CENTRE'S LATE STRIKE GETS RABBITOHS HOME IN THRILLER

The South Sydney Rabbitohs scored two tries in the final five minutes to down premiers Penrith 20-18 in a Thursday night classic at Accor Stadium. After Latrell Mitchell grabbed his second of the game in the 75th minute to close the gap to two points it was Cody Walker laying on the match-winner for Isaiah Tass with a pearler of a pass with 90 seconds to play. The try was especially sweet for Tass given that he had missed a crucial tackle in the lead-up to hat-trick hero Stephen Crichton's first four-pointer for the Panthers. In a high-quality contest Crichton bagged all 18 points for the Panthers after taking over goalkicking duties from Nathan Cleary, who entered the game with a slight niggle in his groin but still came up with a number of big plays. The Panthers fired the first shot down the left edge when Izack Tago found space and Campbell Graham was forced to come up with a trysaver on Dylan Edwards to keep Souths' line intact. The Rabbitohs then had their first chance after Crichton's short dropout failed to go 10 metres but the premiers held firm. Some Mitchell brilliance from his own end put the Rabbitohs on the front foot midway through the half and it was Damien Cook who cashed in with a try out of dummy half. Mitchell converted to make it 6-0. The Rabbitohs had a golden opportunity to double their lead late in the half when they bundled Edwards into touch after he had taken a bomb but the Panthers' defence was rock solid for two sets and they came up the other end and made Souths pay. A barnstorming run by Spencer Leniu laid the platform and the ball then came right to Crichton, who left Tass in his wake to open Penrith's account with less than a minute to go in the half. Crichton's conversion made it 6-6. The Panthers took the lead through a penalty goal in the 49th minute after Mitchell's short dropout failed to go 10 metres and Crichton knocked over the easy two points. A penalty against Jai Arrow for a crusher tackle then put Penrith on the attack but a trysaver by Mitchell on Sunia Turuva kept the Souths line intact. In the 57th minute Mitchell stamped his class at the attacking end when he took a pass from Walker and surged through three defenders to put the Rabbitohs back in front at 10-8. With 15 minutes to play the Panthers looked to have regained the lead when the Rabbitohs made a mess of a Cleary grubber and Tago pounced but replays showed the centre had knocked on as he tried to ground the ball.

A mistake by Mitchell on the next set invited the Panthers into the red zone again and Crichton finished off great lead-up work by Isaah Yeo, Cleary and Edwards to give the premiers a 12-10 lead. Crichton then made it a hat-trick with nine minutes to play when he flew high for a Cleary bomb, the ball bounced off his shoulder into the in-goal and he fell on the loose ball to stretch the Panthers' lead to 18-10. The Rabbitohs bounced back in the 75th minute when Mitchell grabbed his second off a Lachlan Ilias bomb and the margin was back to two points. With time running out the Rabbitohs went left and produced a stunning match-winner through Tass after brilliant lead-up by Alex Johnston and Walker. Source: NRL.Com

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