NRL: Cleary shines in Panthers’ comeback against Dolphins

The Penrith Panthers overturned a 14-point deficit in the final quarter of their round 20 match against the Dolphins in the NRL on Sunday, winning 28-26 in extra time.

The Dolphins were looking good for a historic victory at BlueBet Stadium, with the visitors leading 26-12 heading into the last 20 minutes.

However, a commanding performance from Panthers pivot Nathan Cleary, playing in his first match since round 10, led to a rousing comeback.

A soft try to Moses Leota swung momentum in Penrith’s favour before a second soon after to Daine Laurie well and truly sparked the home side’s revival.

Cleary slotted a late penalty to level the scores at 26-26 before bagging a field goal from 45 metres out to seal the two-point win for his club.

Dolphins start strong, miss chances

Earlier in the match, it had been the Dolphins in control.

The clash began with the two sides swapping tries. The Panthers’ Sunia Turuva opened the scoring after just three minutes, with Cleary converting the kick to establish a 6-0 lead.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow soon hit back for the Dolphins, grabbing the first of his two tries before Isaiya Katoa also crossed.

With an 18-12 lead at half-time, the visitors added a try and a penalty to build a commanding 14-point lead midway through the second half.

The penalty was a point of controversy, awarded against Penrith’s Mitch Kenny for dangerous contact on a kicker.

Replays showed that Kenny did not have time to pull out of his tackle on Katoa, and that he made contact while he was still on one leg.

“It’s not late. He doesn’t make a genuine tackle,” referee Adam Gee explained.

“When he’s on one leg kicking, he’s in a vulnerable position.”

Thankfully for Penrith fans, the controversial penalty did not cost them the game.

Bennett and Bromwich proud of Dolphins’ effort

Despite the loss, Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett was pleased with his club’s effort.

“We didn’t fall apart, we were playing a quality football team and they were going to play to the end and that’s what they did,” he said after the match.

“Over the past month we’ve played some quality sides and in every one of those games we were in it right to the end,” added captain Jesse Bromwich.

“We can learn a few things from today and we will.”

Both rued the Dolphins’ missed chances late in the match, with Katoa failing to take a field goal opportunity in the dying minutes from close range.

“We should have kicked the field goal two minutes before that when we had them down the other end of the field,” Bennett explained.

“Katoa had a lot of things on his mind, he’s probably not thinking field goal at that stage.

“We were defending our line with 12 men and then we went down 50 or 60 metres and it all happened pretty quickly out there.

“So I’m not blaming him at all, I’m just telling you that was the moment in the game [where we should have won it] and we wouldn’t have gone to golden point.”

The renowned NRL coach added that he has “never been a fan” of golden point and “never will be”.

The defeat leaves the Dolphins in seventh place on the ladder, with online bookmakers paying $1.70 for the Redcliffe club to finish in the top eight.

Sports news