The Panthers NSW Cup fought out a tough 80 minute draw at CommBank stadium on Friday afternoon against the Parramatta Eels.
Brad Schneider got the scoring underway in the 7th minute, reaching out close to the line after a sharp inside ball found him in space. Conversion successful, 6-0.
The Panthers were dominant for most of the start to the half, but a penalty gave the Eels a real chance to score, with two full sets inside the 20, but the Panthers defence held strong, even when a handful of overlaps were created.
It took 18 minutes for the Panthers to get their second, a backline shift to the left had Asu Kepaoa in space, and he did enough to beat his opposing man and score in the corner. Conversion successful, 12-0.
The Eels had their first points in the 30th minute, Morgan Harper scoring off a well placed Matt Arthur grubber in the left corner. Conversion successful, 12-6.
The score tightened up late in the half when an Eels shift to the right found the hands of Zachary Hunter, who threw a brilliant 4-man cutout to find the hands of Ethyn Martin, who had no one in front of him. Conversion successful, 12-10.
The kickoff for the second half went out on the full and the Panthers were immediately under pressure. Arthur threw a brilliant cutout ball to find Reece Alderton, who was over the line but spilled it before he could get it down, letting the Panthers off the hook.
The error was not capitalised on, the Panthers dropping it as they came out of their own end, and this time the Eels made no mistake, Hunter once again throwing a cutout for Ethyn Martins second try. Conversion unsuccessful, 12-14.
The Rain started to set in and so did errors, neither team getting into the opponent's redzone for a 15 minute period after the first Eels try.
Isaiah Iongi made a half break down the sideline on a kick return, and the Panthers rolled off the back of it, getting deep into Eels territory. Daeon Amituanai scored in the corner later in the set, Brad Schneider throwing a long cutout ball to find him wide open. Conversion unsuccessful, 16-14.
The Eels regained the lead with just 11 minutes to go, Sanders throwing an inside ball for Mulitalo who cut through the Penrith defence and stepped past Iongi to score in the corner, despite a brave try saving effort from Iongi. Conversion successful, 20-16.
A penalty 30 metres out and right in front in the very next set allowed the Eels to extend their lead out to a converted try, a high tackle the reason.
The Panthers got their chance to score with a full set attacking the Eels line, but an error gave the Eels relief.
It took until the 79th minute for the Panthers to finally get scores back level, Schneider putting Hassett through a hole before backing up on the inside to finish the try. Conversion successful, 22-22.
The final set saw no result, the final desperate kick from Jack Cole going dead after five tackles of struggling to find a hole in the Eels defence, sealing the draw.
