Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters Result SuperCoach Results Jarome Luai Scott Sorensen

The Panthers tore the Roosters to pieces in a 48-4 masterclass that starred five-eighthman Jarome Luai and second-rower Scott Sorensen.

Sorensen was involved in four of Penrith’s eight tries, scoring a brace and providing two more, while Luai put on his best game of the season by scoring one try and providing three more.

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Things went awry for the Roosters in the 16th minute when star enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves left the field with a suspected chest injury.

And it got worse when Joey Manu left the field in the 54th minute with an ankle injury.

In the second half, the Roosters eventually found their footing through Corey Allan, but that did little to dent Penrith’s confidence as the Premiers made three tries in the final ten minutes.

Panther’s 10 out of 10 game is unlikely

Scott Sorensen had perhaps the best game of his career, scoring two tries and setting up another in the first half alone.

Sorensen backed that up in the second half with another try assist and a one-on-one tackle that led to a Roosters error.

“Scott Sorensen is having a great day,” Shane Flanagan said in his commentary.

Greg Alexander highlighted the 30-year-old’s 15 runs in the first half, saying, “Backrowers typically have 15 runs a game.”

Cooper Cronk added, “I wouldn’t have gotten those stats in a month of football… He’s got half his life and he’s on fire.”

Sorensen finished the game with two tries, two try assists, three line breaks, one line break assist, five tackle buses, six offloads and 167 running yards while posting the same team-best 27 tackles with just one miss.

Cronk called it a “10 out of 10” performance while Alexander said it was “the game of his life”.

Only three years ago, Sorensen was without a club and, as Flanagan recalled, took one last chance with Penrith.

“(He’s) just a handyman, works really hard on his game, had nothing a few years ago, comes to Penrith for a train-and-trial, gets two big final fins and here he is tonight – two tries and a “A really important part of this team,” he said.

LUAI’S BIG BLUES STATEMENT

As the State of Origin halftime debate heats up, Jarome Luai has delivered his best game of the season – a timely reminder for New South Wales manager Brad Fittler.

Luai is the reigning Blues No. 6 but his place is under pressure given Nicho Hynes’ brilliant start to the season.

But with only two games left until team selection, Luai sent a message to Fittler.

The Panthers scored one try in the 5th and 8th and set up three more in the Roosters demolition. He also managed two line breaks, three line break assists, 10 tackle buses and 99 yards while also making 12 clean-shooting tackles.

Champion playmaker Cooper Cronk called it a “great reaction” from Luai after “his performance was questioned”, while Greg Alexander praised him as the “architect” of Penrith’s master class.

“Luai was the architect of that win tonight and Nathan had a great game but Jarome Luai tore up the Roosters if you look at all the involvement, whether he was changing defenders or starting the attacks on the left,” he said.

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The “blowtorch is coming” for roosters

Cooper Cronk warned after Friday’s game that the “blowtorch is coming” after a lackluster performance against the Panthers.

They missed 39 tackles and not a single forward managed more than 100 yards.

This comes after a bitterly disappointing result against the Cowboys last week, in which captain James Tedesco said the side needed to “look at themselves in the mirror”.

However, there seemed little improvement as Shane Flanagan asked how the Magic Round loss was reacted to.

“We expected some reaction from a big club today, especially after last week,” Flanagan said.

“They were under pressure, the coach was pressuring them and I’m sure he would have wanted an answer but he doesn’t have much.

“Do I have an answer? No I haven’t. They were really disappointing, defensively they were bad, their start was bad.

“They have an experienced coach so he will get to the bottom of things but he addressed this week that they need to make an effort again. Their defensive efforts were not good enough. Usually the Roosters are a great team offensively, but it has to be based on defense.

“You haven’t shown enough effort or urgency.”

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