Penrith’s attack was unstoppable as they won 28-12 against Canterbury. Now they will face the team with the best offense in the league – Canberra Raiders. The match will definitely be a pleasure to watch.
The Saturday’s semi-final game will be a clash of titans, a battle between the best two offensive teams in the league. Moreover, both teams are on a winning streak, as Raiders won 10 and Panthers 6 games in a row.
The Bulldogs came out strong but led by Matt Moylan Penrith managed to weather the storm early in the match. Panthers’ center Tyrone Peachey told the press on Sunday:” They’re a big pack and we knew if we could stick with them in the first half we could run with it in the second.”
At the Sydney Football Stadium, Canterbury kicked the ball for field position, and their defense was too aggressive. They managed to stop Penrith at their half and in the 14th minute, half-back Moses Mbye scored the first points for Canterbury.
The lead was increased to 6-0 with a field goal in 26th minute.
However, the controversial ruling occurred after Moylan was dragged towards the sideline he threw his hand to throw a penalty. The role of Moylan was large in a match because after this play Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored a touchdown in the 35th minute of the game.
At the half, The Bulldogs were still in front with 6-4, but now the momentum switched. The key player of the match Matt Moylan threw an outstanding pass to Waqa Blake for an 80-meter play.
In the 54th minute of the game, Peter Wallace crossed under the posts after a long pass from Peachey and this play was one of the best tries of the year.
The Bulldogs could not stop the Panthers offense and again after an hour mark, Peachey was sent over the line after a basketball pass from Leilani Latu and a strong pass at pace from Moylan. He was also involved in a play in the 75th minute when he offloaded to Mansour, who showed an extraordinary footwork, eventually reaching the tryline.
Penrith will advance to the semi-final, but the season for the Bulldogs is over. After the match, the captain of the Bulldogs James Graham answered the question whether Penrith was too good or Canterbury bad. He said:” A bit of both. They’ve got a lot of place and a lot of movement on the ball. We probably should have been a little bit better.”
In the semis, Panthers will face Raiders on Saturday and Cowboys will battle against Brisbane on Friday.
