Sharks survive surge from plucky Panthers

CRONULLA survived an almighty comeback from Penrith to advance to within one game of the NRL grand final with a heart-stopping 21-20 victory last night.

Down 18-6 after 48 minutes, the Panthers mounted a memorable fightback but fell agonisingly short in front of 19,211 at Allianz Stadium.

A 72nd-minute field goal to Sharks halfback Chad Townsend proved decisive as rival playmaker Nathan Cleary hooked his attempt to level the contest soon after.

The Sharks will now meet arch-rival Melbourne at AAMI Park next Friday night in what shapes as a mouth-watering preliminary final.

The Sharks were dealt a big blow when skipper Paul Gallen was taken off with a shoulder problem in the 48th minute, compounding the absence of Josh Dugan (shoulder) and Wade Graham (knee).

The Panthers have been called the cardiac kids this year — on four occasions coming back from a 14-point deficit — but the task proved too big on this occasion as their tumultuous season came to a close.

After the Sharks led 18-2 at halftime, the Panthers looked dead and buried against one of the best defensive sides in the competition. However, they mounted a charge after Sharks fullback Valentine Holmes allowed the ball to bounce ingoal and Cleary pounced to narrow the margin to 18-8.

A Townsend penalty goal pushed the scores out to 20-8 to give the Sharks breathing space, but Isaah Yeo set up a grandstand finish when he crashed over to reduce the deficit to just six with 13 minutes remaining.

And when James Maloney fired tearaway back-rower Viliame Kikau through a hole, Waqa Blake scored to even it up at 20-20.

Townsend then potted his second field goal attempt while Cleary was left to rue his miss from in front of the posts. CRONULLA 21 (Holmes, Lewis, Townsend tries, Holmes 4 goals, Townsend field goal) d PENRITH 20 (Blake, Cleary, Yeo tries, Cleary 4 goals). Crowd: 19,211.