PANTHERS PROVE POINT
PENRITH has proved its premiership mettle as a flying Viliame Kikau helped it to an impressive 21-14 NRL win over Melbourne last night.
With scores locked at 14-14 with 17 minutes to play, Kikau pulled off the match-defining play when he charged on to a shallow Nathan Cleary bomb to score.
The play infuriated Melbourne captain Cameron Smith, who labelled the Storm’s finish as “uncharacteristic” as Kikau went unchallenged for the ball metres from the line.
Cleary then slotted a field goal from 30m with four minutes to play to seal the victory.
The win was only the Panthers’ third over the Storm since 2005, and ensured they will finish the round in the top four.
It also means they can add the Storm to their list of scalps for the year, after also defeating defending premiers Sydney Roosters in Round 1 before losing narrowly to Parramatta last week.
In a high-quality match at Campbelltown, both sides completed at above 80 per cent in a match that ebbed and flowed throughout.
The Panthers dominated the early stages, allowing Stephen Crichton to open the scoring after some nice lead up play by Jarome Luai and Josh Mansour. They then handled a significant amount of pressure on their line, before Cameron Munster had his first impact by putting Felise Kaufusi over.
Penrith then won a key penalty before the break, when Smith was penalised for taking out Cleary on a kick chase, allowing the playmaker to make it 8-6. The Storm skipper argued his case with referee Ashley Klein, but opted not to challenge the call when asked.
Smith did eventually use his challenge, unsuccessfully appealing that Penrith had made a second effort on Suliasi Vunivalu to put him into touch in the second half.
Both sides then traded tries before Kikau’s match winner.
Penrith was again up by six when it outnumbered Melbourne on the right to allow Brian To’o to cross in the 50th minute.
But Melbourne hit back through Munster’s hands, as he laid on a bullet two-man cut out pass for Brenko Lee to cross untouched.
Melbourne then levelled through a penalty goal, before Kikau’s powerful run.