The Panthers have handed Mounties their first loss of the season, coming away with a 16-10 victory in wet and stormy conditions at St Mary’s Leagues Stadium.
Here are the highlights that led the boys to the solid win.
Mounties opened the scoring in the 6th minute when they spread the ball through several sets of hands ultimately finding Bill Tupou who had an easy jog into the in-goal to score. Mitch Cornish missed the kick at goal and Mounties took a 4-0 lead.
A few minutes later Reece Goldsmith copped a shoulder in the nose while attempting a tackle and had to leave the field for a concussion test.
The home team extended their lead in the 25th minute when Mitch Barnett collected the ball right next to the post after it was coughed up by Penrith. Cornish converted the try and Mounties were in front 10-0.
Penrith hit back in the 28th minute on the back of a 40/20 kick from Sam Scarlett. Brendan Attwood caught the ball on the 10 metre line and charged forwards, carrying a few Mounties defenders on his back. He stretched out his arm and slammed the ball down next to the posts. Sione Katoa converted the try and closed the gap 10-6.
With hail stones pelting down, we knuckled down and grabbed a late first half try with Robert Jennings slipping his way past Mounties defenders to ground the ball in the in-goal. He copped a knock in the face while scoring the try and was sent down the tunnel by the trainer. Katoa missed the conversion and the score was tied 10-10.
HALF-TIME: 10-10.
Right from the second half kick-off the conditions got even worse with rain and lightning around the ground. The officials called for time to be stopped 2 minutes into the half and both teams were sent to the sheds. Play was restarted 15 minutes later.
We hit the lead in the 52nd minute when Mounties dropped the ball 10 metres out from our line and Tom Eisenhuth picked up the ball and sprinted to get the ball down next to the corner flag. Ben Murdoch-Masila missed the kick and Penrith led 14-10.
In the 67th minute Nu’u Akeripa had to leave the field with a leg injury.
Soon after, the Panthers were awarded a penalty when Mounties held on too long in the tackle. The boys pointed to the posts for the kick and Katoa slotted the ball over the black dot to bring the score to 16-10.
Murdoch-Masila finished off his game on a sad note pulling up lame with a leg injury he carried throughout the second half. He fell to the ground behind the play and was assisted off the field by trainers.
FULL-TIME: 16-10 PANTHERS.
