Rugby league’s greatest escape artists were at it again today with Penrith fighting back from 26-12 down at half-time to beat Canberra 40-31 at Panthers Stadium.
Incredibly, it was the sixth time this season that the Panthers have fell behind by 10 points or more and come back to win.
Down by 14 at the break, the Panthers narrowed the gap to eight points soon after half-time when Dean Whare scored a spectacular try, but the margin was out to 12 soon after when Joseph Leilua grabbed his third four-pointer of the afternoon.
And the Raiders went out to a seven point lead with 13 minutes to go – a lead no Raiders fan would have thought safe, and no Panthers fan would have thought insurmountable.
Like last week against Manly, Penrith’s fightback came quickly with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Josh Mansour and James Maloney crossing within eight minutes of each other to secure the nine-point win.
Josh Mansour left the field with an eye injury in the second half, while James Tamou suffered a bad cork. Both are expected to be fit for next weekend’s game against the Titans.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.