Relentless Penrith cruise past Cronulla in Bathurst

Match report: Panthers 26, Sharks 6

Penrith have continued their impressive start to the season and their domination of Cronulla, with winger Tom Jenkins extending his try-scoring spree.

Following their opening romp against premiers Brisbane, the Panthers easily outclassed the Sharks at Bathurst’s Carrington Park, conceding their only points against of 2026 in the 59th minute.

Saturday’s win was the Panthers’ 10th in their last 11 matches against the Sharks.

Jenkins backed up his brace against the Broncos with another two tries to leap to the top of the NRL season try-scoring tally.

Superstar halfback Nathan Cleary swung momentum Penrith’s way early with a 40-20 kick in the fifth minute and one tackle later winger Brian To’o crossed for the first try of the night.

On the back of an impressive completion rate and suffocating defence, the Panthers extended the lead to 18-0 by half-time with Cronulla paying the price for some flimsy tackles and poor handling.

The second try came after a controversial call by referee Ashley Klein, penalising Sharks centre Jesse Ramien for an early tackle after he bumped into Jenkins before he caught the ball.

Blaize Talagi then sent a long ball out to Jenkins, who beat Nicho Hynes en route to the try line.

Three minutes after half-time Jenkins was in for his second with the Panthers building an insurmountable 24-0 lead.

The Sharks lifted and winger Sione Katoa broke their points drought when he scrambled across the line for their sole try, which was converted by Hynes.

They stemmed Penrith’s scoring but with Cleary in superb touch the hosts maintained control for another classy win.

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The Panthers join the Warriors, Storm, Bulldogs and Tigers as the only undefeated sides after two rounds this season. Next up for them are the Roosters, another side they have a tremendous recent record against, at Allianz on Friday. The Sharks will host the Dolphins 24 hours later. Please stand by for a full match report of tonight’s game.

74 min: A frustrated Sharks concede a needless escort penalty and Cleary adds two more points to the Panthers’ score. Panthers 26-6

71 min: Cronulla again throw everything they have at Penrith but the Panthers’ line defence is too good Panthers 24-6

51 min: Penrith’s defence is relentless tonight, denying Will Kennedy, playing his first NRL in his home town, a try. That’s 131 minutes they’ve gone now this season without conceding a point. Penrith have simply answered everything Cronulla have thrown at them. Panthers 24-0

45 min: Jesse Ramien fumbles a play-the-ball and the Panthers pounce, with Jenkins scoring his fourth try of the season after superb hands by teammates on the inside. Cleary converts from the sideline again. Panthers 24-0

APapua New Guinea powerbrokers have reached out to South Sydney about the prospect of Alex Johnston becoming a marquee signing for the Chiefs, declaring it would be a “fantastic” way for the record-breaking winger to finish his storied career.

Johnston scored two tries for South Sydney in Friday night’s loss to the Roosters to break Ken Irvine’s record of 212 tries, which had stood for 53 years. The Rabbitohs winger last year signed a two-year contract extension with the Rabbitohs that would normally preclude other clubs from negotiating with him until November 1 this year.

However, this masthead revealed last August that there is a secret clause in Johnston’s contract that allows him to negotiate with PNG at any time of his choosing.

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39 min: Sharks concede a late penalty with the Panthers working the ball out of their own end and Cleary scores his third try. Cleary converts and Penrith go to the half-time break with a commanding 18-0 lead. Panthers 18-0