Player ratings for the Penrith Panthers team in their Telstra Premiership qualifying final clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
2. Stephen Crichton: Brilliant once again as the stand-in fullback. Scored the opener by grounding a ball pulled back by Paul Momirovski from behind the dead-ball line. Generally safe in the air but was guilty of an unforced error off a bomb. Had 140 run metres in the first half and finished with 293 metres. 8.5/10
20. Charlie Staines: Made good metres early but a little hit-and-miss in defence. A costly drop late in the match put Penrith under pressure. 4.5
3. Paul Momirovski: Made his presence felt early with a try-saving tackle on Cody Walker followed quickly by the desperation play that gifted Crichton his four-pointer. Looked to have pulled off the trick a second time but got the Bunker thumbs down. Faded in the second stanza. 7.5
4. Matt Burton: Forced a repeat set with a clever grubber then produced a bust right on half-time that earned Penrith two points. Threatened repeatedly but couldn't come up with the match-turning play. 6.5
5. Brian To'o: Put in his usual whole-hearted shift out of Penrith's own end but wasn't able to cash in at the other end. Never stopped trying and finished with 185 metres. 6.5
Sublime kicking skills of Cleary on show early
6. Jarome Luai: Relatively quiet in the opening 40 minutes but did set Burton free on half-time. More active in the second half but knocked on at dummy-half to end Penrith's hopes. 5
7. Nathan Cleary: Produced a brilliant banana grubber for the first try and kicked for 243 metres in the first half alone. More than doubled that for the match but unable to produce another definitive play as the Panthers were held scoreless in the second half. 6.5
18. Matt Eisenhuth: Called into the team on match day when Moses Leota was out with a calf injury then spent time off for an HIA, which he passed, before returning to keep doing the dirty work in defence. 5.5
9. Api Koroisau: Efficient out of dummy-half but made just three runs as he played distributor. Tackled his heart out in the middle and just shaded his skipper in topping the tackle count for both sides with 52. 6.5
10. James Fisher-Harris: Solid performance to finish with 91 metres and 33 tackles after taking time to work his way into the contest. 6
Match Highlights: Panthers v Rabbitohs
17. Liam Martin: Limited impact with ball in hand, and was guilty of one drop, but rolled his sleeves up in defence. 5
12. Kurt Capewell: Like his starting back-row partner the Maroons rep struggled to make an impact and was guilty of two costly drops. 4.5
13. Isaah Yeo: Ran for 146 metres, including a big bust through the middle in the first half, while performing his link-man duties with aplomb and out-tackling every team-mate except for Koroisau. Put on report for a crusher tackle which could prove costly. 7.5
Yeo placed on report for crusher tackle
Interchange
14. Mitch Kenny: Came on to play as a back-rower in the second half and made some good metres from limited opportunities. 5
15. Spencer Leniu: Didn't get an opportunity until the second half but attacked the Rabbitohs line with venom when he did get his hands on the ball. 5.5
16. Tevita Pangai jnr: Impact man didn't really deliver with limited minutes producing modest numbers. 4.5
11. Viliame Kikau: The most dangerous of Penrith's edge forwards, making the most of big minutes off the bench to rack up 100-plus running metres, a line break, five tackle breaks and two offloads. 7
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.
