NRL ROUND SEVEN SUNDAY LIVE: PANTHERS EXTEND LEAD AFTER BUNKER CONTROVERSY;...
0NRL round seven Sunday LIVE: Panthers extend lead after Bunker controversy; 'Embarrassing' Knights hammered by Eels
The Panthers take an eight point lead into the half time break but it's come with a bit of controversy after a Penrith captain's challenge call was upheld by the Bunker. Spencer Leniu looked to have simply dropped the ball. but the challenge is upheld after Corey Horsburgh is deemed to have knocked the ball out of the Panther's hands. Penrith opts to take the penalty kick instead. which Cleary duly converts. but Phil Gould isn't happy with that call. 'He's a fibber. He loses it and then Corey Horsburgh comes into contact with it.' he says. 'If that's going to knock the ball out. you don't deserve it. He doesn't play at that.' 'I don't think it deserved a penalty. you've got to hold the ball. You've got to have some accountability to hold the ball.' he adds. Ricky Stuart's going to be filthy at that call. which came just four minutes before the end of the first half. Canberra's played pretty well here. and had their own periods of dominance. but somehow find themselves down by eight instead of the margin being one converted try. Soni Luke comes off the bench and he's immediately sparked the reigning premiers! The Panthers' No.22 went close himself. but sets up Isaah Yeo with a brilliant pass out of dummy half to give Penrith the lead once again. 'The debutant is making a name for himself in the NRL already.' says Peter Psaltis on commentary. 'Soni Luke has been an outstanding player for years and years. It's a tragedy that he hasn't made his debut before now.' Gould adds. Canberra strikes right back! Penrith will be disappointed with that. They had to work incredibly hard for their first try and the Raiders go down the other end for the first time this afternoon and score almost instantly. A high tackle from Jarome Luai allowed another set restart for the Raiders and Ricky Stuart's men were able to capitalise. Just a few tackles later. it was Joseph Tapine crossing over for the Raiders after a brilliant pass from Tom Starling. 'I love that sequence.' Gould says. 'I love the shift of the ball to an edge and then come back to the post to see if the forwards are honest around the middle. because they're not the ones who are used to looking after decoys and hard straight runners running at angles. 'Tapine really caught them napping there. You can just see that the Panthers weren't quite off their line. nor were they in sync.' Finally the reigning premiers' pressure has paid off and it's Stephen Crichton who scores in the right corner. Nathan Cleary drills the conversion kick from that right corner and it's 6 0 the Panthers' way. Blues Origin coach Brad Fittler says Crichton is definitely a contender to replace Latrell Mitchell in the centres. even though he's playing on the opposite side at the club level. 'A player like him becomes incredibly valuable and he did it on the big stage as well. He held his nerve on the big stage and played a fantastic game and ended up making the winning play (in last year's grand final). 'Big games in those positions gives him a lot of credibility.' Absolutely no idea how the Raiders have held the Panthers out there. but somehow the scores are still level. The Panthers had multiple set restarts on that forward foray. and the Raiders looked set to concede at some point. particularly after an offside call which came after Canberra's defence fought tooth and nail to force Charlie Staines out of bounds in the right corner. 'For the Raiders to get offside on the last play is really unforgivable. they've just gifted the Panthers another set of six.' says Phil Gould on Nine's coverage. 'Great defence by the Raiders spoilt by some ill discipline on the last play.' However. some more great Raiders defence forces a turnover on the very next play. The tackle count currently reads 83 44 the Raiders' way and Penrith has had 11 play the balls to zero inside their opposition's 20. So far. so good for the Raiders as they've managed to go toe to toe with the...
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