The result was largely inconsequential, but Penrith coach Ivan Cleary claims the Panthers got what they deserved in 2014 after an epic last round 38-26 defeat of Manly at Brookvale Oval.
While the home side was more focused on who they would play in week one of the finals, the Panthers wanted to put an exclamation mark on a season of progress, finishing one win out of the top eight.
“It probably caps off where we’re at as a club – we’re not quite in the finals, but we’re not far off it as well,” Cleary said.
“If we had have come out here today and flopped around, got beat, I don’t think it would have really summed up our year.
“We’ve made some progress, it’s just the start of more to come – that’s the way we’re looking at it.”
Asked if a final round win over the Sea Eagles had left him thinking of what may have been had they had a little more luck, Cleary said:
“It’s a long year the NRL season, it goes on for six months.
“You basically finish where you deserve. We finished tenth, that’s where we deserve to be.”
A Manly win and they would have played South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday night, the loss actually proving a little more beneficial as they receive an extra day to prepare for Saturday night’s second part of the finals double header against minor premiers Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
Despite taking an early 16-0 lead, the Sea Eagles could never be accused of tanking, having fought back twice when the cause seemed lost in the second half.
For much of the first half the Sea Eagles appeared headed for a clash with the Bunnies, but the introduction of James Segeyaro changed the game as the home side went flat.
Three minutes after the break Penrith had the lead when Josh Mansour went over, the teams then trading tries as David Williams set up a thrilling finish with his second of the afternoon seven minutes from time.
Jamie Lyon’s sideline conversion locked it up at 26-all and what would have been an unwanted extra time for the Sea Eagles looked likely, until the Panthers produced a candidate for try of the year which finished with Luke Walsh kicking for an unmarked Dean Whare.
By the time Mose Masoe rumbled over in the last minute, it was clear the Sea Eagles had their minds on next week.
“Yeah, I think the players played accordingly,” Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey said of his players’ lack of focus.
“They were very flat and I also saw the Melbourne game and I thought they were flat as well.
“… if you don’t turn up prepared and ready to play, then you’ll be beaten and that’s what the Panthers did to us today.”