Penrith's youngsters have warned the NRL the Panthers' dominance might continue for a while yet, beating Parramatta 22-16 in a trial game with just one of their grand-final heroes in the lineup.
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Fielding a number of players from last year's NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg-winning sides, the Panthers showed their future remains bright.
Among the Panthers stars was winger Jesse McLean, who celebrated his recent upgrade to the 30-man NRL squad with an impressive try, chasing down a loose ball and gathering his own grubber.
Of those on the field, only Jaeman Salmon, Zac Hosking and Sunia Turuva are expected to feature in the Panthers' round-one side, with Turuva set to fill in for winger Taylan May who is serving a two-game ban.
Second-rower Mavrik Geyer, another depth option to impress with a flick pass setting up the match-sealing try, said the players had been keen to live up to the club's high standards.
"(Coach Ivan Cleary) just told us to keep it simple, it's a good opportunity for us young blokes to play some big minutes in a tough game," he told Fox Sports.
"When you're training with the likes of Liam Martin, Nathan Cleary running at you, trying to defend their shape, it only makes you a better player.
"(Ivan Cleary) doesn't care who you are, as long as you put a Penrith jersey on he makes sure you have a crack and the standards go throughout the club."
Penrith's lineup featured just one player, Salmon, from their grand-final winning outfit, with the big guns expected back for next weekend's World Club Challenge against Super League champions St Helens.
Parramatta started with gun back-rower Shaun Lane and forward Ryan Matterson, who will sit out the first three games of the season through suspension.
Matterson was close to the Eels' best player, running for 115m, while former Wests Tiger Zac Cini made the most of his opportunity with 115m and two tries.
Headline off-season recruit Josh Hodgson - who tore his ACL in the opening minutes of the 2022 season with Canberra - played his first game for Parramatta but did not make much of an impact outside of throwing an interception Penrith returned for a 95m try.
"We just blew the cobwebs out and played some footy, there's nothing too concerning really," Lane said.
"We've got another trial next week and a bit more time to get things right come round one.
"The difference in our game this year is probably going to come through our defence ... if we get that right and get towards the top one or two teams in the league ... that's where we can hopefully go that one step further."
Panthers hooker Luke Sommerton opened the scoring with a dummy-half dash, while young centre Tom Jenkins sprinted the length of the field after picking off Hodgson's pass for a try of his own.
The contest was far from high-quality, with errors littered throughout a match played in sweltering conditions in Sydney's west.
Australian Associated Press
