Penrith are still nowhere near their best but they are now just one point outside the top eight.
The premiers ran into more than a few old familiar faces at CommBank Stadium on Sunday in their unconvincing 18-14 triumph over the Wests Tigers to only rise one more spot to 13th but they are now just one win behind the sixth-placed Cowboys in the 10-team logjam in the middle of the ladder.
Earlier on Sunday, Josh Papali’i celebrated breaking Canberra’s all-time games record with two tries and the first conversion of his 319-match career in green.
The Raiders started slowly but powered past South Sydney with six straight tries in their 36-12 triumph at GIO Stadium.
1. Panthers back within striking distance
The premiers are not what they used to be but they are at least now within striking distance of the upper half of the ladder.
Five wins and a draw from 12 starts is a far cry from the dominance they have displayed in the regular season since the start of the decade when they qualified for the first of five grand finals on the trot.
Heading into a bye next round, they have given themselves a chance to potentially even challenge for fifth spot in the next couple of weeks with Cronulla occupying that spot at the moment, just three points ahead of Penrith.
They drew first blood against the Tigers when they worked a scrum play from the right to left for winger Tom Jenkins to touch down but the Tigers hit back when Starford To’a pounced on a Jarome Luai grubber.
They went up 10-6 after Sunia Turuva evaded his old Panthers teammates to slide over in the corner but Jenkins jinked over for his second just before the break to square the ledger at the break.
Neither side could find a chink in the opposing armour early in the second half due to a combination of some occasionally resolute defence but more so due to a lack of cohesion in each team’s attack.
Dylan Edwards passes. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
Penrith edged in front via a penalty goal to Nathan Cleary when Luai was pinged for a controversial hit on Blaize Talagi after he put in an attacking kick.
Luai levelled his successor in the Penrith No.6 jersey but although it was heavy contact, it was neither high nor late.
“He did absolutely nothing wrong. His leg was still on the ground. At 10-all it’s a massive call,” fumed Michael Ennis on Fox League.
Talagi dusted himself off to set up Jenkins’ third try for an eight-point buffer before Jeral Skelton cut the deficit to four with 10 minutes left but the Panthers managed to keep their nose in front down the final stretch thanks to a brilliant tackle from Scott Sorensen.
The veteran Kiwi forward swooped on Jahream Bula just a metre from the line after the speedy fullback looked certain to score after Jack Bird had flown high to claim a bomb.
2. Luai vs Cleary bout goes the distance
They grew up together in the Penrith junior ranks and formed a formidable partnership over the course of eight straight NRL seasons, culminating in four premierships on the trot.
But at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, Cleary and Luai each wore the No.7 jersey of different colours in their much-hyped head-to-head match-up.
Words were exchanged, not spiteful ones though, as their friendship was put aside for 80 minutes.
To be honest, neither player dominated as their teammates had hoped, mainly because neirther side was at its best in what was a clunky contest for the most part.
Luai probably earned a split decision over his old comrade in their head-to-head impact but Cleary got the last laugh with his laser-sharp goal-kicking proving the difference in the final wash-up.
3. Unfadeable, so please don’t try that sledge anymore
The Raiders used to be Faders.
Now they are the total opposite.
After coming from behind to win three straight matches, Canberra looked like they were about to put in a flat performance when Souths raced in tries to Keaon Koloamatangi and Alex Johnston inside the opening 15 minutes.
They looked set to go into half-time down 12-0 but Ethan Strange muscled his way over.
Strange did likewise within 10 minutes of the second half and the Green Machine was on a roll.
The Raiders have a history of strong runners wearing the No.6 jersey in Laurie Daley, Terry Campese, Blake Austin and Jack Wighton, and Strange seems to be cut from the same cloth.
A standout rookie performer last season, he is obliterating any thought of the dreaded second-year syndrome stalling his progress in 2025.
Strange plays on the left edge with Hudson Young as his second-rower. Even when their wingman Savelio Tamale limped off with a leg injury in the first half, Simi Sasagi switched to centre and the Raiders barely missed a beat on that side of the field with Seb Kris heading to the wing.
Young has not only been Canberra’s best players this season, he’s arguably been one of the top performers in the entire NRL.
After Zac Hosking pounced on a botched Bunnies bomb defusal, Young propelled Canberra to a 12-point lead when he stormed onto bat-back from Kris to unfurl a brilliant offload for Sasagi to score.
The last team to get a bye, the Raiders head into their well-earned break with an 11-3 record and if the Dogs slip up against the Eels on Easter Monday, Ricky Stuart’s side will be ladder leaders after Round 14.
Three byes in the final 13 weeks adds up to the Raiders being all but certain to finish in the top four and a strong chance to usurp Canterbury to be minor premiers.
4. Papa party with points to boot
He is nowhere near as nimble as he was when he made his debut as a 19-year-old way back in 2011 but Papali’i still knows his way to the try line.
As if it was pre-ordained, the veteran prop barged over twice in the final 10 minutes to kick-start victory celebrations in the national capital with his conversion from out wide sending the 10,000-plus brave souls into raptures despite the wet and icy conditions.
Ricky Stuart puffed his chest with pride underneath his George Costanza gortex puffer jacket for a Raider who has remained loyal to the club for 15 straight seasons through the lean times and the 2019 run to the grand final.
With the way the team is playing right now, another trip to the premiership decider is not out of the realms of possibility for a team that was rated by most pundits and bookmakers in the pre-season to be among the wooden spoon candidates.
Twenty years ago the Wests Tigers came from the clouds when absolutely no one – including many at the club itself – thought they were a chance of becoming premiers.
There’s a long way to go for Canberra to fulfil that kind of destiny but with each win they are not only silencing critics but gaining more and more members on their increasingly crowded bandwagon.
5. Bunnies out of their weight division
For all the talk of the Wayne Bennett return bringing the magic back to the Bunnies, they are not quite in the top tier of teams this year.
They have punched above their weight to have a 6-7 record at the mid-point of the season but they just haven’t been able to put a stable line-up on the park and when they do, there’s a fragile nature to them.
The loss of skipper Cameron Murray to a pre-season Achilles tear has been monumental – he is not the flashiest player in the NRL but the amount of grunt work he does in the middle and the surprisingly high number of tackles that he breaks for a lightweight forward is a massive hole that Bennett cannot fill.
Cody Walker’s season has been stopping and starting due to a calf injury and he limped off in the second half of Sunday’s loss, meaning he will likely need another stint on the sidelines.
This time around it’s a groin issue and assistant coach Ben Hornby said he would undergo scans to determine the extent of the damage.
Between Jamie Humphreys, Jayden Sullivan and Lewis Dodd, the Rabbitohs have enough depth to cover Walker’s ongoing absences but not the elite playmaker that finals-bound teams need.
The Kick: Nomadic existence makes it hard for Benji
It’s a tough enough job when you have stepped into the Wests Tigers coaching hot seat without having to forfeit home-ground advantage on several occasions.
Sunday’s match was a Wests Tigers home game – and instead of taking on Penrith at Campbelltown or Leichhardt where they get the benefit of being on their own turf, this one is played at CommBank Stadium.
Yes, it’s one of the Tigers’ home bases but it’s also where Penrith are holding their fixtures in 2025 while their stadium is revamped.
Benji’s nomads also played one of their home games against the Eels at the venue smack back in the heart of Parramatta plus they also gave up another at Magic Round for their clash with the Dragons.
In Round 22 they return to Parramatta to face the Bulldogs and two weeks later they are taking on Manly at Allianz Stadium.
All up, they get just three matches at Leichhardt and four at Campbelltown which means 17 of their 24 games for the year are at a neutral or away venue.
Lunacy.
