The Panthers moved to within one win of the top eight with a gutsy victory in driving rain, but the Rabbitohs were every chance until the 71st minute, when full-back Lachlan Coote confirmed the home side's triumph with a lucky, but intelligent piece of play.
Coote found Masada Iosefa on his inside with a clever ball, but the replacement utility dropped the ball cold.
However unbeknownst to the player himself, and Rabbitohs back rower Chris McQueen who had a chance to clean up, Iosefa had managed to fortuitously drop the ball onto his foot, constituting a kick.
Coote chased through and grounded the ball, while McQueen - expecting to hear the referee's whistle - did not do a thing.
The video referee showed the green light and the Rabbitohs lost any chance of what seemed like a possible comeback after they had fought hard to cut the margin to just a converted try.
Rabbitohs coach John Lang says his team's failure to clean up the final try was "unprofessional" and believes they did not give themselves a chance.
"That just shows a lack of commitment and I think a lack of professionalism from the guys who were involved in it," he said.
Souths full-back Rhys Wesser would also be ruing a moment midway through the second 40 minutes when he burst through, but chose not to pass to a flying Issac Luke, who might have scored under the posts.
Panthers forward Luke Lewis sent New South Wales State of Origin selectors a strong message in setting up the Panthers' 16-4 half-time lead and also having a hand in the final try.
Lewis was only one NRL match back from injury when the Blues side was picked for Origin I, and he was subsequently left out.
However, the experienced representative player has stormed into contention for Origin II.
Lewis says he is crossing his fingers for an Origin call-up.
"I'd love [to play in Origin II], playing for your state, there's nothing better," he said.
"I thought the boys who played on Wednesday night - the whole 17 - played great and put in a good performance ... I can't see them changing the team, but if I got the opportunity I'd take it with two hands."
Lewis was a constant threat for the Panthers on the left-hand side of the field and scored the first try.
James Roberts and Luke scored for the Rabbitohs but crafty play from Panthers half-back Luke Walsh - who set up tries for Trent Waterhouse and Adrian Purtell towards the end of the first half - was always going to make life difficult for the visitors.
Panthers: 22 (Coote, Lewis, Purtell, Waterhouse tries; Walsh 3/4 cons)
Rabbitohs: 10 (Luke, Roberts tries; Sandow 1/2 cons)
- AAP
Tags: sport, rugby-league, nrl, penrith-2750, redfern-2016 First posted May 30, 2011 20:51:00
No comments:
Post a Comment