Penrith Panthers 32–6 New Zealand Warriors — Qualifying Final, 2023 NRL Finals Series
9 Sep 2023 · BlueBet Stadium, Penrith, NSW · Attendance: 21,525
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2023 NRL finals series: Penrith Panthers 32–6 New Zealand Warriors, at BlueBet Stadium, Penrith, NSW on 9 Sep 2023.
Sourcing caveat: Sources vary by a minute or two on several try times; the penalty goal's exact minute was not identified in sources found. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 4′ | Penrith Panthers — try, To'o |
| 20′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Martin |
| 27′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Turuva |
| 56′ | New Zealand Warriors — try, Egan |
| 62′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Turuva |
| 70′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Cleary |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: To'o 4'; Martin 20'; Turuva 27'; Turuva 62'; Cleary 70' Goals: Cleary (5/5 conversions); Cleary — penalty goal (first half) |
| New Zealand Warriors | Tries: Egan 56' Goals: Pompey (1/1 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Penrith Panthers | New Zealand Warriors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Edwards | Fullback | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 1 |
| 2 | Sunia Turuva | Wing | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 2 |
| 3 | Luke Garner | Centre | Rocco Berry | 3 |
| 4 | Stephen Crichton | Centre | Adam Pompey | 4 |
| 5 | Brian To'o | Wing | Marcelo Montoya | 5 |
| 6 | Jack Cogger | Five-eighth | Dylan Walker | 6 |
| 7 | Nathan Cleary | Halfback | Te Maire Martin | 7 |
| 8 | Moses Leota | Prop | Addin Fonua-Blake | 8 |
| 9 | Mitch Kenny | Hooker | Wayde Egan | 9 |
| 10 | James Fisher-Harris | Prop | Mitchell Barnett | 10 |
| 11 | Scott Sorensen | Second Row | Jackson Ford | 11 |
| 12 | Liam Martin | Second Row | Marata Niukore | 12 |
| 13 | Isaah Yeo | Lock | Tohu Harris | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tyrone Peachey | Jazz Tevaga | 15 | |
| 15 | Lindsay Smith | Bayley Sironen | 16 | |
| 16 | Spencer Leniu | Josh Curran | 17 | |
| 17 | Zac Hosking | Freddy Lussick | 18 | |
| Ivan Cleary | Coach | Andrew Webster | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Adam Gee |
Match report
Penrith Panthers overwhelmed an error-prone New Zealand Warriors 32-6 at BlueBet Stadium on 9 September 2023, moving a step closer to a historic three-peat. The defending premiers struck early through winger Brian To'o inside five minutes, then extended the margin with tries to Liam Martin and Sunia Turuva to lead 20-0 at half-time, aided by a Nathan Cleary penalty goal after the Warriors conceded a ruck infringement. New Zealand, playing in just their second finals appearance in over a decade, struggled to generate attacking ball against a dominant Panthers defence. The Warriors finally got on the board through hooker Wayde Egan in the 56th minute, but Penrith immediately snuffed out any comeback hopes, with Turuva grabbing his second try and Cleary crossing late to complete a commanding win. Cleary finished with 16 personal points and 188 running metres, as Penrith secured a home preliminary final.