Penrith Panthers

Penrith Panthers lose James Maloney to injury

The Panthers confirmed the NSW five-eighth had suffered a grade-two medial ligament tear during Saturday's get-out-of-jail win over the Gold Coast.

The club said he had been sidelined indefinitely and would not be back for the final three regular rounds.

He is now eyeing Week One of the finals as his earliest possible return.

Medial ligament strains generally take 3-6 weeks to heal, meaning he may not be back at all this year, should the Panthers go out in straight sets in the finals.

Cleary junior beats his dad

Cleary had missed the past seven matches with a knee issue but set up a first- half try and broke three tackles in a strong performance against his dad's Tigers side.

He has now won both contests against father Ivan but, more importantly, took a step towards a possible NSW debut two weeks before teams are selected for the State of Origin opener.

The halfback combined well with veteran James Maloney in a dominant first half at Penrith Stadium, where the hosts enjoyed triple the amount of plays inside the opposition 20-metre zone.

Moylan gets last laugh as Sharks beat Panthers

Without injured co-captains Paul Gallen (knee) and Wade Graham (hamstring), the Sharks needed Moylan and fellow off-season recruit Josh Dugan to stand up after losing Luke Lewis to a calf injury in the 13th minute. The pair delivered in arguably their best performances since joining the club to spark the Sharks to a gritty 26-22 win.

Desperate Panthers wanting it more despite injuries: CHN

The Panthers could be without as many as seven first grade regulars for their clash with the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday, but have still managed to win five of their first six games to sit in equal second on the competition ladder.

Not only is it Penrith's best start to a regular season since 1999, it is also a huge improvement on their dismal 2-7 opening to last year after having been installed as premiership favourite before a ball was kicked.

Panthers flex muscles to extend Eels winless streak

The match featured some fairly stilted attack and low completion rates – plus high penalty counts – from both teams.

The Eels had no shortage of attacking opportunities and enjoyed the lion's share of the ball but asked very few questions of the Penrith defence, which regularly rushed up to shut down the time Eels halves Corey Norman and Mitch Moses had to look for options.

Maloney masterclass pleases Griffin

The strong platform laid by their forwards for the full 80 minutes allowed Maloney to turn up the volume in game control. He scored 21 points out of the Panthers total of 33 through eight goals from eight attempts, a try, and a field goal.

Then you can throw in the two try assists as well.

Griffin was understandably happy with his halfback's performance, especilaly after losing regular No.7 Nathan Cleary to a serious knee just six days earlier.

Benched Panther Viliame Kikau powers Panthers to shock second-half win over Parramatta

Viliame Kikau came off the pine and blew the game wide open in the second half with an amazing period of play which ultimately got his side the round one points.

MATCH CENTRE: Panthers 22 d Eels 14

Kikau scored a barnstorming try in the 43rd minute when he barged over a couple of sorry defenders.

That kickstarted the comeback for Penrith, who went to half time trailing 14-6 after a horror opening half-hour.

Trent Merrin denies Panthers player unrest claims

Merrin defended the club's decisions to let both Cartwright and Matt Moylan go over the summer break, indicating they were not on the same page with the rest of the squad.

Cartwright's exit at the Panthers was considered months in the making, and Merrin said modern day rugby league players were professional enough to adjust to sudden departures and arrivals regardless of when it occurs.

"Within the playing group there is a lot of clarity there," Merrin said ahead of the club's trial with the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.

The call that saved Corey Harawira-Naera

The 22-year-old forward revealed he knocked back advice to have shoulder surgery following the NRL Nines in fear he would be forced out of the club with his contract expiring at the end of the 2017 Telstra Premiership.

"It was a niggle all year. I was hoping it healed itself by the end but it never did," Harawira-Naera told NRL.com.

"They said to get it done then but I knew I was coming off contract and asked them to play out the year.

Panthers players back Maloney signing

Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Josh Mansour spoke about the club swap that is set to take place next week pending NRL approval, admitting they saw the positives in having the experienced Maloney calling the shots alongside Cleary.