Panthers Under 20’s side has made it back to back wins, beating Souths 26-10 in front of a home crowd at Sportingbet Stadium.
It was a big game for the Panthers who won their first game of the year last weekend, and were hungry for another win, and they got it! Bryce Cartwright and Brendan Attwood scored two tries each, and Penrith’s youngsters put on a stellar performance in defence and smart ball work.
We got off to a flying start, scoring in the first two minutes of the match. Halfback Sam Scarlett put a beautiful ball into some space and Brendan Attwood ran onto it, through Souths back line and over to score. Bryce Cartwright converted from in front and the home side took an early 6-0 lead.
For the next 15 minutes the Panthers kept the ball up our end and hammered away at the Rabbitohs defenders, eventually wearing them down for our next try. After some sloppy ball work and a few loose passes, Waqa Blake put a quick grubber kick into the corner, which bounced off a Souths defender and into the waiting arms of Cartwright who tapped the ball down near the corner post. He missed the tricky sideline kick, so the score went to 10-0.
We then had another spell where the game moved from one end of the field to the other, with no result at the end of each set. Then with 6 minutes until half time the Panthers got their third try, courtesy of a beautifully timed flick pass from Blake to winger Josh Jay, who palmed off a Souths defender and ran the ball over the line. Corey Harawira took the kick this time and was on target, so Penrith took a 16-0 lead.
Not satisfied with that, the home side added another 6 points to their haul with less than 2 minutes on the clock, after Cartwright sidestepped and pirouetted around several defenders and burst over the line under the posts. Harawira’s conversion was good, and Penrith went into the half time break with a 22-0 lead.
HALF TIME: 22-0 Panthers
The first 15 minutes of the half didn’t get off to the best start for the home side with the Rabbitohs holding onto the ball and testing our defence, and we did well to hold them out for as long as we did. But in the 55th minute their halfback put a kick up high which ended up in the hands of winger Sam Young, who scooted inside the Panthers defence to score their first points of the night. With the conversion, the score went to 22-6.
Penrith came under some intense pressure for the next couple of sets but did well to defend their line. In the 68th minute, the Rabbitohs went over again with centre Tulsa Saumamao getting the ball on the 30m line and sprinting down the field to score. The kick hit the posts though so Penrith kept a 22-10 lead.
Panthers hit back with 8 minutes on the clock when Brendan Attwood darted from dummy half and barged his way through Souths backline to score his second of the day! Harawira’s conversion missed so Penrith took an unbeatable 26-10 lead.
FULL TIME: 26-10 Panthers
