Punishing Penrith dominate dour Dogs

A strong Centrebet Stadium crowd were treated to a rare Panthers victory without origin representatives Civoniceva and Luke Lewis when the Panthers downed the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 20-6 in Round 17.

Penrith started the half well with ball in hand, but conceded penalties in defence to give the visiting Bulldogs good attacking opportunities early. Penrith were helped by a lack of penetration from the Bulldogs before finding some good field position of their own.

Penrith converted possession and field position to the first points of the game in the 17th minute. Luke Walsh put on some creativity swerving around Bulldog defence before chipping and chasing. Walsh regathered it and got it onto Purtell to score.

Penrith extended their lead in the  25th minute after a Barba forward pass handed them a set of six 40 out from the Bulldogs' line. The set was completed with a little Luke Walsh bomb which was marked and subsequently touched down by Travis Burns to score.  Burns converted his own try to give Penrith the 12 nil lead they took to half time.

The back end of the second half was riddled with penalties and the Bulldogs came close to crossing in the 38th minute when a possible Roberts try was taken up to video referee Bernard Sutton.  The video evidence showed that Roberts had dropped it other the line and the Bulldogs remained scoreless going into half time.

The second half started slowly, but both teams had opportunities to be the first to score in the second 40. Penrith were the first to take the opportunity opting for the 2 from a penalty on the goal line in the 53rd minute.  Burns took the penalty goal and increased the Penrith lead to 14.

Luke Walsh took to peppering Ben Barba with mid field bombs and got maximum reward from it in the 61st minute when Barba let one bounce which Burns pounced on and dived over to score his second.  He subsequently converted and Penrith were up by 20.

Bulldogs soon found plenty of possession in prime real estate and converted it to their first points of the night in the 67th minute when Hodkinson put Idris in to steam through and score, Turner converted and Bulldogs looked keen to claw back at the deficit, but it was too little too late, with Penrith defending their lead to take the game 20 points to 6.

Match Details
Penrith Panthers 20 defeated Canterbury Bulldogs 6
National Rugby League - Round 17 - Saturday July 2, 2011 7:30pm
Venue: Centrebet Stadium Penrith
Referee: Jason Robinson and Brett Suttor
Video Referee: Bernard Sutton
Touch Judges: Ricky MacFarlane and Jason Walsh
Crowd: 15,383
Halftime: Penrith Panthers 12 Canterbury Bulldogs 0

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 Points - Luke Walsh
2 Points - Travis Burns (2 Tries, 3 Conversions, 1 Penalty Goal)
1 Point - Aiden Tolman

Penrith Panthers (20)
Tries: Travis Burns (2), Adrian Purtell
Conversions: Travis Burns (3/3)
Penalty Goals: Travis Burns (1/1)

Canterbury Bulldogs (6)
Tries: Jamal Idris
Conversions: Steve Turner (1/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Join the discussion on Super Saturday - Panthers v Bulldogs on our forum - click here... or on Twitter! Make sure you follow us on @LeagueUnlimited and be sure to add the hashtag #nrlpencby to your tweets about tonight's game!
Toyota Cup was a thriller tonight, the Penrith Panthers holding on 22-20 in a thriller.
TEAM CHANGES: Penrith are as per the side named on Tuesday, while Canterbury have just the one change, 17. Ben Roberts starting in place of 13. David Stagg, who drops to the bench.
1 min: Bulldogs kick off and we are under way.
1 min: Good start by the Panthers who make it well past halfway to finish the set.
2 min: PENALTY to the Bulldogs against Penrith players for being offside in the kick chase.
4 min: PENALTY to the Bulldogs, Penrith did wonderfully to find touch five out from the Bulldogs line with the boot, but conceded a penalty for holing down off the back of the scrum to undo the good work.
7 min: Bulldogs starting to find some good attacking position and put some pressure on the Panthers.
9 min: Coote fails to gather a boot cleanly and loses it to give the Bulldogs a scrum 10 metres out from the Penrith line.
10 min: Penrith let off the hook with a grubber that goes to deep to give them a 20 metre tap.
11 min: PENALTY to Penrith mid field will give them a good opportunity to attack the Canterbury-Bankstown line.
12 min: Walsh stabs a grubber at the line to earn Penrith a repeat set by forcing a line drop out through forcing Idris in goal.
14 min: Ball starting to move end to end with both teams having opportunities to attack.
17 min: TRY
TRY to the Panthers! Luke Walsh swerves, then chips and chases before finding Purtell, who he puts in to score. Conversion from Burns successful.
Penrith Panthers 6-0
19 min: Bomb put down and Penrith get a scrum 12 metres out from the Bulldogs' line.
20 min: Ben Barba loses the ball in goal, but is saved by Johnathon Wright who forces it down for a line drop out.
21 min: Adrian Purtell knocks on the drop out and Bulldogs get a scrum 10 shy of halfway.
23 min: Barba puts a huge step on Luke Walsh and streaks down the left side, but throws a forward pass to give Penrith a scrum 40 out from the Canterbury-Bankstown line.
26 min: TRY
TRY to the Panthers! Luke Walsh puts a little bomb in from 20 out, Travis Burns marks it in goal and grounds it. Burns converts his own try.
Penrith Panthers 12-0
27 min: PENALTY to the Panthers to give them another chance to attack.
28 min: Penrith earn a repeat set by forcing another line drop out.
29 min: Bulldogs finally earn a set of six by marking a ball in goal for a 20 metre restart.
30 min: Bulldogs get another 6 tackles courtesy of Penrith hands touching the ball.
31 min: PENALTY to the Bulldogs to send them inside the Panthers' twenty.
31 min: PENALTY against Ben Roberts in possession, he is put on report as well.
32 min: Burns receives an offload and trips over one of his own players and loses the ball in the process.
34 min: PENALTY against the Bulldogs for markers not being square, Penrith will start the set 30 out from the Bulldogs line.
36 min: Good chance goes begging for the Panthers who hand the ball over to the Bulldogs.
37 min: Coote moves to collect a boot but ends up sliding into touch 2 metres out to give the Bulldogs a scrum.
38 min: VIDEO REFEREE for a possible Bulldogs TRY.
38 min: NO TRY. Roberts had lost it before grounding it. PENALTY awarded to the Bulldogs for a marker not being square so the Dogs remain on the attack.
39 min: Keating grubbers in goal but it goes dead and Penrith get a 20 metre tap.
40 min: One last chance for the Bulldogs with a scrum ten shy of half way.
40 min: A Bulldog boot goes into touch to give Penrith a scrum and the last play of the half.
40 min: The half time hooter sends both sides into the sheds with Penrith leading 12 nil.
41 min: Second half under way.
44 min: Both sides getting through their sets without too much fuss early in this second half.
46 min: PENALTY to the Panthers to send them into attacking zone.
47 min: Penrith earn a repeat set at the Bulldogs line forcing a line drop out.
48 min: McHendry offloads 2 metres away from the line and Coote can't get a hold of it.
51 min: Penrith really threatening the Bulldogs line, Barba saves a certain try, hitting the ball out of Coote's reach for another line drop out.
52 min: PENALTY against the Bulldogs for being offside right on the line and Penrith opt for the 2.
53 min: PENALTY GOAL
Burns takes the penalty goal and collects the 2 points.
Penrith Panthers 14-0
55 min: Penrith bombing at Barba in this second half, Barba collects it beautifully this time.
56 min: Bulldogs turn the ball over cheaply 5 metres short of halfway and Penrith are on the attack again.
57 min: Bulldogs let off the hook with a forward pass giving them a scrum feed.
58 min: PENALTY to the Bulldogs 20 metres out from the Penrith line.
59 min: Bulldogs give the ball away cheaply at the Penrith line.
63 min: TRY
TRY to the Panthers! Luke Walsh bombs at Barba who lets it bounce and Burns collects it and dives over the line for his second. Burns again converts his own try.
Penrith Panthers 20-0
63 min: Bulldogs regather the ball from a short kick off and are on the attack.
64 min: Kingston attempts to strip the ball and Bulldogs get six again from 10 out.
65 min: Roberts kicks on the second and Fatiaki grounds it for a line drop out.
66 min: Another repeat set for the Bulldogs with a nice grubber from Barba which Simmons forces dead.
67 min: PENALTY to the Bulldogs with Panthers penalised for being in front of the kicker.
68 min: TRY
TRY to the Bulldogs! Hodkinson runs a good line through the Penrith defence before throwing an inside pass to Idris who steams through for a try. Turner converts.
Penrith Panthers 20-6
71 min: Panthers knock it on at the back and Bulldogs get a scrum 10 out from the Penrith line.
72 min: Bulldogs lose it and Penrith get a scrum 10 out from their own line.
73 min: Penrith drop it and Bulldogs get a scrum ten shy of halfway.
74 min: Another scrum to the Bulldogs ten out from the Penrith line.
75 min: Kasiano fails to play the ball and Penrith have a scrum ten out from their line.
80 min: The full time hooter sounds here at Centrebet Stadium where the Penrith Panthers have taken down the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 20-0.