The Panthers turned up allright and then after half time slipped slowly and then more rapidly down that slippery slope into a deep hole from which they could never recover.
We all saw Ritchie make some costly mistakes in defence but significant comfort could be found in his attack. If he can tidy up his defence, you have a remarkable player on your hands. Putting his body on the line may assist.
But once again a game marred by bad refereeing and poor officialdom.
Even Payton admitted he caught forward passes en route to scoring and the Tigers were off-side for most of the night. Other than that, they were absolutely white-hot.
I doubt anyone could have beaten them with that second half display.
But its back to square one for the Panthers. Apalling defence in the second half, cowardly at times, no proper cover, missed tackles, failure to nail the ball carrier.
I cant see them winning any more games this year unless things change markedly and unashamedly.
I suppose its time to bring in Adamson, nothing to lose.
Also I think its time to revisit the question as to whether Elliot is as well suited to the job as once thought.
Not on the basis of the single loss, not because he is a bad coach- but there is a question mark as to whether the boys are responding to his coaching.
I doubt they did anything in the second half he asked them to do. Thats not neccessarily the players fault. Communication breakdown is usually two way street.
A loss to break the toughest of the Panther's hearts.
Dissapointing.
But points will gather again for the Penrith Panthers.
Never give up and never abandon your side when the chips are down. They need their fans to be strong for them.
