The Penrith Panthers are into the top four for the first time since Round 1 after thrashing the Newcastle Knights 48-12 in wet conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Panthers haven’t been inside the top four since beating Cronulla in Las Vegas.
The 36 point win was an ominous warning shot to the rest of the comp from the defending premiers, who jumped over the Warriors on the NRL ladder.
If the Warriors lose to the Bulldogs on Saturday, Penrith will end Round 23 in 4th spot and well poised with a month remaining of regular season fixtures.
Penrith were dead last at the start of June but have since reeled off nine straight wins to ascend 13 spots on the ladder.
In fact, Penrith haven’t tasted defeat since a Round 12 loss to the Knights which coach Ivan Cleary labelled the “lowest point” of the season.
Despite the huge margin, the Panthers probably felt they left a couple of tries out there given the weight of possession in their favour.
In addition, Penrith were tackled a whopping 110 times inside the Knights’ half.
At half time, the Panthers led 26-0. That was after scoring two tries in two minutes at the end of the first half to twist the knife into the Knights, which included an athletic effort from Brian To’o.
“To’o flying through the air to score that,” Warren Smith said in commentary.
“That was as dominant a half we’ve seen from Penrith,” Shaun Johnson said on Fox League.
The Knights struggled to penetrate the Panthers’ line with the new-look halves pairing of Jack Cogger and Jake Arthur struggling to make something happen for the home side.
The loss means the Knights are still a live chance of collecting the unwanted wooden spoon as pressure mounts over Adam O’Brien’s job security.
