 18-0 after 27 minutes.

The Sharks' sixth error of the opening half again opened the door for the ruthless Panthers to cross through Edwards off a neat pass from Jack Cole.

With Hynes off the field for a head injury assessment the Sharks lacked direction in attack and came up with more simple errors to cruel their chances of closing the gap before the break.

Having laid on a try for his fullback, Cole then helped himself to a four-pointer to stretch the Panthers' lead to 28-0 at half-time.

Hynes passed his HIA but did not return for the second half due to his ongoing calf problems and the Panthers went up a notch to score in the 47th minute through Liam Henry courtesy of a clever Mitch Kenny grubber.

With 20 minutes to play Luai grubbered into the in goal to earn the Panthers their fifth line dropout of the night but a strong hit by Royce Hunt on Fisher-Harris forced an error and the score stayed at 34-0.

With 14 minutes to play it was Cole coming up with another pinpoint kick which was allowed to bounce by the Sharks and Scott Sorensen powered through to grab the ball to score. Edwards piloted his sixth conversion of the night to make it 40-0.

An offside penalty against Thomas Hazelton in the 70th minute handed Edwards an easy penalty shot to take his personal tally to 18 points as the score hit 42-0.

A rare mistake by Edwards and the sin binning of Moses Leota with a minute to play gave the Sharks a shot at a consolation try but the Panthers refused to buckle.

Match Snapshot  The Panthers completed their first 12 sets before making an error. They completed 23 of 25 sets in the first half at 92 per cent. Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes left the field for a HIA in the 32nd minute after copping an accidental knee to the head. He passed his HIA but did not return to the field due to his ongoing calf issues. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards made a powerful case for Blues Origin selection with 251 metres from 25 runs and nine tackle breaks. The Sharks were held scoreless in the first half for the first time this season. Jarome Luai stamped his class on the contest with 117 run metres, one try assist, two line breaks and eight tackle breaks. Panthers prop Moses Leota was put on report and sin binned in the 80th minute for dangerous contact. Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris took his career tally to 14 tries in 189 games. The Panthers have won seven of their past eight games against the Sharks. Panthers foward Matt Eisenhuth left the field in the 50th minute for a HIA. Sharks back-rower Teig Wilton left the field for a HIA in the 57th minute which he passed. Isaah Yeo racked up 195 run metres and 29 tackles for the Panthers. The Panthers piled on 1938 run metres for the night compared to 1018 for the Sharks. Panthers centre Izack Tago was placed on report in the 78th minute for a high tackle on Daniel Atkinson. Play of the Game 

On the stroke of half-time with his team ahead 22-0, rookie Panthers five-eighth Jack Cole had a moment to savour when he scored the first try of his career in his fifth game. Cole took the ball to the line on the right edge and put in a kick which rebounded off Sharks centre Kayal Iro. The No.6 stayed alive on the play and picked up the rebound to cross for a try that made it 28-0 to Penrith at the break.

What They Said

"We applied no pressure, were on the end of pressure and the basics of the game, they [Penrith] controlled all of that, controlled the energy for the whole game. They were terrific, they played as good and as clinical as you can to control a game with field position and the way they hung onto the ball and kicked." – Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon

"We needed a response from last week (a defeat to the Warriors), and the boys turned up on Tuesday very open and honest with what we didn't do last week and got on with the job of turning it around. That's exactly what they did for 80 minutes tonight." – Panthers coach Ivan Cleary

What's Next 

The Sharks have a quick turnaround before facing the Eels on Thursday in the opening game of Round 13 at CommBank Stadium.

The Panthers are at home on Saturday when they host the Dragons at BlueBet Stadium.