NO WORRIES FOR ORIGIN PLAYERS BACKING UP
The harsh reality is that South Sydney needed Greg Inglis to play in light of the club’s string of losses and Adam Reynolds being out with a shoulder injury following Origin.
Equally Penrith were desperate for Matt Moylan and Josh Mansour to back up so they could keep in touch with the top eight as we enter the back end of the season.
Inglis was in beast mode last night in an attempt to lift his side to victory. If targeting Dylan Walker in Origin wasn’t satisfying enough, Waqa Blake was taught a valuable lesson as he marked up against the 29-time Maroons Origin star.
It was a big night for Mansour. On top of re-signing with Penrith until the end of 2018, ‘Sauce’ scored one try and was involved in sniffing out a Rabbitohs play right on full time. He also made the second best metres for his side in victory.
Moylan’s confidence and maturity has evolved in 2016. It’s been a big year with captaincy and Origin honours. A beautiful pass to set up Dallin Watene-Zelezniak set up the Panthers first. Moylan continues to develop his skills around getting more touches in attack instead of being part of the back line.
SAM BURGESS STANDS UP
There’s been a lot of criticism about Sam Burgess’ return to rugby league in light of the offloading South Sydney needed to do to accommodate him within the salary cap.
His performance on Friday night was one of his better this season. Burgess was in the right place at the right time to score a double late in the game and like Inglis, really tried hard to lift his side to victory.
Inglis, Cody Walker and Sam were the best three by far for the Bunnies last night. 204 metres and thirty-five tackles wasn’t a bad night out for Sam.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DEAD SET UGLY
South Sydney’s night, maybe season can be summed up this way.
The Good – a fighting performance last night in a game where they desperately needed to win if they were any hope of finals footy.
The Bad – South’s defence let them down and Chris Grevsmuhl had the last laugh in the bitter feud that led to him leaving Redfern by scoring a crucial try.
The Dead Set Ugly – their attack was disjointed. A lack of urgency to get out of their own half led to some unhealthy gains in sets. Without Adam Reynolds, that part of their games needs improving. It was Luke Keary’s time to shine and he appeared to go missing at times.
CARDIAC KIDS JUST ONE WIN OFF BREAKTHROUGH
Another close victory for the Mountain Men last night as they recorded their second win at Pepper Stadium this year – their other two ‘home’ wins on the road in Bathurst and Christchurch.
It looked like with eight minutes left and up 28-14 that Penrith were going to breakthrough and put South Sydney away.
Panther fans might need to wait one more week for that to happen when they host the indifferent Wests Tigers in the local derby at ANZ Stadium.
This Panthers side is youthful with plenty of quality and will press for Premiership claims in the next couple of years. In time they will learn from games like this and close out games better.
Penrith can sniff finals footy with five wins out of ten from here to guarantee them a berth in September.
FROM THE SHEDS
No major injury concerns or players on report. Tyrone Peachey had a few bruises after hitting the fence attempting to keep the ball in play chasing a kick through.
SCOREBOARD
Penrith Panthers 28
Tries: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Josh Mansour, Leilani Latu, Nathan Cleary, Chris Grevsmuhl
Goals: Nathan Cleary 4
South Sydney Rabbitohs 26
Tries: Sam Burgess 2, Kyle Turner, Greg Inglis
Goals: Cody Walker 4
