Panthers too strong for the injury-ravaged Warriors at Suncorp

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Warriors v Penrith Panthers

The injury-ravaged Warriors couldn't hold on for long enough to prevent the Panthers from walking away with the two points in a 30-16 defeat at Suncorp Stadium.

The Panthers started brilliantly with a try in the opening minutes courtesy of a Viliame Kikau charge down who then collected the ball to score untouched. However, Penrith struggled to get into the game until late in the opening term.

The Warriors started to show their skill, scoring the next two tries as Wayde Egan opened the scoring for his side after Matthew Lodge returned him the ball after making a line break. Rocco Berry quickly added to the scoreboard after Reece Walsh isolated him with Brent Naden.

Unfortunately, the Warriors suffered injuries to some of their key players in the first half. Tohu Harris, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Egan all took to the sideline during the opening half with respective injuries. This caught up with the Warriors as Penrith started to gain some momentum.

Brin To'o was the man to bring the Panthers level after Tyrone May threw a looping ball out to his winger who did the rest, finishing it tidily in the corner for his ninth try of the season. The Panthers would add to this with five minutes remaining in the half as Matt Burton bounced outside his opposite man as he received the ball and put Kikau threw a gap for his second try of the night.

The injuries to the Warriors look to be catching up to them now and it'll be a tough second half for the home side if they continue to play with three men down.

Penrith picked up from where they left off scoring the first three tries of the second half as they ran away with the victory. A double to Charlie Staines and a try to Liam Martin was too much for the Warriors to come back from.

The injuries sustained in the first half impacted the Warriors ability to keep up with the Panthers during the second half. Which showed when Staines scored his second try as the Warriors were struggling to get set in the defence as the Panthers made multiple line breaks.

Reece Walsh was able to grab a consolation try in the final 10 minutes which at least gave the Warriors fans something to cheer about but they were unfairly hurt by injuries over the course of the match.

It's an important win for the Panthers as they strive to stay level with the in-form Melbourne Storm despite missing both Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai. Meanwhile the loss for the Warriors leaves them two wins outside the eight with just seven games to play.