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Lang laments Penrith shocker
By Greg Prichard
May 23, 2005
Panthers 22 Sharks 30
Penrith hit rock bottom yesterday. Their coach, John Lang, was talking about this season when he described it as their lowest ebb, but going back further it was perhaps their worst performance since they won the premiership in 2003.
The scariest thing is that although the Panthers know they are playing poorly, they can't seem to figure out why. They don't know why there isn't enough hunger, enough urgency, enough talk. Constant mistakes breed a lack of confidence, just like winning breeds confidence, and for most of yesterday's game the Panthers erred.
Cronulla, as well as they have played this season, came to Penrith Stadium available to be beaten if history had any say in it.
The high-flying Sharks were without NSW halfback Brett Kimmorley, the player who means at least as much to them as any player does to any team in the competition. Yes, that includes Andrew Johns and Newcastle.
Their winning percentage when Kimmorley is in the team is far superior to that when he is not there, and the only other time the Sharks had been without him this season they were smashed 46-20 by a 12-man Manly side at Brookvale Oval.
But the Panthers didn't seem to know how to get the job done and Cronulla, who were always going to be willing, discovered very early on that they had a real shot at winning - and they ran with it.
Even after Cronulla's second-choice halfback, Adam Dykes, left the field for good five minutes before half-time because of a calf injury, Penrith couldn't turn it around. The Panthers did go from trailing 22-6 early in the second half to 22-18 with almost half an hour to go, but that was as close as they got. Penrith fullback Rhys Wesser was sin-binned in the 63rd minute and that saw the wind go out of them.
Penrith suffered several teams scoring 40-something points against them last season, but scores can blow out like that in the modern game without it being a complete disaster for the losing team, as the opposition gets a roll-on. Melbourne put 66 on them in one game, but the Panthers had a host of stars out that day.
Yesterday's score obviously doesn't look like a complete disaster on paper, but in reality what Penrith dished up was awful, and they knew it. After their forwards had produced a big push to win a scrum against the feed and set up a try for five-eighth Preston Campbell to open the scoring in the seventh minute, it all went downhill.
When it was suggested after the game that what he had just witnessed must have been pretty disappointing, Lang replied: "Yep, very disappointing. That was probably our lowest ebb, in the first half. Then they got [halfback Adam] Dykes injured and we put ourselves back in position, but we still couldn't go on.
"There's no point in panicking, but our confidence was down and I think you could see that. It's up to me to instil confidence in the guys and it's up to them to play well enough to instil confidence in each other."
Penrith halfback and captain Craig Gower added: "Defensively, we just haven't got the hunger and I don't think we have the confidence in each other to do our job out there.
"It's disappointing, because I know we can do it, but it's just not happening for us. We're not tackling well enough and not running with enough aggression. We trained great, but that's the thing. We train great, but then we go out there and we don't put it together."
Lang said he couldn't describe his frustration, other than to say "it doesn't feel good".
"All we can do is keep working at it," he said. "We've tried a lot of different things, but there are no guarantees in football or life. We just have to keep nutting away and stick together. Hopefully, we'll get it to turn around before it's too late."
It remains to be seen whether the Panthers will be required come finals time, but the Sharks continue to shape as premiership contenders, and they were excited by the fact they were able to get one up despite Kimmorley's absence.
The Sharks spilled blood along the way, centre Nigel Vagana receiving 15 stitches and hooker Matt Hilder 10, both in head cuts. Dykes, usually five-eighth, will probably miss two games with his injury.
"People said we couldn't win without Noddy [Kimmorley]," said Cronulla coach Stuart Raper. "But if you are going to be a good side in this competition then you can't afford to be a one-man side, and I don't think we are."
By Greg Prichard
May 23, 2005
Panthers 22 Sharks 30
Penrith hit rock bottom yesterday. Their coach, John Lang, was talking about this season when he described it as their lowest ebb, but going back further it was perhaps their worst performance since they won the premiership in 2003.
The scariest thing is that although the Panthers know they are playing poorly, they can't seem to figure out why. They don't know why there isn't enough hunger, enough urgency, enough talk. Constant mistakes breed a lack of confidence, just like winning breeds confidence, and for most of yesterday's game the Panthers erred.
Cronulla, as well as they have played this season, came to Penrith Stadium available to be beaten if history had any say in it.
The high-flying Sharks were without NSW halfback Brett Kimmorley, the player who means at least as much to them as any player does to any team in the competition. Yes, that includes Andrew Johns and Newcastle.
Their winning percentage when Kimmorley is in the team is far superior to that when he is not there, and the only other time the Sharks had been without him this season they were smashed 46-20 by a 12-man Manly side at Brookvale Oval.
But the Panthers didn't seem to know how to get the job done and Cronulla, who were always going to be willing, discovered very early on that they had a real shot at winning - and they ran with it.
Even after Cronulla's second-choice halfback, Adam Dykes, left the field for good five minutes before half-time because of a calf injury, Penrith couldn't turn it around. The Panthers did go from trailing 22-6 early in the second half to 22-18 with almost half an hour to go, but that was as close as they got. Penrith fullback Rhys Wesser was sin-binned in the 63rd minute and that saw the wind go out of them.
Penrith suffered several teams scoring 40-something points against them last season, but scores can blow out like that in the modern game without it being a complete disaster for the losing team, as the opposition gets a roll-on. Melbourne put 66 on them in one game, but the Panthers had a host of stars out that day.
Yesterday's score obviously doesn't look like a complete disaster on paper, but in reality what Penrith dished up was awful, and they knew it. After their forwards had produced a big push to win a scrum against the feed and set up a try for five-eighth Preston Campbell to open the scoring in the seventh minute, it all went downhill.
When it was suggested after the game that what he had just witnessed must have been pretty disappointing, Lang replied: "Yep, very disappointing. That was probably our lowest ebb, in the first half. Then they got [halfback Adam] Dykes injured and we put ourselves back in position, but we still couldn't go on.
"There's no point in panicking, but our confidence was down and I think you could see that. It's up to me to instil confidence in the guys and it's up to them to play well enough to instil confidence in each other."
Penrith halfback and captain Craig Gower added: "Defensively, we just haven't got the hunger and I don't think we have the confidence in each other to do our job out there.
"It's disappointing, because I know we can do it, but it's just not happening for us. We're not tackling well enough and not running with enough aggression. We trained great, but that's the thing. We train great, but then we go out there and we don't put it together."
Lang said he couldn't describe his frustration, other than to say "it doesn't feel good".
"All we can do is keep working at it," he said. "We've tried a lot of different things, but there are no guarantees in football or life. We just have to keep nutting away and stick together. Hopefully, we'll get it to turn around before it's too late."
It remains to be seen whether the Panthers will be required come finals time, but the Sharks continue to shape as premiership contenders, and they were excited by the fact they were able to get one up despite Kimmorley's absence.
The Sharks spilled blood along the way, centre Nigel Vagana receiving 15 stitches and hooker Matt Hilder 10, both in head cuts. Dykes, usually five-eighth, will probably miss two games with his injury.
"People said we couldn't win without Noddy [Kimmorley]," said Cronulla coach Stuart Raper. "But if you are going to be a good side in this competition then you can't afford to be a one-man side, and I don't think we are."
