With eyes on the NRL minor premiership, records continue to tumble at Penrith after thumping Cronulla 38-12 at Panthers Stadium on Friday night.
Extending their club-record winning streak to 10, the Panthers took another step into the premiership limelight as they made light work of a scrappy Sharks side.
Now three points clear at the top of the ladder and a favourable draw on their side, the Panthers are on track for their third minor premiership in club history.
But aside from their usual slew of stars, rising gun Liam Martin caused nightmares for the Sharks defence as he terrorised five-eighth Matt Moylan.
On a high after extending his contract for another two seasons earlier in the week, the 23-year-old twice cruised past Moylan – once to set up a try for Brent Naden and again to score himself with half an hour to play.
His two strips also turned the tide in the Panthers’ favour, although not much went the way of Cronulla.
The visitors were dealt a huge blow in the lead up to the game with halfback Shaun Johnson ruled out with a groin injury.
The Kiwi international leads the NRL with 20 try-assists this season and the Sharks missed his direction with ball in hand.
Replacement half Braydon Trindall took his chances, but 14 errors made fluency impossible for the Sharks, who have yet to beat a current top-eight side this season.
He was later smashed late and without the ball by Panthers second-rower Viliame Kikau, who could face the wrath of the NRL’s match review committee for the shot.
The Sharks scored just once each half through Jesse Ramien and Connor Tracey as the Panthers maintained the pressure from a 22-6 halftime lead.
Kikau, Stephen Crichton and Jarome Luai all scored, while winger Josh Mansour celebrated his 150th NRL match with a double.
The Panthers are now practically perfect from their last 10 games.
And forget scoring within the first 20 minutes of a match – the Panthers have not conceded a point in the opening quarter since round one against Sydney Roosters.
It’s the longest stretch since records were kept in 1980.
Their 10 wins in a row is equal longest for any side during the regular season – the last team to do it was the Sharks in 2016.
The top-placed Panthers now have a wonderful run in to the finals, playing only Parramatta from the top eight in the final five weeks.
Next week they face Wests Tigers at Penrith, followed by Brisbane, Eels, North Queensland and Canterbury.
The Sharks, meanwhile, remain in seventh place and will play North Queensland on Saturday next week.