Mitch Dransfield reviews the Panthers against the Cowboys in Penrith for the last match of round 10. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 4th | Try Jarome Luai (Penrith) | Penrith 4-0 |
| 35th | Try Hamiso Tibuai-Fidow (North QLD) | Scores tied 4-4 |
| 42nd |
Try Daejarn Asi (North QLD) |
North QLD 8-4 |
| 43rd | Goal Kyle Feldt (North QLD) | North QLD 10-4 |
| 48th | Try Brent Naden (Penrith) | North QLD 10-8 |
| 50th | Goal Nathan Cleary (Penrith) | Scores tied 10-10 |
| 58th | Try Stephen Crichton (Penrith) | Penrith 14-10 |
| 60th | Goal Nathan Cleary (Penrith) | Penrith 16-10 |
| 80th | Try Nathan Cleary (Penrith) | Penrith 20-10 |
| 80th | Goal Nathan Cleary (Penrith) | Penrith 22-10 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
The home side – with the chance to go top of the ladder – started off the match with great enthusiasm. Gathering momentum with second-phase play, the Panthers created a repeat set off a Jarome Luai grubber. In the fourth minute, a weighted kick from Nathan Cleary found a high-flying Stephen Crichton, who skillfully batted the ball back for Luai to jig past the defence and score the opening try. Penrith, with all the field position in the opening stages. didn’t convert their chances and allowed a momentum to shift for the Cowboys to gather territory in the opposition half. With five minutes left the visitors finally got an equaliser with stand-in fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow: he journeyed through the middle, bumping off three defenders and backing himself into the corner, levelling it at four-all at half time.
2nd Half
The Cowboys – after Penrith were penalised early in the second half – saw debutant Daejarn Asi score an early four-pointer to go up 10-4. Errors from North Queensland after points allowed the Panthers to shift the ball right through their spine players and get Brent Naden a try in the corner to level it at 10-all after 50 minutes. Forcing more errors in defence by Penrith gave an opportunity in the 58th minute to Stephen Crichton, after their 10th offload of the game, to move into the lead 16-10. A nervous finish to the game eventually saw proceedings finish with Nathan Cleary breaking through the Cowboys’ line to score a solo try – that had been brewing all match – and have the Panthers winning 22-10.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
This game was a back-and-forth affair, but the highlight goes to the young debutant who was certain to be coming off the bench until game day. After halftime, the five-eighth Daejarn Asi skipped off his left foot to back himself with a dummy close to the line which sent his side into the lead.
SQUADS
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Josh Mansour 3. Dean Whare 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brent Naden 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Tyrone May 15. Spencer Leniu 16. Moses Leota 17. Billy Burns
Cowboys: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Connelly Lemuelu 4. Esan Marsters 5. Justin O’Neill 14. Daejarn Asi 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh Mcguire 9. Reece Robson 10. Francis Molo 11. Shane Wright 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 6. Mitchell Dunn 15. Tom Gilbert 16. Gavin Cooper 19. Reuben Cotter.
