Penrith get NRL job done against Warriors

Jul 14, 2017 - 10:45 PM Weeks ago, poring over their calendars, Penrith Panthers marked a thick circle around the date July 14, 2017.

The Warriors, in frigid Auckland. The toughest of NRL away days.

Now, with a solid 34-22 win to take back across the ditch, young playmaker Nathan Cleary and his teammates can begin to dream of finals football.

On the brink barely two months ago, the Panthers have turned around a 2-7 early-season record to win six of their past eight games and sit just two points outside the top eight.

"We pencilled this one in as a tough away trip, we needed the two points. So to come away with those points is essential," Cleary told reporters.

"A couple times this year, we've fallen behind and kind of lost our confidence and then the game's gotten away from us, but tonight we stuck in."

Should the Panthers sneak into this year's finals, they'll mostly have their prodigious 19-year-old halfback, in just his second year of NRL footy, to thank.

Cleary was near flawless in his side's win on Kiwi soil, bagging a hat-trick of tries, kicking five from six and running the show in the absence of linchpin Matt Moylan and injured Trent Merrin.

He even laid on a pair of assists on his old stomping ground, having grown up around Mount Smart Stadium during father Ivan's Warriors coaching stint.

Nevertheless, Cleary put his classy display down to the solid work of his forwards, who steamrolled their Warriors counterparts after Shaun Johnson's 62nd-minute injury.

Winnable fixtures now follow against the Gold Coast, Canterbury and Wests Tigers.

"Them getting forward and leaving the markers down in the ruck, and I could just come over the ball - I think I was pretty lucky tonight," Cleary said.

"We're starting to get settled, building a game plan we can play off, so I think the main thing is getting the simple things right.

"I'm just stoked for the boys."

Source: AAP