The Panthers are through to the preliminary final but it took a massive effort after a late blunder sent the game right down to the wire.
The Penrith Panthers are through to the preliminary final after a stunning 29-28 win over the Sydney Roosters in an absolute classic NRL thriller.
The Roosters started strongly with two tries in eight minutes before the Panthers roared back with four straight tries including a hattrick to Nathan Cleary.
It was a masterclass effort from the NSW halfback with Cleary scoring 21 points himself as the minor premiers flexed their muscles.
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But the Roosters aren't back-to-back premiers for nothing, bouncing back in brilliant fashion to take the game down to the wire.
At 28-22 with 2 minutes and 44 seconds to go, Cleary kicked what turned out to be the match winning field goal to seal the game.
It made it 29-22 but a brainsnap from Brent Naden put the NRL world on the edge of their seats as the Panthers centre charged onto a short kickoff.
But the ball hadn't gone 10m, giving the Roosters a penalty.
"Oh Naden, what are you doing?" Andre Voss yelled in Fox Sports.
"It's a brain explosion from Brent Naden. This is not over."
And it wasn't with Angus Crichton scoring just 33 seconds later.
It left 92 seconds for the Roosters to snatch a result from the jaws of defeat.
But the Panthers muscled up in defence, keeping the Roosters 40m out with Luke Keary's shot touched and falling well short of the line.
It's a massive result for the Panthers and sends the minor premiers one game short of the finals.
Asked post-game about whether he'd go and speak with Naden about the incident, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said: "I just did actually".
"I think that sort of just showed the excitement got to him...I don't know what happened there but it didn't help the blood pressure, that's for sure," Cleary said.
It was an incredible match with Channel 9's Andrew Johns blown away by what had transpired.
"That's the best semi-final game I've seen in a long time," Channel 9's Andrew Johns said.
It's the Panthers' 16th straight win, now just behind the 2002 Bulldogs on 17 and the 1975 Roosters on 19 on the all time win streaks in Australian rugby league history.
BRENT! I can’t watch this shit ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ #NRLPanthersRoosters
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) October 2, 2020
This game is a killer....#NRLPanthersRoosters pic.twitter.com/ibI9sDe3Ih
— Kurt Fearnley (@kurtfearnley) October 2, 2020
That play by Naden 🤯
— Nick McGrath (@nickmcgrath4) October 2, 2020
Oh boy #NRLPanthersRoosters
Helluva game of footy! 🤯 Well deserved win for the Panthers & Nathan Cleary, wow!
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) October 2, 2020
...but that Roosters 2nd half should put a few teams on notice ! #NRLPanthersRoosters
Nathan Cleary has given the Panthers a seven point lead but a blunder from Brent Nadin has given the Roosters some hope.
After the kickoff, the Naden charged on to a short kick but the ball hadn't gone 10m.
It gives a penalty to the Roosters with Angus Crichton charging over the line, giving it 92 seconds for Roosters to score again.
Only the ball was touched by a Panther and a field goal didn't go the distance.
Penrith held on for a famous 29-28 win.
The Sydney Roosters are back within six points after a stunning try.
It's 28-22 with 14 minutes left with the Panthers' dominant finish to the first half starting to fade away as the back-to-back premiers show their mettle.
A kick went up with the Panthers knocking back twice before it bounced off the head of Roosters captain Boyd Cordner before Josh Morris grounded the ball.
Michael Ennis called it a "miraculous" play with Cordner setting up the try with a falcon.
The Panthers then used their heads for their own big play with James Fisher-Harris making a big tackle as Luke Keary kicked the ball into his ear.
The ruling was a play the ball as referee Gerard Sutton ruled it wasn't charged down but rather the Panthers prop was making a tackle.
The Penrith Panthers have scored a fifth straight try to make it 28-10 with Stephen Crichton scoring in the corner.
A Cleary kick was knocked back by Jerome Luai before shifting wide for Crichton to score.
But the temper boiled over after the try was scored when the Roosters' Kyle Flanagan was pushed off Crichton after the try was scored by Luai as commentators said "tempers flare".
It led to a face off but little more but it's once again clear the Roosters do not like losing.
The referee warned Luai for coming into the fray.
"If something explodes, I'm going to have to deal with you as well," referee Gerard Sutton explained as Luai explained his actions.
"I understand but don't come in and get involved alright."
At the other end, the Roosters went straight up and scored through James Tedesco, who muscled his way over the line.
It's 28-16 after 53 minutes.
It left Sitili Tupouniua with blood streaming from his face as his forehead was cut open by Dylan Edwards' studs after he fell off the tackle.
Nathan Cleary has scored a hattrick in 15 minutes as the Panthers went from 10-0 after eight minutes to a 22-10 lead at the break.
The Panthers were slow to start but rather than being shellshocked, the deficit sparked the side.
Since then it's been all Panthers with Nathan Cleary scoring three straight tries in an amazing turnaround.
Cleary's third came when Jerome Luai ran across field and passed back on the inside for Stephen Crichton to cut through the line, before finding Cleary to score his third.
He now has the wood over dad and coach Ivan, who only scored two hattricks in his career – that's Nathan's third and what a time for it to happen.
It's led to comparisons to some of the great halves combinations for Luai and Cleary but Andrew Johns called it "incredible" after the second try, when Luai kicked for Cleary to slide over the line.
"This is incredible, this is combinations," Johns said in commentary for Nine. "They've played together since they've were 14-years-old.
"Luai just backs himself and look at his halfback, he just read the play. And have a look at this for courageous he just dives. That is incredible, how tough is that?
"It's just great combinations. Last play, Cleary was calling to get a kick on. Luai just takes off, he plays on instinct, and his halfback backs him up. That's what great combinations do.
"They're flying at the moment, Penrith."
Nathan Cleary has chucked his team on his back, scoring back-to-back tries in a stunning turnaround.
After being in the right place at the right time for the first try, Cleary showed his teammates how to do it.
As five-eighth Jerome Luai crossed the field before grubbering, Cleary won the chase as the Panthers took the lead.
"That's worthy of a Tik Tok dance," Andrew Voss said of the try on Fox League.
It's particularly stunning considering the Roosters appeared on song with the first two tries of the game but the Panthers have dominated possession and put the two-time defending premiers on their heels at 16-10 after 27 minutes.
Two tries to the Roosters just may have sparked the Panthers into action.
It's back to even after 23 minutes, with Nathan Cleary scoring under the posts after Liam Martin squeezed a ball out and Dylan Edwards found the halfback from close range.
10-all at Panthers Stadium.
The Roosters very quickly put the Rabbitohs thrashing behind them with the opening two tries as rookie hooker Freddy Lussick crossed the line.
With only a handful of games under his belt, Lussick, who was replacing captain Jake Friend, burrowed his way across the line to give Sydney a 10-0 lead after just eight minutes.
His brother, former Manly and Parramatta Prop with over 100 first grande games under his belt liked what he saw – and he wasn't the only one.
But it could have been worse for the Panthers as a dropped ball gave the Roosters another chance with Brett Morris bundled into touch.
While much has been made of the Panthers youth, the side responded straight away, scoring at the other end with Josh Mansour channelling superman to score in the corner.
10-4 after 15 minutes.
Josh Morris has opened the scoring for the Roosters after an early penalty gave Sydney the field position.
At the other end of the field, Morris was pushed back in goal in a second effort, giving the penalty away.
It gave the Roosters some field position and opened the scoring and after seven minutes, the defending premiers lead 6-0.
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Josh Mansour 3. Brent Naden 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Tyrone May 15. Kurt Capewell 16. Moses Leota 17. Zane Tetevano
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Freddy Lussick 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner 16. Angus Crichton 13. Isaac Liu 12. Sitili Tupouniua 15. Lindsay Collins 18. Nat Butcher 19. Mitchell Aubusson
Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has opened up to NRL.com, admitting he considered quitting the game during a tough 2019 season before orchestrating the side's phenomenal 2020 campaign.
It's Cleary's second stint at the club after he was sacked in 2015 after a rebuild of the club, when the side only just dodging the wooden spoon but said he still felt connected to the team through watching his son and Panthers star Nathan.
But he admitted "in the time away, things had changed".
When he returned to the club, the Panthers had a horrific season in 2019, starting with a sex scandal before the season began that Cleary said was "exhausting".
"There was so much uncertainty around it, a lot of doubt, a lot of angst, but that's not the reason we did have as good a season as we should have, it's one of," he said.
"I think one of the biggest reasons was I personally as a head coach wasn't at my best either."
Asked if his relationship with Tyrone May, who was at the centre of one of the scandals, was the biggest issue, Cleary said ther was some "emotional baggage" from the way he left the Tigers.
It spilled over earlier this season after a spiteful clash between the Panthers and Tigers that saw Cleary blowing kisses and pointing to the scoreboard after a fan took aim at the Penrith coach.
"I was cast as the villain. I guess I was the one who aggitated it a litte bit," Cleary said.
"There was a lot of hangover through the year and I think it affected Nathan. Nathan got dragged into that which was a heavy burden for me to carry."
He added that he doubted whether he made the right call. He also said he's had three points through his career where he felt like he had no answers but felt like he was at the bottom.
He even admitted he pondered walking away from the game.
"Yeah, I do, I have a couple of times," Cleary said when asked if he'd considered giving coaching away.
"I'd be surprised if other people didn't. You know what you're getting in for. I've got great support from my family, without that I don't know whether I would have got through some of those tough periods."
After finishing 10th in 2019, Cleary said he had to "refurbish" the side on arrival with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Waqa Blake and Reagan Campbell-Gillard moving on from the club.
He added that the departure of Phil Gould as general manager "was always going to leave a period of recovery because he was so influential in so many things, not just football, throughout this whole business".
Although Nathan Cleary's Tik Tok drama at the beginning of the season threatened to derail the early part of the season, the Panthers ultimately took it in their stride and romped to a 15-game winning streak, one of the best in rugby league history.
It saw the Panthers seal the club's third minor premiership, something the club have only done in 1991 and 2003 when they won the premiership.
Penrith come up against the Sydney Roosters coming off a 60-8 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs although many believe it was an anomoly for the two-time defending premiers.
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