Edwards nightmare helps Storm sizzle in the central west
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A nightmarish outing for Dylan Edwards at the back and similar horrors for the rest of Penrith's star-studded spine have consigned the top-four fancies to a 32-2 loss to bogey side Melbourne.
Six errors for Edwards, two of which led to Storm tries, should have the rising young fullback waking in a cold sweat despite freezing conditions in Bathurst on Saturday night.
The Panthers No.1 did not struggle alone, NSW Origin halfback Nathan Cleary also endured a rough night at the office and hooker Sione Katoa appeared to have a dislocated finger popped back in by Panthers medical staff.
Match: Panthers v Storm
Round 3 -
home Team
Panthers
14th Position
away Team
Storm
1st Position
Venue: Carrington Park, Bathurst
Cameron Munster's killer instinct meantime shone clear as day amid Penrith's nightmare, the Storm five-eighth pulling off three one-on-one strips on both Edwards and Cleary as well as bagging the first try of the night.
That four-pointer should give Graham Annesley some fodder during his weekly media briefing on contentious calls, as Josh Addo-Carr seemed to bump Dallin Watene-Zelezniak illegally off the ball in the lead-up.
A fumble from the Kiwi international was doubled by another from Edwards, Munster cleaning up the scraps for Melbourne's opening salvo.
Melbourne registered penalties, errors and not much else for the following 20 minutes as Penrith enjoyed nine of the next 11 sets in enemy territory, only for their own sloppy handling to bring them undone.
Addo-Carr honours grandfather
The Panthers returned the favour and then some, finishing with 17 mistakes in total and a 56 per cent completion rate.
While a Cameron Smith penalty goal paid homage to Penrith's dogged goalline defence before halftime, Edwards' third error afterwards simply twisted the knife.
Brodie Croft's relentless kick chase brought the 23-year-old undone, his knock on sitting up simply for the Storm half and a 14-2 advantage.
A left side raid in the 53rd minute had Josh Addo-Carr over for his first four-pointer in 2019, while Marion Seve charged through some flimsy middle defence for his first NRL try with 10 minutes to go in only his second match.
Seve gets first NRL try
Jesse Bromwich did likewise late just to add a little more salt to Penrith's mounting wounds.
As a result of their 18th win from their last 20 starts against Penrith, Melbourne find themselves in familiar surroundings atop the NRL ladder.
Ivan Cleary meanwhile turns out against familiar faces in his former Wests Tigers side next Friday with an unflattering 1-2 record, and plenty to keep him up at night.
