Bunnies ‘unravel’ after ‘nightmare’ twist, ugly send-off as Panthers lock in GF epic

A thundering try from Brian To’o has inspired the Penrith Panthers to a 32-12 win and booked a date with the Parramatta Eels in an all-Western Sydney grand final next Sunday.

Falling behind 12-0 after a sluggish start, it was a brilliant solo try on the stroke of halftime from To’o that levelled the scores and in the end put Penrith on the path to another shot at the premiership.

The Panthers now join the Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters as the only two clubs to reach the Grand Final in three-straight seasons in the NRL era.

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Early on though it looked like the Rabbitohs would continue their finals charge and exact revenge for last year’s defeat to Penrith in the decider despite pinpoint kicking from Nathan Cleary.

Cleary was terrorising South Sydney early with his kicking game and it looked to have set up the opening points of the game, albeit in unconventional fashion.

This time around Cleary sent it spiralling into the air and a wicked bounce saw Izack Tago run away to score.

The replays from the Bunker though went on to show Luai had held back Lachlan Ilias in the lead-up, seeing the try disallowed.

It proved to be a key early turning point as Souths went down the other end of the field and scored the opening try.

A quick play-the-ball from Cameron Murray then saw Damien Cook link with Mark Nicholls, who had the ball knocked out by the Panthers but Cody Walker was in position to pounce.

The Rabbitohs continued to roll on as Alex Johnston’s replacement Richie Kennar proved himself a more than capable finisher, diving over in the 20th minute to push the lead out to 12-0.

Cleary’s kicking game looked to have once more got Penrith back into the game after a slow start when he sent a towering bomb to South Sydney winger Taane Milne.

Having caused all kinds of problems for Waqa Blake in the qualifying final, Milne was the next victim as he spilled the kick, with quick hands seeing Charlie Staines go over.

But again, the video review would work against Penrith, with Luai ruled to have run behind James Fisher-Harris and gained an advantage in the lead-up to the try.

The Panthers needed to score next and it was the injection of Apisai Koroisau off the bench that paid dividends, with the crafty hooker darting through off a quick play-the-ball from Viliame Kikau to score.

Having put in a clunky and disjointed first half, Penrith would have taken a 12-6 deficit heading into the break, although South Sydney had one final chance to strike before the siren.

But instead in a stunning turn of events it was the Panthers who would score their second, with Campbell Graham coughing up a Latrell Mitchell pass and Brian To’o charging away.

Realistically though it looked like To’o would have to settle for a linebreak as Cody Walker chased him down, only for the winger to swat the Rabbitohs five-eighth away to finish off the try.

“The man is a human bulldozer,” Dan Ginnane said in commentary.

“How devastating for Souths. They were 12-0 up only moments ago. High drama in the first half.”

“Can you believe it? That is an incredible solo try,” added Michael Ennis.

Gorden Tallis, meanwhile, said it was a “nightmare” for South Sydney, with Penrith going into halftime with all the confidence.

The Panthers clearly carried that confidence into the second half, scoring their third-straight try as a Viliame Kikau charge down was followed by Spencer Leniu pouncing on a Cleary kick through the line.

Having struggled for field position in the early stages of the first half, the Panthers were now finding metres at will as Dylan Edwards charged through with a stirring kick return in the 53rd minute.

Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Moses Leota all put their hands up for runs to back it up before a deft kick from Jarome Luai saw Tago pounce, the lead pushing out further to 24-12.

The Rabbitohs continued to fall apart as Milne was then sent off for an ugly swinging arm on Panthers prop Spencer Leniu, with Cleary slotting the penalty goal to make it a 14-point buffer.

“Souths are unravelling,” Dan Ginnane said in commentary.

South Sydney had tested Cleary’s boot all game but time and time again the genius halfback came up with the right play.

And it was fitting the game would end on his boot, with the 24-year-old kicking for himself and scoring to seal a big win.