Nathan Gardner of the Sharks scores against the Panthers. Photo / Getty Images
Cronulla Sharks 44
Penrith Panthers 12
Timana Tahu endured a disappointing return to the NRL on Saturday night, with his new club Penrith suffering a dismal 44-12 defeat to Cronulla.
A surprise late inclusion, Tahu gave away a penalty with his first touch thanks to a sloppy play the ball and was targeted in defence by
the Sharks' left-side attack on a largely forgettable performance from the troubled centre, who was replaced in the 74th minute with cramp.
A horror night for the home team at Centrebet Stadium was capped by a shoulder injury to halfback Luke Walsh, a potential suspension for skipper Petero Civoniceva and an error-riddled match by star centre Michael Jennings.
The normally mild-mannered Civoniceva was placed on report in the 49th minute for a late challenge on Cronulla halfback Wade Graham, while Walsh left the field in the 43rd minute clutching at his left shoulder and did not return.
For the Sharks, it was another impressive display following last week's upset victory over St George Illawarra.
The writing was on the wall early for the Panthers when they conceded a soft early try to Cronulla skipper Paul Gallen.
Panthers winger David Simmons tied the game up soon after, before a brace of tries in seven minutes to livewire Sharks five-eighth Albert Kelly opened the floodgates.
Unable to stop Cronulla's offloading forward pack, the Panthers conceded tries at will, with Nathan Gardner, Colin Best, Jonathan Mannah and Jeremy Smith all passing through lacklustre defence as the score ballooned.
A late try to Lachlan Coote did little to appease the partisan crowd of just 9,275 who started heading for the exits with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Cronulla 44 (A Kelly 2 C Best P Gallen N Gardner J Mannah J Smith tries J Williams 8 goals) bt Penrith 12 (L Coote D Simmons tries M Gordon 2 goals) at Centrebet Stadium. Referee: Jared Maxwell, Phil Haines. Crowd: 9,275.
- AAP
