Amituanai hat-trick helps Panthers to dominant win

Daeon Amituanai’s hat-trick helped the Penrith Panthers seal a dominant 30-6 victory over the Western Suburbs Magpies at Lidcombe Oval in Round 17.

It was all the Panthers from the opening whistle, with winger Amituanai opening the scoring just three minutes into the game, scoring in the right corner.

Mid-season recruit Asu Kepaoa then went over on the opposite side before his fellow winger Nick Murphy punished the Magpies’ right edge defence again, scoring his side’s third try of the match but only extending the score to 12-0 with all conversion attempts unsuccessful.

Halfback Zack Lamont was next to add his name to the scoresheet through a brilliant solo effort, before a first-half double for Amituanai gave the Panthers a 20-0 lead. The visitors dominated the first half, scoring five unanswered tries to take a 20-0 lead into the break.

Western Suburbs’ Declan Casey kickstarted the second half for the Magpies, scoring from dummy-half to bring the margin within 14.

The Panthers were quick to regain momentum with Mavrik Geyer breaking through the Magpies’ line before offloading to Tyrone Peachey to touch down.

A strong solo run from Amituanai saw the right winger secure a hat-trick and seal his side’s dominant 30-6 victory over the Magpies at Lidcombe Oval.

 Talking Points Daeon Amituanai scored an impressive hat-trick, with the winger terrorising the Magpies’ left-edge defence. Penrith’s back line absolutely dominated the game, with five of their seven backs adding their names to the scoresheet. The Magpies’ edge defence really struggled against the strength and speed of the Panthers’ attack. The win was Penrith’s first since Round Nine. Key Moment

With the Panthers failing to convert all of their first half tries, the Magpies were still very much in the game after Declan Casey’s try. But Tyrone Peachey’s try to answer back really sealed the victory for the Panthers and made it too hard for the Magpies to come back. A barging Mavrik Geyer broke the Magpies’ line before offloading to Peachey to score on the left edge.

-Anthony Eltarraf, NSWRL