Jamal Idris returned to his bustling best while Matt Moylan pushed his case for a NSW jersey as Penrith rubbed salt into Gold Coast’s wounds with a 40-0 NRL win on Saturday.

Idris crossed for three tries as the Panthers produced a mixed performance for fans at Carrington Park in Bathurst.

While the first half was a poor advertisement for rugby league, marred by errors and penalties, Idris bullied his opponents on the left side while Moylan had a hand in almost all of the Panthers’ big plays.

Former NSW Origin representative Idris opened the scoring for the Panthers when he ran over the top of James Roberts in the 21st minute.

And his next two four-pointers were almost carbon copies as he used his size and power to carry several opponents over the try line.

Idris’s performance was his best since taking a month-long break from rugby league last year to address depression and alcohol abuse after he failed to turn up to training after a mid-season break.

Moylan ended the game with two line breaks and three try assists, setting up Idris’s first and third before sending Dean Whare over for his second in a display that would have pleased Blues coach Laurie Daley to no end.

The Titans were again missing five players, including Dave Taylor and Greg Bird, who have been stood down because of cocaine charges.

However they were terrible with the ball in hand – failing to complete a set of six from the 55th minute onwards – and did not apply pressure after being denied two early tries by the video referee.

Both sides were scrappy in an uninspiring first half before the Panthers ran away with the contest, scoring six tries in the second 40 minutes.