Penrith avenged their opening round loss to Brisbane with a 15-4 win at Suncorp Stadium in an entertaining and intense match to open the NRL’s Indigenous Round.
Result
Penrith Panthers 15
Tries: (2) Sunia Turuva 12th; Nathan Cleary 50th
Goals: (3) Nathan Cleary 13th, 22nd, 51st
Field Goals: (1) Nathan Cleary 80th
Brisbane Broncos 4
Tries: (1) Selwyn Cobbo 59th
Goals: (0)
Report
The Broncos had the early running of the game with their intense defence giving Penrith absolutely nothing, and their attack giving themselves a big field position advantage. But when Penrith got their first real opportunity of the match in decent territory they made it count in the 12th minute – Sunia Turuva finished off a move with Jarome Luai continuing his fine form from the previous week with the final pass. Nathan Cleary converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead against the run of play.
Not long after James Fisher-Harris was put on report for a cannon ball tackle; the Penrith prop had seemed to be earmarked for special attention from the Broncos from the start.
Penrith should have gone further ahead a few minutes later through some Cleary magic, but the try went begging as Moses Leota had the ball knocked out over the tryline by Kurt Capewell. They added two not long after through a penalty after an electric few minutes of play, which included Penrith going on the attack downfield while a scuffle broke out 50 metres away. Somehow enough Broncos players got back in time to stop a try being scored.
By now, the momentum of the game had shifted to the premiers, and they missed another two chances to extend their lead: with Scott Sorenson knocking on as he slid in to score after a Reece Walsh error, and Stephen Crichton scoring from a Cleary kick but denied for a Zac Hosking touch in the bomb contest. Penrith probably should have also scored just before half-time, but the Broncos defended heroically as they kept themselves in the game at 8-0 by half-time.
Penrith, helped by errors in bad field position by the Broncos, had the upper hand to start the second half and they made it count in the 50th minute. The try was all Cleary as he jinked instead of the anticipated pass close to the line and scored almost untouched. He converted to extend the score to 14-0 and become the youngest player to 1,300 points.
The Broncos looked to have hit back a few minutes later for their first try of the game, with Reece Walsh finishing off a line break from Jock Madden, but it was denied for a knock-on in the lead up. They scored for real in the 59th minute through Selwyn Cobbo, who was on the end of a pin-point cross-field kick into space by Walsh. Kotoni Staggs missed the conversion and the score remained 14-4. Brisbane could have edged closer minutes later when Staggs appeared to score, but a duel between referee Adam Gee and The Bunker ended up overruling the try for interference by Walsh in the bomb contest.
That no-try decision seemed to sap the Broncos a little as the Panthers grinded out the rest of the second half, mostly in Broncos territory. Errors crept into the match, as the players understandably tired after an intense match. Although Walsh almost inspired a late threat to the Panthers’ comfortable lead with a chip, chase, and re-gather that eventually found Ezra Mam, and the ball eventually found the ground via a knock on. Cleary had time for a field goal on full-time for Penrith to run out 15-4 winners.
With the number of disallowed tries this game could have ended up with any old scoreline, but it had a finals feel about it, and based on tonight’s performances these teams are every chance to meet again in September.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
2 – Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)
1 – Dylan Edwards (Panthers)
