The Panthers have suffered a major injury blow just two weeks out from the NRL finals, with five-eighth Jarome Luai dislocating his shoulder in Parramatta’s 32-18 victory on Thursday night.
Four tries to Maiko Sivo — including a first half hat-trick — and two Clint Gutherson tries either side of half-time helped the Eels silence a sold out Panthers stadium of 21,525 supporters.
Tyrone Peachy, Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Tom Jenkins all scored for the Panthers, although with three of those scores coming in the final quarter of an hour, they were little more than consolation.
- ScoreCentre: Check out the stats and data from the Eels’ win here
Of greatest concern for the Panthers though will be the availability of Luai for finals.
Luai fell awkwardly on his extended left arm as he attempted to dive over and score a try, with the Eels’ Bryce Cartwright tackling him to hold him up over the line.
The five-eighth immediately left the field and, although Fox Sports reported that the shoulder was put back in the sheds, the 28-year-old will remain a doubt for the rest of the season, with the finals starting in two weeks time.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary described the injury as “decent” and would not be drawn on the severity until his playmaker had undergone scans, but said training staff were “fairly positive about the potential of it”.
“We’ll know a bit more tomorrow,” he said.
“There’s often a lot of injuries at this time of year in and around finals.
“Whatever happens we’ll come up with a plan from there.”
The Panthers looked utterly lost in attack and were easily picked off in defence with Luai off the pitch until the closing stages of the contest, although rested fullback Dylan Edwards will return to boost the team.
It was clear Jarome Luai was in a lot of pain instantly.(AAP Image: Dan Himbrechts)
“It’s pretty embarrassing to be honest,” a miffed Nathan Cleary told ABC Sport.
“I can’t remember the last time we put in a performance like that.
“We just didn’t win enough moments tonight when things weren’t going right. We didn’t show enough resilience.”
Parramatta though, put their disappointing season behind them with a staggering performance, ending an eight-match Penrith winning run and opening the door for Brisbane to claim the minor premiership.
“I dunno whether to laugh or cry, because we’re going to miss out [on finals] by a game,” Eels coach Brad Arthur told reporters after the match.