NRL: Jennings seals win for injury-hit Penrith over Roosters

Michael Jennings of the Panthers is tackled during the round two NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the Penrith Panthers. Photo / Getty Images.

Two tries from a revitalised Michael Jennings sealed a superb 18-0 win for an injury-hit Penrith over Sydney Roosters in Sunday's NRL clash at Allianz Stadium.

The NSW centre endured a torrid season in 2011, scoring just one try in Penrith colours and was hit with injury and off-field issues, but he now has three in two games and is looking back to his best.

The jet-heeled 23-year-old crossed in either half as the Panthers showed great resolve to keep out the Roosters who dominated possession for long spells of the game.

The victory was Ivan Cleary's first as Panthers coach and it came in spite of the loss of influential prop Tim Grant, a late withdrawal with a calf problem, utility Blake Austin and first-choice wingers Michael Gordon and David Simmons, who were all ruled out through injury.

The Roosters started the game in a positive fashion, pinning the Panthers in their own half, but found themselves trailing after 14 minutes from the visitors' first genuine attack, following a superb run by giant Kiwi prop Sam McKendry, who broke three tackles to score.

The Panthers were then forced to repel a sustained spell of Roosters pressure.

The hosts did everything but cross the line as Cleary's well organised defence held them out, with two Mitchell Pearce bombs only just evading the hands of winger Justin Carney and Anthony Minichiello coughing the ball up just short of the line.

The Panthers then doubled their advantage with Jennings' first try of the afternoon five minutes before halftime.

Hardworking backrower Nathan Smith started the move by breaking a tackle on the right-hand and spreading the ball wide where Luke Walsh ran the ball well, then found Jennings, who stepped from left to right and eased his way to the line.

The Roosters continued to toil after the break, with Pearce's probings failing to produce any real quality.

Jennings all but secured the two points on the hour-mark, when Sam Perrett and Boyd Cordner managed to lose possession between them and the Test star pounced on the loose ball to sprint 40 metres along the sideline to score.

Walsh, who looked the more composed of the two halfbacks on show, kicked three goals to add some gloss to the win.

-AAP