Sorensen's tackle could be season-defining: Panthers
Sorensen provided a hero's play late in the Panthers' win over the Tigers on Sunday, rushing from the other side of the field to stop Jahream Bula inches from the line.
Prop Lindsay Smith then provided a similar effort on the next set, getting back to help deny Bula again with the Panthers leading 18-14.
The Panthers' win meant they finished the round in 13th spot but just one point out of the top eight, after a horror start to the season had them sitting last after 12 rounds.
Penrith players saw similarities between Sorensen's effort, and Viliame Kikau's famed effort to hold Melbourne's Justin Olam up after the siren in the Panthers' 2021 grand-final rematch.
Kikau's desperate play has for years helped Penrith set the standards for success, and teammates believe Sorensen's effort on Sunday can have a similar effect.
"We'll look back on that as a pretty defining moment. It was huge," fellow second-rower Liam Martin told AAP.
"I remember the (Kikau) one, where he slid and held (Olam) up over the line.
"It's just those little plays that you just value ... They're just little plays that probably not a lot of people notice, but they get so valued in our team.
"It gives you so much confidence when you see stuff like that happening, your teammates doing that, and you just build energy off it."
Penrith face a tough run ahead to keep their season revival on track, with a trip to Auckland without State of Origin players after the bye.
They then face Canterbury off a five-day turnaround, before having the Bulldogs again, Melbourne and Canberra on their run home.
Martin admitted the Panthers may have lacked that kind of desperation in their game as they went 2-6 to start the season, a point Nathan Cleary agreed with.
"That's probably been the difference between winning and losing games," Cleary, who was involved in both tackles on Bula with Sorensen and Smith, said.
"At the start of the year we weren't doing that at all and it was biting us in the butt a fair bit.
"That's what we want our DNA and identity to be like. And we definitely applaud plays like that.
"Then it starts to become something that happens just by DNA ... there were even a few of those last week (against Parramatta) as well."
Sorensen, for his part, dodged the praise after Sunday's win.
"It's no different to anyone else in this team," he said.
"It's just doing your job, and tonight was my time to do my job. It's as simple as that."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Luke Garner: We had a line in the sand moment that has turned everything around
Penrith is starting to hover ominously behind the top 4 on the NRL ladder after notching a 6th straight win in round 20. Second rower Luke Garner (22:38) puts it down to a serious chat that the whole senior group had 6 or 7 weeks ago that decided training intensity had definitely dropped. Garner told Andrew Moore and the team that they've really stepped up their defensive effort but he couldn't throw too much light on his own playing future. Luke Lewis had a bit to say on the immediate future of Newcastle bound Eel Dylan Brown (32:11). Plus catch up on all the latest Rugby League news - and speculation - in MC's Hammertime (40:04).
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Souths lose their most in-form player; Brian To'o to play on with knee injury
In a complete contrast to Souths, Penrith could be at full strength next weekend. While Ivan Cleary can dare to dream about a fifth straight title, Bennett will be relieved to get through a game – or training session – without a player going down. Souths lost strike weapon Latrell Mitchell to a quad injury at Thursday's captain's run. He will miss a month. Bennett did not need reminding he was already without Cody Walker (hamstring), Cameron Murray (achilles), Campbell Graham (back), Brandon Smith (knee), Davvy Moale (wrist), Bud Sullivan (leg) and Jye Gray. How many rival NRL teams would be seriously in the premiership hunt if they were missing a similar number of players? Jack Wighton was also placed on report for a high shot on Edwards, which will result in an $1800 fine if hit with a grade-one careless high tackle charge by the match review committee on Saturday morning – but a two-match ban if deemed a grade-two offence. Who knows what is behind the shocking number of injuries that have rocked the Bunnies. Some fans are convinced it has something to do with the move away from their spiritual base at Redfern to Heffron Park in recent years. The club reviewed their training programs earlier this year and were none the wiser. Good luck trying to work out who will be fit to take the field against Cronulla next Saturday. The Bunnies are busted. The best thing about them will be whether Alex Johnston can close in on Ken Irvine's long-standing try-scoring record. Johnston's try just before full-time moved him to 207 career tries – five short of Irvine's 212. Johnston was Souths' main attacking threat in the first half. In the next three weeks, Penrith meet the Wests Tigers, Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle – all winnable games on paper – before a Thursday-night bell-ringer against old foes Melbourne. The only knock is their lousy crowds at their makeshift Parramatta home. There were 11,836 fans on Friday night, allegedly. But who cares? At least most of the Panthers' players are fit. Brian To'o confident latest injury no concern Brian To'o, arguably the game's best winger, suffered a fresh cork to his left knee, but vowed to keep playing for Penrith, and declared: 'You'll always be busted and bruised, but never broken.' The premiers made it six wins on the trot when they defeated South Sydney 30-10 on Friday night, with the sight of To'o coming from the field with 20 minutes remaining the only concern. To'o injured his left hamstring earlier this season, then suffered a grade-two lateral ligament tear in his left knee against the Bulldogs, which limited his preparation heading into Origin III for NSW. Panthers medical staff were confident To'o the latest scare would not require scans, and he was likely to play against the Wests Tigers next Saturday. Penrith are one of the few NRL teams that have no players in the casualty ward, with Liam Martin (wrist) and Izack Tago (suspension) to return next weekend, while Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary were given the weekend off. Cleary trained at Penrith on Friday morning while being joined by Matildas' partner Mary Fowler. As for To'o and concerns about his knee, he said late Friday: 'It was a bit of a stir-up. It's the same injury, there was just a bit of a knee clash. 'It was a bit of a touchy feeling; it was definitely on the right spot. 'I'll always back myself to keep going. 'It's part of the job [to keep going]. You'll always be busted and bruised, but never broken.' Coach Ivan Cleary said of To'o: ''Biz' can't seem to get through a game without some sort of trauma, but he should be OK.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not true at all': Jason Ryles sets record straight about Dylan Brown
Loading For the first time in his short head-coaching career, Parramatta coach Jason Ryles became agitated when questioned if the Eels had got it wrong axing $900,000-a-year man Dylan Brown to 18th man to blood young talent for 2026. Brown started at hooker, was benched, and finished last weekend's game against Penrith at lock forward, only to then be completely overlooked for Saturday's trip to Canberra. Rather than waste the next eight weeks with an out-of-form playmaker who will join Newcastle on a ten-year, $14m deal next year, Ryles wants to give some vital experience to Brown's potential No. 6 replacement Joash Papalii. The fact Parramatta are unlikely to feature in finals football, and Papalii already at the club, makes it easier for Ryles to drop Brown. Former international forward Mark Geyer said this week on 2GB that Parramatta 'had put their cue in the rack' by snubbing Brown and focusing on 2026 – in July. 'I think it's taking the 'p' out of the fans and the supporters; I get what they're doing with young Papalii by putting him before all others, but you can't put a loss ahead of a win in any type of sport you play,' Geyer said. Brad Fittler added on Nine's Freddy and the Eighth that Eels fans paid good money to watch the highest-paid players like Brown, who was still on the payroll the remainder of the year – and at an average $75,000 a month. 'I can't understand why you would throw Dylan Brown to the wilderness, when everyone wants to see him play; he's part of the salary cap and taking up a huge part of it – make it work,' Fittler said. Ryles said he had spoken to Brown about his plans to possibly axe him in favour of planning for the future, and even gave him the opportunity to try and join the Knights before the June 30 transfer deadline.
