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 waitย 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. ย In time they will learn from games like this and close out games better.
Penrithย can sniff finals footy with five wins out of ten from here to guarantee them a berth in September.
NO WORRIES FOR ORIGIN PLAYERS BACKING UP
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.
The result was another nail-biting win.
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.
BRYCE CARTWRIGHT SET FOR ORIGIN DEBUT?
With the State of Origin series decided and calls for a mass-cull with the New South Wales side, Bryce Cartwright could be the third Panther to debut for his state this year.
Last night he was involved heavily in attack, having a hand in most of our tries. ย His defence is still an issue in missing five tackles and tops the most missed tackles for the club this season with 49, ahead of Jamie Soward on 43.
It’s a defensive risk that might be worth taking according to the Fox Sports rugby league panel in their post game wrap as Bryce offers so much in attack.
FROM THE SHEDS
No major injury concerns or players on report. ย 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:ย Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Josh Mansour, Leilani Latu, Nathan Cleary, Chris Grevsmuhl
Goals:ย Nathan Cleary 4
South Sydney Rabbitohs 26
Tries: Sam Burgess 2,ย Kyle Turner, Greg Inglis
Goals:ย Cody Walker 4
