Panthers coach Ivan Cleary refused to blame Penrith’s loss on the omission of a host of Origin stars, instead likening his team’s performance to baking a cake without putting on icing.
The reigning premiers went down 16-6 in a tight affair at BlueBet Stadium, with the Cowboys refusing to lie down in the wet conditions.
With Brad Schneider and Jack Cole in the halves, Cleary was of the opinion their lack of points came down to the way they ended their sets whilst being in strong attacking positions.
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“We didn’t start too well… the first long range intercept and they scored off the back of that,” Cleary said in the post-match press conference.
“The rest of the night I felt like we were building towards something but never kind of… it was like baking a cake but having no icing.”
The Panthers were without Jarome Luai, Brian To’o, Liam Martin and Dylan Edwards after they were rested following Origin Game II.
Cleary explained that their omission played a part in his side’s lack of “connection” which ultimately cost them the game, being unable to orchestrate points.
“It’s definitely part of it, the connection wasn’t quite there tonight. Especially around the way we finished sets,” Cleary said.
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“If you aren’t really taking opportunities at the right time that’s a part of that. Credit to the Cowboys, they hung in there…. particularly when it’s 12-6 and you feel like you’re in a good space to do something.”
However, it was put to Cleary that the Cowboys were also missing players, and he refused to take the easy route and put the blame on their omission.
“Look I’m not going to sit here and say it’s all about the Origin players, it is about who played,” Cleary said.
“I would agree, they had like Chad (Townsend) and Drinkwater in the game tonight as well.
“They probably just handled all that stuff a bit better than us.”