Roosters - Panthers - Trial
report

The Roosters went down to the Penrith Panthers by 34 points to 12 earlier tonight in their second and final pre-season trial of 2005.

It was an unhappy night for the Roosters with the scoreboard not being the only negative to come from the match.

A big crowd of close to 18,000 fans converged on the Gold Coast to see their heroes in action.

Unfortunately they were treated to a fairly unexciting 80 minutes of football, with the Panthers taking an early lead through some tries from kicks, and then maintaining their lead into lead at half time and full time.

The Roosters were steamrolled in the forwards in defence, and struggled to gain any continuous momentum in attack. This resulted in pressure on the halves combination of Firman & Finch who came up with plenty of errors.

Finch's night didn't get any better, as a broken bone in each of his hands was discovered during the half time break. The injuries ruled him out of the second half, but as yet his recovery time is unknown. Keep an eye on the site, as details will be posted here as soon as any announcement is made.

The Panthers went into the half time break at 22-6, and continued their dominance in the second half to finish the game at 34-12.

On a positive note, Stuart Webb was outstanding - the best player on the field for the Roosters. Adrian Morley and Anthony Tupou also performed very strongly in a beaten side.

Iosia Soliola also handled the occasion very professionally, so expect to see a lot more of him as the season progresses.

In other news, the Roosters won both their Premier League and Jersey Flegg matches comfortably. Luke Ricketson will be available to play in Round 1, as he served the 3rd week of his suspension in Premier League tonight.