The Panthers recorded two thrilling victories in the Junior Reps competition at St Marys Leagues Stadium.
SG Ball
Great conditions down at St Marys Leagues Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the SG Ball Panthers defeating the Melbourne Storm 32-26.
Jenson Tuaoi and Harry Wald were standout players for the home side, with Tuaoi a constant threat from dummy half and Wald coming up with some big plays at crucial times during the game.
Melbourne opened the scoring with a fast break down the sideline, an infield kick into goal finding the hands of Ivana Tuafuti. Conversion successful, 0-6.
The Panthers hit back against their opposition straight away with a cross field kick landing in the hands of Poutoa Hotere-Papalii offloading to Ej Vaoliko-Savesi who scored out wide. Conversion unsuccessful, 4-6.
A smart break through the ruck from Jenson Tuaoi was nicely offloaded to Kye Raven, who drew Melbourne’s fullback allowing for Jack Attard to run away and score under the post. Conversion successful by Attard, 10-6.
Only minutes later Melbourne were back in possession. A high kick from the away side saw the Storms Hugo Peel out jump the Panthers taking the ball through to cross the line. Conversion unsuccessful, 10-10.
A quick tap from the 20 by Harry Wald saw the winger show a clean set of heels and power the length of the field, bringing the score to 14-10. Successfully conversion, 16-10.
With 7 minutes in the half remaining, missed tackles again proved costly with the Storm making easy metres against the home side. Melbourne’s Harrison Hill burrowed his way under the Panthers defence from dummy half to score. Conversion successful, 16-16.
Some nice offloads by the Storm saw the team find themselves over the line yet again, with Hugo Peel earning his second try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful, bringing the score to 16-20 to end the first half.
Kicking off the second half, the Panthers side was struck by a mounting injury toll with most of the backline playing out of position, but a determined Jenson Tuaoi charged his way over the line to even up the scores. Conversion successful by Harry Wald, 22-20.
Fancy footwork by Ioane Lui brought the Storm within metres of the try line, with a quick pass seeing the away side crash over the white line on the next play. Successful conversion, 22-26.
Shortly after, a dropped ball from a Panthers kick off was swept up by Poutoa Hotere-Papalii, with the centre coming close to scoring. Quick hands across the backline took the play to the left attacking side, with Liam Perrarm diving over the line to bring the Panthers back in front. Conversion successful, 28-26.
With 4 minutes remaining in the half, a strong tackle by Penrith’s defence forced yet another dropped ball by the Storm, with Zaid Lehn scooping up the ball and outpacing the opposition to cross the line. Conversion unsuccessful, 32-26.
With a minute remaining and the Storm chasing a try to level the scores, the Storm made a break down the sideline only to be met by the strong cover defence of Harry Wald who forced the Melbourne centre out of play and sealed the win for the Panthers.
FULL-TIME: 32-26.
Harold Matthews
The Harold Matthew’s Panthers wrapped up their season in a nail biting finish, claiming victory over the Knights 28-24.
Penrith opened the scoring at St Marys League Stadium with Hunter Bell executing a beautiful in and away move at speed which proved too much for the Newcastle defence. Bell brought the score to 6-0, successfully converting his own try.
The Panthers then found themselves defending inside their own half for a lengthy period of time, with multiple unforced errors and missed tackles gifting the Knights strong field position. The pressure eventually told with Ryder Crosswell claiming the away side's first points, out jumping the Panthers to score from a kick. Conversion successful, 6-6.
Moving their way out of their own half the Panthers set up strong attacking plays, determined to break through the Knights line and it was Penrith backrower Leo-Stipe Latu who did exactly that, leaping above the Newcastle defenders then quickly offloading to Cedric Peti Tafola who powered his way over the line. Unsuccessful conversion, 10-6.
With two minutes remaining in the half the Knights were back across the line, with Austyn Ah Toon-Hotene scoring under the posts. Conversion successful, taking the scores to 10-12 at half time.
The Panthers were back on the attack only to see an attacking kick bounce in favour of the Knights, with Newcastle’s fullback Toby Winter running the length of the field to score. Conversion from the sideline successful, 10-18.
A dropped ball from the kick off saw the Panthers straight back on the attack with Talmage Brown powering his way over the line. Conversion in front of the post successful, 16-18. With momentum firmly with the Panthers, a strong attacking effort led to another try out wide with Jayden Carter diving into the corner to put the team back in the lead. Another sideline conversion successful by Bell, 22-18.
Three minutes left on the clock and the Knights made a break through the middle, narrowly outpacing the Penrith defence to the line. Conversion successful, 22-24.
With 40 seconds remaining in the game Penrith opted for a short kick off, landing in the hands of the Penrith captain Hunter Bell who threw a massive dummy to send the Knights defence the wrong way and raced away to score in the corner, much to the delight of the parochial home crowd. Putting the icing on top of the cake, Bell successfully converted his own try from the side
line. Sealing victory for the home side, 28-24.
FULLTIME: 28-24
