A second-half raid saw the Penrith Panthers SG Ball team steal the win from the South Sydney Rabbitohs 40-22 at BlueBet Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Standout performances from fullback Timothy Sieff-Burns and winger Nick Murphy saw the home side score 28 unanswered points in the second half to seal the win.
Off the back of two set restarts the visitors were the first to open the scoring. A perfectly weighted grubber kick landed in the in-goal area for second rower Ryan Casey to gather and score the first four pointer of the day.
The conversion from halfback Brent Hawkins was unsuccessful with the ball hitting the post and being waved away.
The home team hit back quickly through a line break seeing the Panthers march up the field with the ball being passed to prop Jakeb Vailalo who crossed just next to the posts.
Winger Jirah Liddiard’s first conversion of the day was successful taking the score to 6-4.
The Rabbitohs received a line dropout, which placed them in Panther’s territory. A set play saw the ball shifted to the left creating enough space on their left wing for winger Haizyn Mellars to cross over in the corner.
Hawkin’s boot was more accurate on his second attempt, successfully converting Mellars try.
A handful of errors from both teams saw each side struggle to gain momentum.
The Rabbitohs found their feet close to half time, working their way up the field to be only 10 metres out from Penrith’s try line.
Centre Bailey Scholes capitalised on space within the Panthers defensive line, busting through defenders to cross over for Souths third try.
Hawkins’s conversion from close to the sideline was successful taking the lead out to ten points.
The Panthers hit back just before half time off the back of two penalties which granted them with great field position. The ball was sent to the left, with winger Nick Murphy collecting an offload to cross over in the corner.
The conversion from Liddiard was successful closing the gap to only four points heading into the break.
HALF-TIME: PANTHERS 12 – RABBIOTHS 16
The Rabbitohs opened the scoring early in the second half with winger Cooper Mclaren diving over in the corner in the opening five minutes of the second half.
Hawkins' kick was right on target successfully kicking his third conversion of the day taking the score to 22-12.
A strong attacking set from the Panthers saw the home team attacking on the Rabbioths line. A late offload saw fullback Timothy Sielaff-Burns step through the defensive line to score his first four pointer of the day.
Liddiard’s conversion was successful taking the score to 18-22.
With momentum on their side the Panthers continued to pile in the points, with Sielaff-Bruns chasing the kick on the fifth tackle, kicking it once more down field before regathering the ball and putting it down next to the posts.
The conversion from Liddiard to take the lead was waved away keeping the score at 22-all.
The home team took advantage off the back of the kick off, finding space out on the left wing. The ball was quickly shifted out to second rower Hudson Brown who capitalised off space within the Souths defensive line, crossing to take the home team out in front.
The conversion was successful extending the home teams lead to eight points.
A linebreak from Nick Murphy saw the Panthers winger race down the field to bring the Panthers only 30 metres from their try line.
Another hole in Souths defensive line, allowed utility Riley Pollard to find enough space to sprint past defenders, breaking through the line to cross over to extend the Panthers lead out to 10 points.
Another successful conversion from Liddiard saw the score be taken out to 34-22.
The Panthers continued on the attack, testing the Rabbitohs in defence however once again proving to be too strong for the visitors with five-eighth Luke Hanson crossing over for another four pointer.
Liddiard extended the score out to 40-22 with another successful conversion.
The Panthers sealed the win, keeping the Rabbitohs scoreless for majority of the second half.
FULL-TIME: PANTHERS 40 – RABBITOHS 22.
