"We just couldn't control them": Holbrook opens up on Panthers' dominant first half

09/15/2024 11:52 PM

Sydney Roosters assistant coach Justin Holbrook has given a brutally honest assessment of his side's 30-10 qualifying final loss against the Penrith Panthers on Friday night.

Penrith came out of the blocks firing in the first 23 minutes, running out to a 22-0 lead whilst dominating both facets of the game.

The Roosters were left stunned and didn't find a footing in the game until after the halftime break when the visitors' comeback efforts fell well short in the end.

When reflecting on the game, Holbrook didn't hold back in his opinion but gave plenty of praise to a dominant Penrith outfit.

"Penrith came out and blew us off the park, didn't they," Holbrook said on SEN 1170 Afternoons.

"That first 20-odd minutes was fantastic from them, we didn't handle it and we found ourselves down 22-0 and chased the game down from there.

"(Daniel Tupou) nearly came down with a try right on half time which would've been great, then we started the second half really well, we just gave them too much of a lead, Penrith are too good a side, another tough day for us."

The Panthers dominated the Roosters in the middle of the park and forced multiple uncharacteristic errors from some of his side's experienced players, something Holbrook admitted was a big issue.

"The boys are ready to play obviously, we know it's a semi-final and we know Penrith are a fantastic side, so we were ready to go," Holbrook added.

"We dropped a couple of balls early in the game, they just had a mountain of possession and we just couldn't control them.

"We're not happy about it but I think they just got the jump on us, we couldn't recover and it probably took until halftime to get our breath back to get going again."

The Roosters play host to the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday night with the winner facing the Melbourne Storm in a preliminary final.