Live Coverage | The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup - Round 23

Eels, Panthers unable to break stalemate in golden west shootout classic

Stewart Moses

Game Summary

The Penrith Panthers have missed a golden opportunity to temporarily move into the top five but at least salvaged a competition point with a come-from behind 22-all draw with their local rivals the Parramatta Eels at a wet and slippery CommBank Stadium this evening.

The Panthers despite withdrawing Luron Patea before kick-off, welcomed back Isaiah Iongi and David Fale for the clash and led 12-0 before the Eels narrowed the gap with back-to-back tries of their own late in the first half to trail 12-10 at the main break.

But the tenth-placed Eels who came into this game having lost their last four games had other ideas in the second half, dominating their opponents and looked set to win the contest when they led 22-16 with only minutes remaining.

However, the Panthers conjured up a 79th minute long range try to Brad Schenider, converted by Jack Cole to level the scores and leave the Panthers at least one point out of the top five with the drawn result.

The Panthers, having already threatened with an early line-break to winger Asu Kepaoa, scored in the fourth minute of play following an error from the home side 20 metres out from their own line. A couple of plays later and an outside-inside play between the Panther halves Jack Cole and Brad Schneider enabled the latter to reach out and score from close range and Cole’s easy conversion gave Penrith a dream 6-0 start.

The Panthers may have lost key lock forward Riley Price to what looks to be a potentially serious leg injury midway through the first half but doubled their lead on the 26th minute after a quick shift left enabled skipper Tyrone Peachey to put Kepaoa on a 20 metre charge to the south-east corner, with Cole landing the difficult sideline conversion (12-0).

Having missed a few try-scoring opportunities of their own earlier in the half, the Eels finally opened their account in the 29th minute when a last tackle deft kick from dummy half Matt Arthur at the tryline found an unmarked Morgan Harper to score in the north-west corner, converted by half Ethan Sanders to reduce the gap to six.

Two minutes out from halftime, the Eels were in again when Sanders and Zachary Hunter combined to put Ethyn Martin over with a peach of a floating pass found the unmarked winger, who slid over in the north-east corner to reduce the gap to two going into the main break.

The Panthers came out of the main break producing key errors in the opening minutes of the second half, and were eventually punished when a quick shift right found Penrith’s left edge napping and Martin was over for his second try of the night to give the home side their third unanswered try and the lead for the first time 14-12, despite Sanders again missing his conversion attempt from out wide.

The Eels on the back of a relieving penalty regained the lead for the second time when fullback Lorenzo Mutiliano went on a scorching diagonal run to score in the southeast corner from 25 metres out despite the best attempts of the Panthers cover defence to put him into touch. Sanders this time converting from the eastern touchline giving the home side an 20-16 lead with ten minutes remaining.

A high tackle in the ensuing set 35 metres out enabled Sanders to extend Parramatta’s lead out to 22-16 after 72 minutes which they looked likely to hold to with two minutes remaining.

However, Brad Schneider had other ideas, firstly putting backrower Harrison Hassett into a gaping hole from halfway, before backing up inside to score next to the posts, enabling Cole to level the scores with less than a minute remaining.

Despite Cole attempting an audacious long range field goal to seal an unlikely win with seconds remaining, both sides in fairness deserved a share of the competition points in an absorbing local derby.

Key Points:

• Penrith’s Riley Price was taken from the field with a potentially serious leg injury.
• Parramatta’s Toni Mataele and Penrith’s Falefa Letoi both put on report in the first half.
• Penrith came into the game winning four of their last five, while the Eels had lost four games in succession.
• The 22-all draw was Penrith’s second draw of the season.

Play of the Game

The Panthers left it late but came up with the play to the night to potentially salvage their finals hopes when Schnieder combined with Harrison to score a long-range try that broke the hearts of the home side.

What's Next

The Parramatta Eels host the Newcastle Knights next Saturday at Eric Tweedale Stadium, while the next day, the Penrith Panthers make the long trek to North Sydney Oval to take on the ladder-leading Bears in a game that the Panthers must win to keep their finals hopes alive.

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Newcastle Knights v Western Suburbs Magpies 

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