The Penrith Panthers have slipped past the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to advance to the Jersey Flegg Cup Grand Final, recording a thrilling 40-36 triumph at Jubilee Stadium.
The opening 10 minutes saw plenty of end-to-end action, but it was the Panthers who pounced first in remarkable fashion. Gaining territory following Cronulla’s kick that sailed out on the full, Penrith trickled a grubber into the in-goal which looked all but certain to run dead before it sat up kindly for Jaxen Edgar, batting it back to Tylor Bunting to plant it down. Jirah Liddiard converted with ease to put his side 6-0 ahead.
Well and truly controlling the contest, Penrith cracked Cronulla’s defence with another brilliant fifth-tackle kick. Floating a bomb towards the right corner, Liddiard leapt above the pack to snatch the ball out of the air and breathtakingly delivered a behind-the-back flick pass while still airborne to Tuaomaliemavaitoelau Patea, who finished acrobatically in the corner for a double-digit lead.
Penrith pieced together a clinical first half display, laying the boot into Cronulla as they piled tries on through Delahia Wigmore, Edgar, and Liddiard to establish a 28-0 lead with plenty of wind in their sales.
The Sharks finally bit back on the stroke of half-time, as Jai Camilleri sold a dummy and caught defenders napping behind the ruck, burrowing through to snatch four points back for his side.
The Sharks exploded out of the blocks with Samuel McCulloch slicing through the Panthers’ defence like a fin through water and putting his side on the front foot. A quick shift to the right saw Riley Pollard fire a pass to Nikora Williams, who scored his third try in three games. Pollard added the extras to make it 28-10 with plenty of time left to play.
Attacking with urgency, Cronulla crossed again as Pollard delivered an early ball out the back to Adrian Sandy, who tiptoed through the line and dived over with ease. Pollard’s conversion split the uprights, cutting the deficit to 28-16.
Moving the Steeden with intent, the Panthers began to claw back some of the points they had surrendered in their slow start to the second stanza. Sending plenty of traffic towards Cronulla’s left-edge defence, Wigmore and Edgar each picked up their second try, with Raven’s successful conversions helping Penrith’s 24-point advantage.
Cronulla responded with two more tries of their own, with a break down the western touchline from John-Paul Donevski setting up a try for Pollard, before the winger got on the end of a Sandy offload to score one for himself, reducing the deficit to 16 with just under 10 minutes to play.
The Sharks began to show their teeth late, scoring another two tries through Pharrell Gray and Donevski to make it 40-36 in the Panthers’ favour with two minutes to play, setting up a grandstand finish for the ages. The Sharks couldn’t find the all-important winner in the dying stages and fell to the Panthers in a 76-point thriller.
Talking Points
- Penrith book their spot in the 2025 Jersey Flegg Cup Grand Final against the high-flying Melbourne Storm.
- The two sides each scored seven tries, with goalkicking proving the difference in the high-scoring encounter.
Key Moment
Leading by six points almost 20 minutes into the match, the Panthers began to turn up the heat and streak away from their opponents. The onslaught started in spectacular fashion as Penrith floated a threatening attacking bomb towards the corner post which was fielded by a soaring Jirah Liddiard. While still airborne Liddiard delivered a behind-the-back flick pass that landed perfectly into the hands of Patea, who outpaced defenders in hot pursuit and snuck into the corner.
What’s next?
The Sharks’ season comes to a close while the Panthers will lock horns with the Melbourne Storm in the Jersey Flegg Cup Grand Final at CommBank Stadium on Sunday 28 September.
Match report courtesy of NSWRL. Written by Ellery Behan.
