Penrith’s NSW Cup boys have come from behind to beat the Sea Eagles 24-16 and back it back to back wins in front of a home crowd at Pepper Stadium.
Here is how the action unfolded.
Manly opened the scoring early when Tyson Andrews crashed over the top of a few Panthers defenders in the 2nd minute to get the ball down right between the posts. Kurt Aldridge converted the try and Manly were in front 6-0.
The Sea Eagles added to their lead in the 10th minute when Michael Chee Kam slipped through a gap inside Penrith’s 10 metre zone and swerved his way over the line. Aldrige kicked the conversion and Manly took a 12-0 lead.
Adrian Davis limped off the field in the 15th minute struggling with the hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since round 2.
Penrith hit back in the 16th minute after a line break from Robert Jennings early in their set, and Sam Scarlett took advantage of the momentum and dodged a few Sea Eagles defenders to score a try. Will Smith converted and Manly’s lead was cut to 12-6.
It wasn’t long before Manly returned serve with a try to Dom Reardon in the 23rd minute. He broke through tackles from close range, stretched his arm out and planted the ball down with Penrith defenders hanging off him. Aldridge missed the kick and the Panthers now trailed 16-6.
The panthers grabbed a late try right on the half time buzzer when they carved up the Manly defence with some tidy catch and pass football and Chris Smith charged his way over the top of David Williams to score. Will Smith missed the conversion so the score went to 16-10.
HALF-TIME: 16-10 MANLY.
The Panthers levelled the score 9 minutes into the second half when David Simmons collected the ball off the back of a textbook set play that went through several Penrith hands before Simmons was given an easy run into the in-goal. Smith converted the try and the score was tied 16-16.
Following an altercation in the ruck Penrith was awarded a penalty 40 metres out from the Manly line in the 65th minute. Smith kicked the penalty and the Panthers took the lead 18-16.
The Panthers snatched a try in the 74th minute when Brendan Attwood caught a short pass and burst through the Manly line to score from close range. Smith converted to try to bring the Panthers lead to 24-16, and that was how the score would stay to give Penrith the win!
FULL-TIME: 24-16 PANTHERS.
