Panthers overcome Souths to seal spot in western shootout decider

Accor Stadium: Penrith forward Spencer Leniu was on the end of a sickening high shot and will be hoping to overcome a couple of head knocks to take his place in next Sunday’s NRL grand final.

The “Battle of the West” will now double as the battle for the Provan-Summons Trophy with the Panthers to clash with bitter rivals Parramatta in the decider.

Three tries in nine minutes either side of half-time set up the 32-12 win over South Sydney at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.

Fullback Dylan Edwards was brilliant, Nathan Cleary’s boot caused all sorts of headaches while Viliame Kikau was damaging in attack and defence.

But tensions boiled over when Leniu was felled by Taane Milne with 15 minutes remaining. The second head injury assessment automatically ruled him out of the game.

Leniu was filthy with Milne and had to be constrained by his teammates when he made his way to the side of the field and then confronted the Souths winger and the Bunnies’ bench.

Taane Milne was sent off against the Panthers.Credit: Getty

The longer the night went, the more frustrated South Sydney became.

Milne was immediately marched and became the first player sent off in a finals clash since North Sydney’s Gary Larson in 1994.

Leniu will have eight days to recover and can only hope he is given the all clear to take on the Eels.

A bench forward with a lot of spirit, Leniu played in last year’s title win over Souths, but missed Penrith’s grand final loss in 2020.

Penrith are into another NRL grand final.

Coach Ivan Cleary said Leniu was fine and he could often get hot under the collar, so it was “probably a good thing he didn’t get back on”.

“It feels awesome, it’s fantastic, it doesn’t happen every day ... I’m so grateful to be with this group and enjoy the week and have another crack at winning the title,” Cleary added about being there for a third title shot.

Kikau was placed on report for a shoulder charge on Campbell Graham in the first half, but the contact he made caused minimal damage, and despite having already been charged with the same offence this season, is likely to be fined by the match review committee.

Jarome Luai was also placed on report for hitting Graham high in the second half, but referee Ashley Klein was overheard saying Graham was falling in the tackle.

Penrith trailed 12-0 after Cody Walker put Souths in front, then replacement winger Richie Kennar doubled the lead.

The Panthers were denied tries three times, but then hit back through Api Koroisau and Brian To’o, who ran nearly 80m right on half-time and somehow pushed off Cody Walker, who then took out teammate Damien Cook.

The frightening thing about the Panthers is their ability to score points quickly. They have done it countless times this year, including late in the second half against the Eels in week one of the finals.

They finally get the chance to play a grand final in Sydney in front of a capacity crowd after a couple of COVID-interrupted campaigns.

Parramatta have a good record against the mountain men and could not have been more impressive on Friday night.

As Eels forward and former Penrith favourite son Bryce Cartwright said in the sheds at Queensland Country Bank Stadium late Friday: “It will be pretty cool if it’s a Parra-Penrith grand final. Everyone wants to see that.”

The Bunnies had an outstanding back half to the year, inspired by the most-watchable player in the game right now, Latrell Mitchell. Coach Jason Demetriou can take a bow for going so deep into the finals in his first year in the top job.

Demetriou said of Penrith: “The competitor in me wants to hate Penrith, I really do. But the coach in me is so respectful of what they do. It’s a credit to Ivan [Cleary] and their club with what they’ve produced the last three years. They’re the benchmark and will be tough to beat next week.”

Should Penrith defeat Parramatta, who knows how many more premierships they can win.

Victory will make it two on the bounce. The way Cleary, described as “the best halfback in the game” by Mitchell, continues to grow each week, who is not to say it will be a three, four or five-year title streak?

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