An Adam Reynolds field goal gives Souths a 21-20 win over Penrith
AN Adam Reynolds field goal in the final minute has given the Rabbitohs a 21-20 win over a depleted Penrith outfit.
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ANTHONY Griffin’s decision to dump three players including skipper Matt Moylan for breaking a booze curfew is sure to come under further scrutiny in the wake of a 21-20 loss to South Sydney.
While Griffin made no apologies for his stance during the week, the Penrith coach would not enter into the debate on what impact it had on his team after Adam Reynolds landed the matchwinning field goal in the final minute.
In front of 15,535 fans at Pepper Stadium, it was a cliffhanger from start to finish.
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They went to the break locked at 14-all before some Cody Walker magic put Reynolds over to claim a six-point lead just five minutes after halftime.
Souths held that lead for most of the second half and looked home before Michael Oldfield scored against his former club with just four minutes left on the clock.
That left Nathan Cleary with a sideline conversion to level the scores again and Cleary never looked like missing.
But just when the match looked heading for golden point Reynolds calmly slotted the winning shot with just 36 seconds left on the clock.
It handed the Panthers back-to-back defeats following last weekend’s loss to Melbourne and it doesn’t get any easier next week when they take on premiers Cronulla on Sunday.
Griffin earned plenty of praise during the week for his tough action against Moylan, Peta Hiku and Waqa Blake for breaking curfew after the loss to the Storm.
Moylan’s absence in particular really put the pressure on young halves Cleary and Te Maire Martin last night.
While for the most part they did a fine job, there is no doubt missing Moylan had a huge impact on the Panthers’ attacking game plan.
Asked about that last night, Griffin said: “I don’t want to talk about that.
“We had a team out there tonight representing our club that competed and made the club proud.
“Certainly I was (proud) with the way they went about that game.
“I thought we showed a real tonne of character in the middle of that second half.
“They had us by the throat for long periods and had a chance to finish us off a few times.
“But we got ourselves back in the game.
“Unfortunately in those last two or three minutes the game slipped away.”
It is expected Moylan, Hiku and Blake will be back for the game against the Sharks along with injured stars Bryce Cartwright (leg) and James Fisher-Harris (cheek) who were both close to playing last night.
Reynolds certainly didn’t do his State of Origin hopes any harm with winning field goal and a try in the second half that was set up brilliantly by Cody Walker.
While hardly anyone has mentioned Walker’s chances of getting a call-up for the Blues, the dynamic five-eighth was at his scheming best again.
As well as laying on the Reynolds’ try where he beat three defenders, he also scored a vital try just before halftime after Souths had trailed 14-8.
Up until that point Cleary’s towering bombs were causing all sorts of problems for Souths but Maguire sent Farah out with a specific job to put pressure on the Penrith halfback.
“And it probably changed the game from that point of view,” Maguire said.
“At the start of the week I didn’t think Robbie would play at all (because of a back injury that limited him to three minutes against North Queensland).
“But it just goes to show the professionalism.”
The win pushes Souths to six competition points ahead of the Good Friday clash against Canterbury at ANZ Stadium.
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