Penrith watch finals hopes slip away in Townsville following 24-10 loss to Cowboys

The return of wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo has led North Queensland to a 24-10 win over a Penrith outfit who lost serious touch with the NRL’s top eight in Townsville.

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Forget a fairytale finals appearance after being wooden spoon favourites – Penrith’s season is on life support.

That’s the reality for the Panthers following an error-riddled 24-10 loss to North Queensland in Townsville on Friday night.

The Mountain Men remain stranded in ninth position on 22 points but could drop as low as 10th position following the Newcastle versus Wests Tigers clash on Saturday.

Penrith had everything to play for against the Cowboys but produced a poor performance plagued by ill-discipline.

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Jason Taumalolo was strong on return from injury. Picture: Ian Hitchcock

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Ivan Cleary’s side had 12 errors while they had two disallowed tries.

The Panthers finish the regular season with defending premiers the Sydney Roosters at the SCG before hosting Newcastle in the final round.

They must win at least one of those games and hope other results go their way to make the finals.

WEIGHT OF HISTORY

Penrith have history against them to achieve success this season.

The Panthers must snap an 86-year hoodoo to win this year’s premiership.

Only one team in rugby league history has won the title after being last or second last with more than 40 per cent of the competition completed.

The Newtown Jets claimed the 1933 honours despite being seventh of eight teams after 6 of 14 rounds.

Nathan Cleary struggled to inject himself into the game. Picture: Ian Hitchcock

After 11 rounds, the Panthers were in second last position on the ladder and paying $4 to win the spoon.

And while emulating Newtown from ’33 and lifting the trophy seems unlikely, especially given the form of last year’s grand finalists the Roosters and Storm, there is still a glimmer of hope for the top eight.

In the NRL era, six teams have qualified for the finals after being in a comparable position to the Panthers this season.

North Queensland made the 2017 grand final against Melbourne after being in 15th position after 13 rounds.

Brian To'o found the tryline in typically stylish fashion. Picture: Ian Hitchcock

TO’O ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Brian To’o deserves to be in the conversation for rookie of the year.

To’o has been a revelation for the Panthers this season.

The Westmead-born flyer with Samoan decent has now scored eight tries in 13 games after his trademark mid-air four-pointer against the Cowboys.

To’o is a world-class athlete and finisher who wouldn’t look out of place with a trophy on Dally M Medal night.

While To’o would be a deserving recipient, Brisbane’s Payne Haas looks a likely winner of the award.

LISTEN! In this week’s episode of the Matty Johns Podcast, Matty, Kenty and Finchy look at the challenge confronting the Knights, name their team of the decade and ask who wins an NRL coaches fight night.

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SCOTT WOULD BE PROUD

It has been a forgettable season and week for North Queensland but the men from the north responded in style against Penrith.

Only days after veteran prop Matt Scott suffered a stroke, the Cowboys delivered a performance to make the big man proud.

North Queensland can’t make the finals but they can finish the year on a high in their remaining clashes against Canterbury (H) and Storm (A).

NORTH QUEENSLAND 24 (K Feldt 2 M Taulagi J Taumalolo tries J Kahu 4 goals) bt PENRITH 10 (B To’oI Yeo tries N Cleary goal) at 1300SMILES Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Phil Henderson. Crowd: 10,523