Cleary’s triumphant return lifts Panthers to comeback win over Dolphins

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Penrith Panthers v Dolphins

A two point field goal by Nathan Cleary just minutes into Golden Point has capped off a 14 point comeback for the Panthers as they downed the Dolphins 28-26 at BlueBet Stadium.

The Panthers hit the ground running, with Nathan Cleary picking up a try assist in almost his first touch of the footy for Sunia Turuva to open the scoring. But the Dolphins struck back hard and fast with tries to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Isaiya Katoa giving them a 12-6 lead after 16 minutes.

A brilliant put down by Paul Alamoti brought the game level once again, but a remarkable solo effort by Tabuai-Fidow doubled his tally and gave the Dolphins an 18-12 lead which they carried through to half time.

The second half started much the same way the first ended, with both sides struggling to gain the ascendency until a penalty gave the Dolphins field position, which the converted when Jack Bostock went over in the corner. Not long after Mitch Kenny conceded a contentious penalty for contact on the kicker, and Jamayne Isaako potted over the penalty goal to give the Dolphins a 26-14 lead.

But no lead is safe around the Panthers, and the lead was trimmed to 8 at the 60 minute mark when Moses Leota scored a certified Big Boy Classic. It was then cut even further to just two points when Daine Laurie burnt the Dolphins defence to make the game 26-24 with 15 minutes still on the clock.

The Dolphins continued to be their own worst enemy when they gave up a seven tackle set, and off the back of that gave away a penalty for an off the ball shove. Penrith opted against a chance to tie, but some steely defence denied them and ultimately led to a Laurie error that got the Dolphins out of trouble.

But any sighs of relieve from Wayne Bennett and the coaching staff were short lived after Trent Toelau snagged an intercept and dashed towards the line, ultimately run down but drawing a penalty when Josh Kerr tried to slow down the play the ball. Kerr was sent to the sin bin and this time Penrith did not pass up the chance to tie the game at 26 all with around 4 minutes left.

Penrith had a chance to win the game in regulation with a Cleary field goal from near the sideline, but it fell short and the game went to Golden Point. But it didn't take the star halfback long to right his wrong, and just two minutes into the extra innings he hit a 40+ metre drop goal right in the sweet spot for the walk off win - the second time he's reversed a major deficit against a Brisbane side in less than 12 months.