Nathan Cleary torments South Sydney in Panthers’ come-from-behind win

Penrith half Nathan Cleary led his side to another win over South Sydney as the Rabbitohs once again came up short against the premiership big guns.

Nathan Cleary turns the South Sydney defence around with a deft kick Picture: Getty Images.

The jury remains out on South Sydney. The verdict, however, is in on Penrith. Last year’s beaten grand finalists are back baby. The Panthers, having endured a recent dip in form, monstered Souths in the second half at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night as they showed they were back to their best with a 25-12 win over the Rabbitohs.

Souths led early but were battered into submission. Once again, they came up short against the competition’s big guns. The Rabbitohs will no doubt meet Penrith again on the opening weekend of the finals and by then, the Panthers should have Brian To’o and James Fisher-Harris back on deck.

They will only get better. Souths have their work cut out, although they can start by fixing their discipline. They finished the game on the end of an 11-2 penalty count.

Time after time, they hurt their own cause and Penrith was in no mood to let them off the hook as it dominated the second half. Having taken a slim lead into halftime, Souths gifted Penrith the chance to level the scores after Tom Burgess caught Mitch Kenny high.

Nathan Cleary made no mistake and the sides couldn’t be separated with 20 minutes to go. A couple of minutes later another penalty gave Penrith the chance to the take the lead after Souths prop Mark Nicholls was found to have interfered in play from an off-side position.

It was a decision that bemused Souths players as well as their seven-time premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett.

“We’re all a bit dumbfounded by that one,” Bennett said.

“We just don’t know where it came from. It was a big moment in the game, there is no doubt about that.”

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Again, Cleary was on target and the Panthers hit the front for the first time in the match. The onslaught wasn’t over. A spiralling Cleary bomb forced an error out of Josh Mansour and Latrell Mitchell was penalised in the aftermath.

Penrith had all the momentum and they extended their lead when Mansour was caught in no man’s land and Brent Naden slid over. Mansour’s night was mercifully over with 12 minutes remaining when he was forced from the field with a nasty head cut after an incident that left his teammates fuming.

The Panthers also quelled Cody Walker. They found the kryptonite for the Rabbitohs superman, who has been an attacking giant in recent weeks.

Penrith capped its night when Cleary kicked a field goal to give his side a decisive seven-point lead and then Api Koroisau snuck over in the final minute.

The Panthers still have hopes of a minor premiership but second place looks more likely. That will almost certainly pit them into a rematch with the Rabbitohs on the opening week of the finals.

“Just a lack of discipline there,” Bennett said.

“We gave away penalties and put ourselves under pressure. It’s not something we do but we did it tonight. It’s something we had fixed.

“We just had a bad night for whatever reason. There were lots of good things we did tonight.”

Souths arrived at Suncorp Stadium hoping to make a statement, having put together an undefeated run since they were flogged by Penrith in round 11.

Souths hit the front in the ninth minute through the boot of Adam Reynolds, who converted a penalty from right in front. They followed that up with a try barely a minute later. Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards handed over possession and Souths went to work moments later, Walker the instigator for Dane Gagai’s try.

Souths were on top and they went further ahead 23 minutes into the match thanks to a piece of precision from Adam Reynolds. The Rabbitohs captain’s 40-20 attempt landed inches inside the sideline and Souths were back on attack. Moments later, Keaon Koloamatangi charged onto a pass from Reynolds and flick passed for Mitchell, who did the rest.

Souths were ahead by 12 and on their way to exacting revenge for their embarrassing loss earlier in the year but they handed back momentum as Penrith scored off two Paul Momirovski kicks before the break.