The Penrith Panthers have booked their spot in the semi-finals with a controversial victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at the Sydney Football Stadium.
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Manly became the first team to be knocked out of the 2017 finals series, but it wasn’t without a decision at the end which will leave fans bitter.
With the score locked at ten points all approaching the final five minutes, Bryce Cartwright put in a grubber kick at the line. It deflected off a Manly player’s leg, into the chest, leg and possibly hand of Tyrone Peachey.
He went on to score, with the bunker ruling the ball didn’t touch his hand on the way forward. It meant the green lights came up, and the Panthers came up with victory on the back of it.
Despite the controversy, Manly were their own worst enemies. It was a scrappy affair, and they came up with 13 errors throughout, including two in the last five minutes.
Following the Peachey try, Manly forced a dropout off the kick-off, but a Taupau pass that travelled backwards left Daly Cherry-Evans under pressure and unable to get a kick away.
Inside the final two minutes, a clearing kick from Nathan Cleary was put down under no pressure by Akuilla Uate, ending Manly’s season with a Bryce Cartwright try putting the icing on the cake.
While Penrith got some luck at the end, they looked to be the better team for much of the match. There was no sign of a repeat of the sides’ Round 26 game, when Manly intimidated Penrith off the park.
Instead, the Panthers’ forwards held their own early in the contest. It was penalty goals at either end of the first half for the men from the foot of the mountains, with a try each in between, leaving them up 10-4 at halftime.
Dylan Walker had the opener for Manly, before Cartwright crashed over for the first of his two tries.
Lewis Brown scored 22 minutes after halftime to get the game on level terms, but the battle continued to be waged in the middle, with neither team able to break away.
The Panthers will now travel to Brisbane next week, where they play the Broncos in a sudden-death semi-final.
Albo
Guest
It wasn't a pass , Jimmy ! It was a kick deliberately deflected by DCE's leg that hit Peachey's chest and then onto his thigh . Sure he attempted to grab it but he missed it, according to the referee standing nearby and there was no conclusive TV / Bunker evidence to prove otherwise . He got lucky with the deflection, but the ruling was correct.
JVGO
Guest
Let's just go and watch AFL where no one is ever expected to catch the ball then.
JVGO
Guest
Yes. Absolutely idiotic rules. The ball going backwards is not a knock on either. It was the most embarrassing weekend of refereeing in Rugby League since Greg Hartley. Manly and The Sharks were totally stitched up.
Tom G
Guest
Not saying anything can be done and of course you move on..it is a game mate no suicide watch necessary! The fact remains however that in my opinion, obviously not yours the referees get it wrong lots of times when they shouldn't and they get blind faith support from Archer and some supporters when it suits them. Their performance last night had a massive bearing on that game period.
Jimmmy
Guest
Sorry mate , it was pretty blatant.
Jimmmy
Guest
I totally agree . You throw me a pass , I grab at the ball , miss it completely and it hits my chest and goes forward. Every Ref in the RL world plus every supporter knows that's a knock on . Stand under a high ball arms out , miss it with your arms and it goes forward off your chest , same thing knock on. Why was Peachy's any different??
The Barry
Roar Guru
I agree. The interviewer was trying to goad him into blowing up about the ref but he refused to go there and said that's how 50/50s go. It was pretty good sportsmanship even though he did carry on a bit on the field.
kingcowboy
Guest
I agree 100%. Manly won that game. No excuses. We weren't good enough in that game. Only losers make excuses!
Tom G
Guest
Cow fans are still banging on about Forans hand of god ... it's even in the press today and you want me to move on.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I didn't have a dog in the fight either. I thought it was probably no try but I'd have been massively frustrated if I was a Panthers fan and the try was disallowed on the evidence available. There's no right or wrong in those situations. It's one persons decision on something that even as fans we can't come close to agreeing on what happened.
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
"After the last couple of years, just being competitive again was great to see". Awe poor, EJ. Try "the last couple of DECADES" my eagle friend!
664 the neighbour of the beast
Guest
I didn't have a dog in this fight so I really am unbiased!!! It comes off peacheys fingers, you can see the fingers move. And the "carry on" is actually passion from supporters I would imagine...to see there team lose on a poor decision in a eliminating final! I would be a tad frustrated as well to be honest!
Johnybulldog
Guest
Hope ur right re my Doggies HY...I have a suspicion you may be!
Bearall
Roar Rookie
It is quite encouraging to see that there are not many whinging losing supporters in this forum just pretty pragmatic and open minded footy followers. Firstly to JVGO yes you can actually score a try from a "Falcon" and no the International Laws of Rugby League will not be changed to accommodate the ball being propelled forward. Secondly Ferret to say that both side's attack was poor was an extremely broad observation of the game - the defence was fast, brutal and up and in the face of the opposition the entire game which is unfortunate for you open play lovers - dour and grinding attack and subsequent tries from kicks results. The two "No Try" decisions earlier were pretty clear I thought - the law states that 2 feet must be behind the ball and they weren't and Uate's simply knocked the ball on. And finally this so-called "controversial" Peachey try - nobody watching the television could have conclusively stated that there was a knock-on there was no eveidence of same. The side view angle actually reasonably clearly showed that the ball propelled forward quite dramatically - something that could only occur as a result of hitting a leg/thigh and not a slight hand touch. These observations should be pretty clear and practical to any OPEN MINDED rugby league follower and not a bleeding heart supporter, and to some it up last night the more disciplined, more aggressive, and more tenacious side who took there opportunities and didn't squander them won the game. Simple in my mind guys!
The Barry
Roar Guru
Typical of Bulldogs supporters to be campaigning for justice!
Nico
Guest
DCE showed what a class act he can be by the way he handled it, Barrett on the other hand... Joey Johns as well culpable for bringing the game into disrepute by trying his hardest to get a juicy statement out of DCE
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Dylan Walker is a bit of a dick , it was plain for all to see. But , I thought his post game interview showed that he isn't a mindless dick . He took it on the chin , and I think that showed character so soon after losing in what some are describing as "controversial circumstances ".
Soda
Guest
I agree, not a fan of either sides so I have no rose coulered view either way but I saw it as off side. uates try was correctly disallowed in my opinion as well. The peach try is the hardest one, that truly could have gone either way. The bounce of the ball was not with sea eagles last night.
Suechi
Guest
I really enjoyed that game - plenty of passion from both sides. I think Penrith were the better side, a few handling errors cost Manly. Had to laugh though with Dylan Walker - Kharma 1 Dylan 0.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Wouldn't JVGO's suggestion actually be eliminating the grey?