Cronulla’s bid to play finals this season has taken a major hit after fullback Will Kennedy suffered a torn hamstring against the Panthers.
The Sharks gun left the field inside the opening six minutes after pulling up lame.
Penrith went on to put in a defensive masterclass, securing a 28-0 victory to stay on top of the ladder.
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Post-game, Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon admitted Kennedy’s injury was a “pretty significant hammy tear” and explained the difficulties he had to adjust the game plan with Connor Tracey playing fullback for the rest of the match.
”It’s obviously not ideal, you’re coming to prepare to throw down out here, you need a few things to go your way and (it went) sideways pretty quick but you’ve got to adjust,” he said.
“We had four forwards on the bench so you work around what you do if it does happen but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with when it does, switching players from one side to the other to get the job done, it was difficult.”
The Panthers started strong when Jarome Luai stepped through the Sharks defence in the fifth minute.
Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o continued the carnage for Penrith in the first half to make it 18-0.
Winger Sunia Turuva then put the game beyond doubt, scoring first after the break.
The Sharks may have thought they were in with a chance when centre Tyrone Peachey was sin-binned in the 58th minute for a high shot.
However, being one man down didn’t seem to affect the Panthers too much, with Liam Martin scoring while Peachey was off, sealing the 28-0 result.
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Cameron McInnes was enormous in a losing side, breaking the NRL record for most tackles in a game with 83. The record was previously held by Shaun Fensom on 74.
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Post-game, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said the injury to Will Kennedy was extremely beneficial for his side.
”When Kennedy went off that was a real bonus for us, they didn’t really have a lot of cover there,” he told Fox League.
Next week, Penrith plays the Storm on Friday while the Sharks face South Sydney on the Saturday.
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