Match Report | Round 1

Fulltime: The Panthers have avenged last year's finals series exit against Brisbane in stunning fashion, inflicting the heaviest Round 1 defeat of a defending premier in NRL history. In fact, it was the biggest win against a premier in the opening round of the season since 1988 when the Broncos beat Manly 44-10 in the club's first game in the NSWRL Premiership. Even more impressively for the Panthers, who scored four unanswered tries, was that they kept Brisbane scoreless with a 26-0 shutout at Suncorp Stadium. Penrith's four-year premiership reign ended at Suncorp Stadium after a Broncos comeback but they never gave the 2025 champions a sniff in a comprehensive win led by Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards. Forwards Moses Leota, Lindsay Smith, Luke Garner and Isaah Yeo laid a platform for Cleary, Edwards and Blaize Talagi to play behind. The ruthless performance proved that the Panthers will again be contenders, while the Broncos premiership hangover continues after being beaten 30-24 by Hull KR in the World Club Challenge two weeks ago. 

75 min: Jenkins has scored the first try of the second half to put the boot into the Broncos. Panthers 26 Broncos 0

65 min: Hunt picked up a loose ball and raced down the sideline before passing to Payne Haas, however, he wasn't ready to receive the ball back from the veteran utility.

63 min: Willison has spilled a pass as he hit a hole. It's going to take something dramatic to change the outcome of this match now.

62 min: Great defence by the Panthers to hold up Staggs over the tryline.

61 min: It's now or never for the Broncos after Talagi spilled the kick off.

60 min: Cleary has extended Penrith's lead with a penalty goal. Panthers 20 Broncos 0

Crowd: 45,566

53 min: Walsh made a half break before putting Deine Mariner into space but four Penrith defenders rounded him up and carried him into touch.

51 min: Nothing is going Brisbane's way, with the Panthers successfully challenging a knock-on call against Jenkins to deny the Broncos a shot at their defensive line.

Halftime summary: Can the Broncos turn it on in the second half or is 18-0 against the clinical Panthers on a steamy night in Brisbane a bridge too far? For all the talk of starting well, the opening 40 minutes against the Panthers is a repeat of their World Club Challenge performance in Hull. On that occasion they trailed KR 18-4 at halftime; tonight they are down 18-0 after a mistake ridden first half against the team whose four-year premiership reign they ended. Both teams have made errors but the Broncos have completed just 11 of 18 sets compared to 19 of 26 by the Panthers. On the back foot, they have also conceded three penalties and four repeat sets. The Broncos came back to lose 30-24 against Hull KR and produced  a series of comebacks to reach last year's grand final but there was nothing in the first half to suggest they can do so again tonight.     

40 min: The Panthers have struck a huge blow on the stroke of halftime after five-eighth Blaize Talagi shrugged off Staggs and kicked across field for an unmarked Thomas Jenkins, who simply caught the ball and fell over the tryline. Cleary converted from out wide. Panthers 18 Broncos 0  

37 min: The Broncos had their best scoring opportunity of the half but secondrower Jordan Riki couldn't hold a short pass from Walsh.

32 min: Cleary has extended Penrith's lead with a penalty goal after a high shot by Ben Talty. Panthers 12 Broncos 0 

28 min: Kiwis forward Isaiah Papali'i has bombed a tryscoring opportunity in a let off for the Broncos.

26 min: The Broncos are just hanging on after a number of uncharacteristic errors that indicate they aren't communicating; none morso than Walsh kicking the ball into the back of a tired Xavier Willison.

20 min: Edwards made no mistake with the next chance he got, stepping around Gosiewski and beating Ben Hunt to score. Cleary converted. Panthers 10 Broncos 0

16 min: A disruptor penalty against Kotoni Staggs has let the Panthers off the hook and Luke Garner made a long range break after pushing off Jack Gosiewski but Edwards put down the pass.

15 min: Another Panthers error after Paul Alamoti lost the ball in a tackle 40m from Penrith's line after a booming Reece Walsh kick forced Dylan Edwards to run the ball from his own in-goal.

12 min: Cleary declined a penalty goal attempt in easy range and the Panthers attacked the Broncos line but the defence held firm and Kiwis prop Moses Leota lost the ball on the sixth tackle.

6 min: The Panther have opened the scoring through teen sensation Casey McLean. Nathan Cleary misses the conversion. Panthers 4 Broncos 0

Late Mail

Broncos: Ben Hunt will start at five-eighth with Ezra Mam moving to the bench. Cory Paix starts the match at hooker with Adam Reynolds at halfback and Reece Walsh at fullback. Brendan Piakura has fallen short in his bid to recover from off-season knee surgery and will miss the Round 1 clash with Penrith. Jack Gosiewski and Jordan Riki start in the backrow as a result.

Panthers: Thomas Jenkins and Isaiah Papali'i have come into the starting side, with centre Izack Tago and secondrower Scott Sorensen moving to the bench. Representative star Liam Martin has succumbed to a calf injury suffered in the pre-season and will miss Friday night's preliminary final rematch. Luke Garner comes into the starting side in the only change to the team that fell to Brisbane last September. Star halfback Nathan Cleary is free to take his place in the No.7 jumper after successfully fighting a high-tackle charge at the judiciary last week.

Numbers Game

• The Broncos have won seven of their last eight games at Suncorp Stadium.
• Panthers winger Paul Alamoti has scored eight tries in his last five NRL games.
• Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has scored five tries in his last four games at Suncorp.
• Panthers centre Izack Tago will reach the milestone of 100 NRL games
• The Broncos are aiming for their seventh consecutive NRL victory.

Warriors v Roosters at Go Media Stadium

Fulltime: The Warriors have put rival teams on notice that they will again be a premiership force after stunning the star-studded Roosters 42-18 before their loyal fans at a packed Go Media Stadium. The Warriors scored seven tries to three after going on with a dominant first half performance. Halfback Tanah Boyd was the star, scoring a try, laying on two others and kicking six goals for an 18-point haul.  

78 min: Nicholl-Klokstad has added icing to the cake with a try out wide. Boyd converted. Warriors 42 Roosters 18

76 min: Harris-Tavita has sealed the win for the Warriors after catching a short Boyd bomb and passing for the five-eighth to score untouched. Boyd converted. Warriors 36 Roosters 18

74 min: An unlikely Fisher-Harris intercept has got the Warriors out of trouble after sustained pressure from the Roosters on their line. 

73 min: Warriors back-up hooker Sam Healey has been forced from the field for a HIA.

60 min: Boyd has extended the home side's lead to 12 points with a penalty goal. Warriors 30 Roosters 18

56 min: This game isn't over after Sam Walker found the Warriors defence napping and put Tedesco into space before Crichton backed up to score. Walker converted. Warriors 28 Roosters 18

51 min: Billy Smith has been the Roosters best player and after setting up Tedesco's try he scored one himself by powering over the line from close range. Walker converted from out wide. Warriors 28 Roosters 12

48 min: Leka Halasima has come off the bench to score a spectacular try after leaping high to snatch a Boyd kick on the Roosters line. Warriors 28 Roosters 6 

42 min: Cherry-Evans appeared to have scored after putting down a loose ball in the Warriors in-goal but the Bunker ruled that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had ground the ball on the tryline before it came loose.

Halftime summary: The Warriors are dominating possession and they have made the most of it to race in four tries to win in a hectic opening 40 minutes. The Warriors have completed 23 of 26 sets compared to just eight of 13 completed sets by the Roosters (61%) as ill-discipline with the ball and in defence is cruelling the visitors. The error count is 8-3 against the Roosters and they have also conceded six penalties and six set re-starts. The Warriors have made them pay with some razzle dazzle football, with halves Tannah Boyd and Chanel Harris-Tavita controlling the game.  

35 min: Harris-Tavita has put the Warriors further ahead after Tuivasa-Sheck picked up a loose pass from Boyd and turned the ball inside for the Samoan playmaker to dive over the line. Boyd converted from the sideline. Warriors 22 Roosters 6

34 min: Angus Crichton has been placed on report for dangerous contact on Boyd after he kicked.

29 min: The Roosters are continuing to infringe, and the Warriors are continuing to make them pay, with Boyd combining with Chanel Harris-Tavita, who sent Capewell racing into a hole to score. Boyd converted. Warriors 16 Roosters 6.

24 min: Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors have made Nawaqanitawase pay for his indiscretion after the 2019 Golden Boot winner batted back a Boyd kick for Kurt Capewell, who put winger Adam Pompey over in the corner. Warriors 10 Roosters 6.

23 min: Samoan hooker Benaiah Ioelu, who is having a whale of a game, has been denied a try after racing through to pick up a loose ball off Tuivasa-Sheck's head due to interference from Mark Nawaqanitawase. 

20 min: Tedesco has been warned that the Roosters are set to have a player in the sinbin after conceding five consecutive six-agains and two penalties. Boyd missed a penalty goal attempt after Angus Crichton was pinged for hands in the face in a tackle. 

16 min: The Roosters have gone coast-to-coast after a break by centre Billy Smith to lay on a try for captain James Tedesco, who crossed for his 150th career try. Sam Walker converted. Warriors 6 Roosters 6

15 min: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been bundled into touch by Roosters winger Fetalaiga Pauga as he set sail for the tryline.

12 min: Tannah Boyd has opened the scoring as the Warriors capitalise on a glut of early possession. The Warriors halfback dummied and beat Roosters star recruit Daly Cherry-Evans to score. Boyd has converted. Warriors 6-0 

8 min: Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris has been penalised for dangerous contact.

The Roosters have suffered a massive blow on the eve of kick off with Spencer Leniu suffering a hamstring injury in the warm-up. Blake Steep started in his place. There are also reports that centre Tommy Talau suffered a knee injury in NSW Cup.

Late Mail

Warriors: Alofiana Khan-Pereira was the last man to come out of the squad and made his club debut in the NSW Cup curtain-raiser. Englishman Morgan Gannon is in the mix for an NRL debut and is part of the six-man bench. Marata Niukore has fallen short in his bid to recover from a calf injury suffered in the pre-season, however Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (hamstring) and Chanel Harris-Tavita (calf) will take their place in the team on Friday night. 

Roosters: Game day changes in the pack with Spencer Leniu starting at prop, Naufahu Whyte sliding to lock and Blake Steep going to the bench. Salesi Foketi is the last man to drop out of the squad 90 minutes before kick-off and played NSW Cup, scoring the last of the Roosters' 10 tries. Centre Rob Toia (foot) dropped out on Thursday and was replaced by Junior Pauga.

Numbers Game

• The Warriors have won only one of their past four Round 1 games.
• The Roosters have won eight of their last nine games against the Warriors.
• James Tedesco requires one try for a century for the Roosters and 150 for his career.
• Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will make his 150th appearance for the Warriors.