The Penrith Panthers have survived a late scare to claim an important Jersey Flegg Cup victory over the Cronulla Sharks on a windy afternoon at Henson Park. The Panthers led 18-4 heading into the final ten minutes, however two quick Sharks tries cut the margin back to two.
The strong south-westerly wind made kicking hazardous for both sides throughout the match, while also made handling difficult, with both sides guilty of regular errors.
Luke Philp looked to have opened the scoring for the Panthers when the Sharks backs couldn’t handle a bomb, however it was called back for an offside kick-chase.
Down the other end, a textbook tackle by Luke Hanson stopped Harry O’Kane close to the line. It mattered for little as former Panther Niwhai Puru forced a goal line drop out, eventually leading to a try in the left-hand corner for Te Wehi Waitare.
The Panthers didn’t take long to hit back, with Philp stepping inside his opposite winger in the 18th minute.
Blake Moore put the Panthers in front on the half-hour mark with strong footwork allowing him to sneak through for a try in his first game since round 2.
Jersey Flegg Highlights: Sharks v Panthers
The Sharks launched one final attack on the Panthers line in the final minute of the half, however another great tackle from Pollard stopped Benjamin Lavender in his tracks. A desperate effort from Cody Lawson forced Waitare to put a foot on the sideline as he dived over, allowing the Panthers to take the lead to the break, 8-4.
A strong charge by Sunita Lotoaniu saw him put the Sharks defence on the back foot, allowing him to offload to Joseph Nohra to race away and extend the lead to 12-4 with 23 minutes to go.
They made it two tries in quick succession when Peter Taateo produced a typically aggressive charge to barrel his way over the line.
A high tackle penalty in easy kicking range allowed Nohra to finally land his first goal of the afternoon, pushing the lead to 18-4 with 12 minutes remaining.
The Sharks regained possession from a short kick off and immediately hit back through Felix Faatili next to the posts. The conversion cut the Panthers lead back to eight points.
Another try followed shortly after, reducing the Panthers lead to 18-16 with six minutes left.
A penalty inside the final minute gave the Sharks one last attacking chance on the Panthers line, however the defence was up to the task, forcing an error and allowing the visitors to sneak home.
