Rugby League in Las Vegas: Penrith Panthers v Cronulla Sharks– live
Key events
FULLTIME: PANTHERS 28-22 SHARKS
That’s all she wrote! The premiers have prevailed in their first game of 2025 and the quest for a fifth straight premiership is off to a flying start. The Sharks were wonderful in patchesand looked dangerous at times but it wasn’t enough to unseat the kings.
78th minute: Panthers 28-22 Sharks. Here come the Sharks. Nicho Hynes runs and passes to Ramien who gets inside the final quarter. Now McInnes inches it closer. Brailey to Talakai who gets within a metre. Hynes to Ramien again on the last but the black mass swarm and they can’t get the ball to the outside men. That could be it.
TRY! Panthers 28-22 Sharks (Laurie 75″)
Penrith score! That’s what they do to opposition teams. They absorb pressure then deliver it back ten-fold. Cleary was the hinge after Luke Garner fed him the pip. The prince of Penrith then paused, eyes level, and finally, when panic was sown, the pass came. Daine Laurie was flying into the corner and suddenly the Sharks momentum stops dead. However, in a twist, Cleary hooks the conversion so the Sharks have a sniff of equalling if they can score and convert.
74th minute: Panthers 24-22 Sharks. The Sharks are circling and there’s Panthers blood in the water. Here they come. Ramien puts in a great run, felled by Sorenson. Yeo puts in another try saver. Here’s the last tackle. Oh no! Trindall runs when he should’ve passed and they’re captured. That could be a crucial moment.
72nd minute: Panthers 24-22 Sharks. Penrith look a little wobbly and Dylan Edwards almost dfropped a bomb. He regathered the ball and some poise after a little juggle but the Panthers can’t get past halfway and the ascendent Sharks get their chance to continue this glorious momentum. Again Addin Fonua-Blake bends the line and looks to offload but keeps his composure. Kick goes up and the Panthers must fight it out from their goal line.
TRY! Panthers 24-22 Sharks (Fonua-Blake 68″)
The Sharks score! It’s GAME ON in Las Vegas. In the end Addin Fonua-Blake just grabbed the ball and powered to the line by sheer force of will. The former Warrior scores for his new side and, with a nailed conversion by Trindall, we have a thriller on our hands.
67th minute: Panthers 24-16 Sharks. Inside the final 15 minutes now and things have gone a bit frantic and messy at Allegiant Stadium, as tempers fray and skills slip. That was an awful flurry of errors by both sides. Who can regather their cool and score next? Cleary dribbles a little kick through but Sam Stonestreet regathers on the 20m and Nicho Hynes is swiftly by his side to conjure what might need to be a miracle play.
64th minute: Panthers 24-16 Sharks. Daine Laurie has dropped the ball under no pressure and now Cronulla are attacking in the red zone. Trindall to Nikora gets them two metres out and Addin Fonua-Blake is held up over the line. They reset. But no Ramien has lost it in the tackle. Hang on, Cameron McInnes will challenge this…
62nd minute: Panthers 24-16 Sharks. Again loose play by Liam Martin costs Penrith possession. Now Cronulla have their tails up but a terrible pass gives it back to Penrith. A terrible juggling effort by winger Paul Alamoti hands it back again. He’s in trouble under the high ball today.
TRY! Panthers 24-16 Sharks (Iro 58″)
Cronulla hit back! Again it was Braydon Trindall who sucked in the defenders and made the space and found Kayal Iro on his shoulder. The Sharks are back within eight points!
57th minute: Panthers 24-10 Sharks. Great take by Panther Daine Laurie denies the Sharks. He’s hurt but it’s been worth it. Liam Martin again rewards the Sharks by coughing it up on the rebound. While he’s cursing everyone Ronaldo Mulitalo has towed ahead. He fails to regather but the chance is still alive..
55th minute: Panthers 24-10 Sharks. Fourteen points down against a team hunting their fifth consecutive premiership. Can the Sharks respond? Liam Martin gifts them an offside penalty to give them a sniff of hope. Nicho Hynes goes to the line but an attempted Penrith intercept goes awry for the Panthers and sets up Cronulla 20m out.
TRY! Panthers 24-10 (Alamoti 52″)
Gorgeous footy from the Panthers! That was a sublime set play that began under the posts. Cleary didn’t run, he spun, showing the ball to two defenders and drawing them in before offloading to Dylan Edwards who found his winger Paul Alamoti flying into the right hand corner. It’s an acute angle for Cleary but he makes it four from four.
51st minute: Panthers 18-10 Sharks. Dylan Edwards leads the metre eaters with 161. Behind him are three more Panthers before a Shark appears in the frame. Now Willam Kennedy’s bravery at the back is rewarded with a smack across the chops from Liam Martin who collects him heavily on the ground as second man in. Martin grins a mouthful of blood and there’s a bit of a scuffle as Kennedy composes himself. End result is Penrith on the attack. Again.
TRY! Panthers 18-10 Sharks (Laurie 49″)
Beautiful long ball from Cleary, who is back on his feet after that fearful blow to his midriff, and then a lovely little double pump pass by Mitch Kenny sends Daine Laurie into the corner. The Panthers are now eight points up thanks to Cleary’s conversion.
47th minute: Panthers 12-10 Sharks. No try! Braden Hamlin-Uele was adjudged to have knocked on as he twisted and lunged for the line. Penrith rumble it out, calm and measured as ever even when Nathan Cleary’s kick is charged down. They recover and start a new set on the 40m line. Trouble for Cleary in backplay. He has copped a mighty blow to the ribs and the trainers are running out. His teammates take it within 10m.
45th minute: Panthers 12-10 Sharks. It’s an arm wrestle so far in this second half as both teams work through their sets without risking too much. Great charge now by Sharks big man Braden Hamlin-Uele who spins out of one tackle and breaks another to bustle 20m. That gives Hyndes room to manouvre. And the ref gifts the Sharks another set to boot. They go to the line and fall inches short but a fast play the ball finds Hamlin-Uele and he may have found line here…
43rd minute: Panthers 12-10 Sharks. Big Sharks cult hero Thomas Hazelton charges it back into the fray to get things going in the second half. He is unsigned for 2026 and has clearly lost even more hair over the period in limbo. Cronulla get just beyond the halfway before Penrith reel in the last-tackle kick and Liam Martin thunders it back. Braydon Trindall goes flying in the attempted tackle and may be hurt. Or is it just his pride?
HALFTIME: Panthers 12-10 Sharks.
We have a fantastic game on our hands here. The Sharks were wonderful early. They drew first blood through the fast hands of Nicho Hynes and the fast feet of Jesse Ramien who reeled in the kick. Cronulla No 1 William Kennedy then delivered two outstanding saves at the back to deny the premiers.
But the Panthers were not to be denied. They came on like a storm and stampeded to the lead with fast tires to Isaah Yeo and Izack Tago, the latter off a classic Nathan Cleary chip kick. At 12-4 it looked like Penrith might put a stranglehold on the game. Instead Sharks pivot Braydon Trindall switched the momentum yet again, matching Cleary’s kicking dexterity with a deft grubber for Briton Nikora to make it 12-10 at the break.
Second half coming up soon!
39th minute: Panthers 12-10 Sharks. Today’s crowd is officially 45,209 and they slump as one when Nicho Hynes knocks on from the kick off. Uh-oh. It gifts the Panthers a chance at a field goal. He’s 35m out. He strikes it… but doesn’t like it. It fades just left and we will go to the break at 12-10. An even half of football by two fabulous sides.
TRY! Panthers 12-10 Sharks (Nikora 37″)
Braydon Trindall has done it again. Brilliant play by the little playmaker as he jinks a little grubber in behind the line for Briton Nikora to grab the Sharks’ second try. He converts the try he created to bring the Sharks within two points.
35th minute: Panthers 12-4 Sharks. Good play by Nicho Hynes. He scurried out of dummy half and almost caught napping under the posts. His consolation is another set of six. Hazleton goes close to scoring but his held up without being put down. Siosifa Talakai pounds it back within range and her comes Braydon Trindall with the play…
32nd minute: Panthers 12-4 Sharks. Cronulla look tired. They battle to halfway before putting up the bomb. Edwards takes it cleanly under no pressure and darts back to the 30m line. Now it’s Luron Patea barging forward. It’s enough of a dent for Cleary to bomb it back. No contest in the air but the bounce favours Cronulla and they work out of trouble.
TRY! Panthers 12-4 Sharks (Tago 29″)
Try to Izack Tago! That was beautiful by Cleary who sensed Sharks fullback William Kennedy was out of the line, perhaps gassed after those great saves on the try line. Cleary saw the space and kicked a little kick over the top of the defensive line and Izack Tago surged in, caught it on the full and touched down. In the blink of an eye, the premiers are on top! Cleary adds the extras to make it 12-4.
27th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Lovely offload by Lindsay Smith gets Penrith back in the attack zone. This is trouble for the Sharks who are suddenly under siegge. They have the Sharks stretched and here comes Cleary with a set move kick over the top…
TRY! Panthers 6-4 Sharks (Yeo 26″)
Try to Isaah Yeo! That was a last tackle classic by the Penrith skipper. Sensing the momentum, the big man took matters into his own hands, scooped up the ball from dummy half and swerved around a couple of tired tacklers to touch down under the post. The premiers hit back and Cleary’s conversion gives them the lead!
25th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Another great save by Kennedy! Cleary put it on the boot in the quest for a 40-20 and looked to have nailed it before the Sharks fullback unleashed a desperate dive to bring it back into the field of play. Inspirational stuff.
23rd minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. No try! And that was all down to the desperate effort by William Kennedy who matched Lindsay Smith’s lunge with one of his own to knock the ball free just centimetres from the turf. Great trysaver by the head-banded fullback!
22nd minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Nathan Cleary appears to be targeting Shark Ronaldo Mulitalo with the high ball and it’s worked this time after Liam Martin’s chase so disorients Mulitalo that he knocks on in the leap. Here come the premiers now 10m out. Lindsay Smith charges to the line and reaches out… did he find the stripe?
20th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Uh-oh. Penrith have spilt it again and now the Sharks can attack from 30m out. Nicho Hynes has a dart out of dummy half before Oregon Kaufusi barrels into the line and coughs up the ball. Panthers race it to halfway but Dylan Edwards botches the play the ball and gives it back. Following that bad pass in the last set, that’s two errors in two minutes for the usually immaculate Edwards.
15th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. A sloppy offload by Panthers prop Lindsay Smith lets Cronulla off the hook and Sam Stonestreet flies down the sideline, making 40 metres. Nicho Hynes swoops in support and gets it left but the pass finds a backrower not a back and it all falls apart! As Warren Wok Ryan used to say, ‘What’s that trombone doing in the string section?’
12th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Jesse Ramien gives away a penalty for holding on too long in the tackle and the Panthers now get the ball back 35 metres out. Yeo spearheads the attacking wave but his backs don’t help much, throwing the ball behind each other twice before kicking into the hands of the Sharks.
9th minute: Panthers 0-4 Sharks. Cronulla have had more possession and done more with it. Penrith never look rattled though. Indeed, Liam Martin does some serious rattling of his own with powerful charge. Isaah Yeo takes the next carry and does well, bending the line but failing to break it. Cleary hoists it high but it’s taken safely and the Sharks battle upfield.
TRY! Panthers 0-4 Sharks (Ramien 4″)
The Sharks are in! Lovely movement to the right where the Panthers were stretched after McLean left the field and Nicho Hynes sensed the space and weighrted the pass perfectly to send Jesse Ramien crashing over.
3rd minute: Panthers 0-0 Sharks. Trouble for 18-year-old Casey McLean. He’s been hit high and hard and those few seconds on the turf is enough for the ref to call for an HIA. Sure enough, he goes off and Daine Laurie runs on. Here come the Sharks.
2nd minute: Panthers 0-0 Sharks. Panthers enforcer Liam Martin gets his first shirtfront of the season out of the way after Nathan Cleary kicks off and Addin Fonua-Blake charges into the teeth of the defence. A penalty gives Cronulla the chance to clear but they fail to find touch. Nervous start from the Sharks.
Sharks players are on Allegiant Stadium and here come the men in black, marching out to the ominous chimes of AC/DC’s Hells Bells.
Buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down, folks. We’re seconds from kickoff…
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has also shuffled his lineup too. The shoulder injury to Sione Katoa means Sam Stonestreet comes into the side on the wing. Jesse Ramien has recovered from his preseason ankle twinge and is good to go after missing the preliminary final loss to Penrith last year. He bumps Siosifa Talakai to the bench. All eyes will be on new Shark’s signing Addin Fonua-Blake who will be key to the start.
With a squad full of Origin stars and internationals, Nick Tedeschi is tipping big things for the men from the Sutherland Shire in 2025…
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has made no changes to his Vegas squad but it’s a different lineup to what we saw in 2024 and there’ll be more changes in 2025 as injuries, new recruits and the fabled Penrith juniors system play their part
Paul Alamoti will replace the injured Brian To’o (hamstring) on the wing while Luke Garner starts in the centres. Lindsay Smith is starting while high-profile recruit Isaiah Papli’i will come off the bench. Luron Patea is the fresh face on the interchange with Liam Henry (shoulder) not ready to go yet. Casey McLean will star in the No 2 jersey but his brother Jesse McLean will watch from the stands.
Are we about to watch the first step in a Panthers five-peat?
Thanks Megan! It’s now time for our final game of the quadruple-header: Penrith Panthers v Cronulla Sharks.
Here’s how the sides line up:
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Casey McLean 3. Izack Tago 4. Luke Garner 5. Paul Alamoti 6. Jack Cole 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Daine Laurie 15. Isaiah Papali’i 16. Matt Eisenhuth 17. Luron Patea 18. Brad Schneider 19. Mavrik Geyer 20. Jesse McLean 21. Luke Sommerton 23. Blaize Talagi.
Sharks: 1. William Kennedy 2. Samuel Stonestreet 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Kayal Iro 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Daniel Atkinson 15. Siosifa Talakai 16. Braden Hamlin-Uele 17. Thomas Hazelton 18. Tuku Hau Tapuha 19. Mawene Hiroti 20. Billy Burns 21. Jayden Berrell 22. Hohepa Puru
Full time: Jillaroos 90-4 Lionesses
What a game of rugby league. That must have felt like a slog for England pretty much from start to finish, but they can at least take something from that final try. The Jillaroos looked devastated that they let that try in at the end, I imagine the clean sheet was a big motivator for them, but I think that disappointment will fade pretty quickly.
This game showcased the importance of the professionalism on offer in the NRLW. The money the players make is frankly a pittance compared to their NRLM counterparts, but relative to what’s on offer in England, it’s a fortune. This is a pattern in many women’s sports, where Australia are often the first to invest, which leads to almost unstoppable dominance. It will be interesting to see if those in power in English rugby league take anything away from this match and make the decision to invest more heavily in their women’s competition.
TRY! Jillaroos 90-4 Lionesses (Roach 69′)
Finally England are on the board. Roach gets through the Australian defence with a nice dummy, then fights off two more defenders to stretch out and reach the line. Her conversion attempt hits the post, so no extra points to be added.
69th minute: A mistake from Sergis early in the set gives England one more chance to salvage something from this match with a scrum feed 20m out. They nearly give up the ball, but manage to get it back with six more tackles.
GOAL! Jillaroos 90-0 Lionesses (Aiken 66′)
Aiken kicks another from right in front in a clinical display.
TRY! Jillaroos 88-0 England (Joseph 65′)
Higgins finds some space and gets the ball to Apps, who breaks the line, dummies left, passes right and Joseph is in space and scores under the post.
GOAL! Jillaroos 84-0 Lionesses (Aiken 64’)
Another opportunity right in front for Aiken and she makes no mistake.
TRY! Jillaroos 82-0 Lionesses (Sergis 63′)
Sergis runs a perfect line to cut through the English defenders and score her third.
65th minute: The Jillaroos get a seven tackle set – not what England need right now at all. They’re looking less clinical with some loose passes, but England manages a touch, that restarts the set for them.
62nd minute: Robinson makes an uncharacteristic error, dropping the ball from the kick off and England get a scrum feed 20m out. They’re throwing everything at this opportunity, but the Jillaroos are determined to cut off every scoring opportunity. Roach’s kick goes dead in goal.
GOAL! Jillaroos 78-0 Lionesses (Aiken 59′)
Another successful kick for Aiken and the Jillaroos power on.
