Penrith remain on top of the VB NSW Cup competition table after defeating Wentworthville 16-0 at Regional Stadium in the north coast town of Port Macquarie on Saturday night.
The heavens opened up with rain before the start of the game and continued when both sides ran out for the kick-off.
The wet weather conditions made it difficult to control the football but it took the Panthers six minutes to open the scoring after the Magpies failed to hang on to a kick and Tupou Sopoaga was able to cross wide out. Will Smith failed to convert but Penrith were ahead 4-0.
The game turned into an arm wrestle, but the Panthers managed to extend their advantage in the 28th minute when they kept the ball alive on the last tackle. The ball was thrown out wide before Will Smith placed a kick that ricocheted off a Magpies player. Isaac John scooped up the ball and slid over for the try adjacent to the posts to extend their lead to 10-0.
Wentworthville hooker Kaysa Pritchard went close to scoring from dummy half but the ball came out in the process of trying to get the ball over the try line.
Down 10-0 at half time, the Magpies needed to score first and had plenty of possession to do so. Joseph Paulo went close to scoring in the 46th minute but was held out by desperate defence from the Panthers.
Penrith were in again after 52 minutes of action when they spread the ball wide and Will Smith slid over for the four pointer. The try scorer landed a magnificent touchline conversion to give the Panthers a 16-0 lead.
Wentworthville were camped in the Penrith half for most of the final quarter but were their own worst enemies with too much dropped ball and poor kicking giving them limited chances to score any points.
The win saw the Penrith Panthers sit atop the VB NSW Cup ladder as stand-alone leaders while the Wentworthville Magpies are now in last place after Manly defeated North Sydney in Tamworth.
The Magpies travel to Belmore Sports Ground this weekend to take on the in-form Canterbury while Penrith will host the Newcastle Knights at Pepper Stadium.
Penrith 16 (Tupou Sopoage, Isaac John, Will Smith tries; Adrian Davis, Smith goals) bt Wentworthville 0
