Penrith Panthers have punished Parramatta Eels to clinch back-to-back NRL premierships with a clinical performance at Sydney.
Parramatta scored two late tries, but the result was never in doubt for the reigning champions, as they ran out 28-12 winners in front of a packed-out Accor Stadium.
After beating their opponents in the first week of the playoffs, the Panthers were expected to dominate and did exactly that.
Kiwis forward Moses Leota set the tone with crunching hits in the early exchanges, including one on Eels winger Mako Sivo.
The Panthers needed just over 10 minutes to open their tryscoring account, with centre Stephen Crichton cutting inside from the righthand sideline to dot down.
Panthers lock Liam Martin was a handful for the Eels defence, with strong carries and trademark fends to keep them busy.
The Eels were unable to cope with the pace of the Panthers, as star winger Brian To'o rode the tackle of Clint Gutherson to put his name on the scoresheet.
Gutherson was then guilty of kicking the restart out on the full, which allowed Nathan Cleary the easy shot at goal to extend the Panthers lead.
Cleary troubled the Eels last line of defence the entire game with clever grubber kicks in behind, including one that allowed lock Scott Sorensen the easiest of pickups to grab another Panthers try for the 18-0 lead at halftime.
To'o didn't take long to grab his second, albeit in controversial fashion, with Viliame Kikau seemingly obstructing Mitchell Moses in the lead-up.
Momentum was well and truly with Penrith, as Clearly won a captain's challenge for an initial strip to win the ball back for his team.
But just as it looked like the Eels were building a rare attack, Sivo coughed up the ball with the tryline begging, after a trademark devastating run down the left wing.
Down 22-0, Parramatta were forced to play a more expansive game and it almost paid off, if not for a last-ditch tackle from fullback Dylan Edwards on Bailey Simonsson, rolling him into touch, much to the delight of his teammates.
If his defence wasn't enough, Edwards then orchestrated the Panthers' game-sealing try, drawing in Sivo to put Charlie Stains in for the score.
Cleary was a constant presence for the Panthers on attack, but was unable to grab the elusive 50th career try, losing the ball just short of the chalk in his attempt.
The Eels finally penetrated a tiring Panthers defence with two late tries to Gutherson and Jake Arthur, with NZ Kiwis forward Isaiah Papali'i having his hand in both.
But it was a case of too little, too late, as Penrith sealed their second NRL premiership in two years.
Panthers 28 (Crichton, To'o 2, Sorensen, Stains tries; Cleary 3 conversions & penalty) Eels 12 (Gutherson, Arthur tries; Moses 2 conversions)
