A late Mitchell Moses field goal delivers Parramatta a pulsating 25-24 triumph over Gold Coast, as the Eels join Penrith and the Warriors as victors to wrap up round 20 of the NRL.
More to come.
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Panthers topple Dolphins
An understrength Penrith held out a desperate Dolphins outfit to retain top spot on the ladder, with Izack Tago and Tom Jenkins scoring doubles in the 24-14 win.
The Dolphins fought back from a 12-0 half-time deficit to lead with 12 minutes to go in Redcliffe before winger Jenkins crossed twice.
The star for the Panthers was centre Tago, who scored his third double in four matches and set up Jenkins with two precision passes.
Nathan Cleary’s return from a hamstring injury was put on ice for another week and the Panthers rested their NSW Origin quartet of Isaah Yeo, Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o and Liam Martin.
The win took the Panthers to 30 points, equal with the Broncos but ahead via a superior differential.
It is a remarkable effort by Ivan Cleary’s squad, who have emerged from the State of Origin period with a third premiership in a row on the cards.
Panthers prop Moses Leota got the visitors on the scoreboard early with a charge-down try.
Tago then went on a scintillating 70-metre run to the line, beating three Dolphins defenders, including half Sean O’Sullivan twice.
He was in again off a Jack Cogger bomb and the Panthers led 12-0 after 16 minutes.
The Dolphins made four line breaks and had other near misses in the first half but the Panthers scrambled to snuff out chances.
It was no surprise when Cogger was sin-binned after multiple ruck infringements by the visitors near their line.
Dolphins fullback Kodi Nikorima burrowed over to cut the defending premiers’ lead to 12-4 at the break.
Dolphins second rower Connelly Lemeulu had the sold-out crowd of 10,065 in raptures when he grubber-kicked for himself to score in the 51st minute.
The chant of “Redcliffe, Redcliffe” was in full voice when centre Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow charged over four minutes later to give the Dolphins the lead.
The Panthers refused to relent under the Dolphins onslaught and Tago held up the final pass to perfection to put Jenkins over in the corner in the 68th minute.
When he repeated the dose at the death it was game over for the Dolphins.
On 20 competition points, four outside the top eight, the Dolphins must win five of their remaining six matches to have a shot at finals.
Dolphins prop Jarrod Wallace was put on report for a shoulder charge on Spencer Leniu.
Warriors pummel Sharks
The Warriors have emerged as a genuine finals threat after trouncing Cronulla 44-12 in arguably their best performance of a season that continues to build impressively for the New Zealand-based team.
Three-try blitzes in either half were the catalyst for the Warriors’ win in front of 24,000 spectators at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, the result moving the home side to fourth place on the ladder.
Both teams had early chances.
Jesse Ramien was held up over the line for the Sharks and in-form Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak had a cross-field kick evade his grasp in the first 10 minutes.
But it was Cronulla who struck first.
The Warriors’ left edge gave Nicho Hynes far too much room to move, allowing the playmaker to stride through for an easy try.
The Sharks were handed a setback shortly after as Teig Wilton limped up the tunnel with what looked to be a serious leg injury.
From there, the Warriors gained the ascendancy after being gifted solid field position off some ill-discipline from the visitors.
Shaun Johnson ran the ball of the last play and linked well with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to send Watene-Zelezniak in for his 13th try of the season.
Johnson again showed his class, sending Rocco Berry over with a perfectly timed short ball in the 27th minute to give the Warriors the lead, before kicking a 40-20 that set up a try for the hard-running Addin Fonua-Blake.
But the Warriors were not done.
Wayde Egan broke the line in the next set, stepping Hynes and sending Luke Metcalf under the posts to make the lead 22-6.
The Sharks did hold a period of ascendancy early in the second half but the Warriors absorbed the pressure and made the visitors pay with their first real attacking chance of the stanza.
Dylan Walker sent a ball to Berry, who slid through a big overlap on halfway and set up Nicoll-Klokstad to score.
Again the Warriors hit the knockout combination shortly after when Josh Curran crashed over off another Johnson short ball.
By that stage the Sharks were playing for pride as Briton Nikora picked up a consolation try with six minutes to go.
The Warriors had the last say when Adam Pompey stepped his way over to finish proceedings.
AAP/ABC
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