The New Zealand Warriors have had their season ended by the Penrith Panthers in Auckland on Saturday afternoon.
The four-time defending premiers were excellent throughout a grinding type of performance against the home side, before scoring a couple of tries late to kick the scoreboard away.
The Panthers were led by Nathan Cleary, who controlled the contest with his kicking game, but was backed up superbly by Blaize Talagi, while the back five set the tempo with metres run, and Isaiah Papali'l led the charge from the bench to be rated as one of the best on ground.
Leka Halasima, despite some late errors, was among the best for Andrew Webster's side, and would have been further ahead of his teammates if not for the issues late. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Jackson Ford, who topped the tackles, also had strong games, but there were far too many middle of the road performances for the Auckland-based outfit.
New Zealand Warriors
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad - 8
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak - 6
Adam Pompey - 5.5
Leka Halasima - 8
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - 7
Chanel Harris-Tavita - 5
Tanah Boyd - 6
James Fisher-Harris - 6.5
Wayde Egan - 6
Jackson Ford - 8
Kurt Capewell - 5.5
Marata Niukore - 6
Erin Clark - 7
Te Maire Martin - 6
Demitric Vaimauga - 5
Tanner Stowers-Smith - 5
Samuel Healey - 5
Penrith Panthers
Dylan Edwards - 7
Paul Alamoti - 8
Izack Tago - 7
Casey McLean - 7
Brian To'o - 8.5
Blaize Talagi - 7.5
Nathan Cleary - 9
Moses Leota - 6.5
Brad Schneider - 6
Lindsay Smith - 7
Scott Sorensen - 6
Liam Martin - 6.5
Isaah Yeo - 8
Luke Sommerton - 5
Liam Henry - 6
Isaiah Papalii - 8.5
Luke Garner - 6
