Nathan Cleary was again the hero but an unsavoury incident 17 minutes into the game has soured Penrith’s stunning golden point victory over the Dolphins in oppressive conditions in Darwin on Friday night.
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The Phins had bravely fought back from 18-0 down at halftime to hit the lead before Penrith equalised to send the match to extra time.
Both teams however will be nervously waiting for the repercussions to drop after Kodi Nikorima was put on report and sin binned for a hip drop on Mitch Kenny, forcing the Panthers’ hooker off the field for the remainder of the match with a badly broken leg.
Kenny somehow hobbled off but was sent to hospital before halftime and awaiting the opinion of a surgeon with consideration being given to an immediate operation.
In what began as a regulation tackle, Nikorima slid down Kenny’s legs in an attempt to make a solo stop but ended up with his weight on the lower half of the rake’s legs as Kenny fell to the ground.
Referee Adam Gee didn’t act immediately but after word from bunker official Chris Butler and a realisation the injury was more serious, Nikorima was sent to the bin.
Despite the unfortunate loss of Kenny, the Panthers returned to the winner’s circle for the sixth time in seven matches to start the season.
The Panthers beat the Dolphins.Source: FOX SPORTS
Penrith dominated possession in the first half and the Phins were forced to defend for their lives, making 70 more tackles than their opposition in the opening 30 minutes. It was a courageous performance from Kristian Woolf’s team coming off the back of a flogging at the hands of Manly and a bye.
MATCH CENTRE: Dolphins vs Panthers teams, scores, videos, updates
They were well down at the break and in the conditions it looked like it would be too big a mountain to climb in the second half but Herbie Farnworth and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow had other ideas, both scoring brilliant individual tries to kick start a comeback that continued when Selwyn Cobbo crossed to level the scores and Jake Averillo pushed them into the lead.
Tom Jenkins scored for Penrith to again tie things up with five to go before Cleary iced the game.
Dolphins forward Tom Gilbert will join Nikorima in an anxious wait to hear from the match review committee after being placed on report for a hip drop on Jenkins in the dying minutes.
HOT AND SWEATY
The match was played in uncomfortable tropical conditions with the temperature hovering around 27 degrees at kick off.
The humidity was extreme, pushing up past 90 percent with an extended rest at the main break and two-minute stoppages for drinks midway through each half instituted to help reduce the effect on players.
Despite the extra concessions it was clear both teams laboured throughout with several cramping late in the game.
Nathan’s rollercoaster
Cleary was brilliant in the first half with two line breaks and two try assists, controlling what appeared would be a regulation victory.
In the second half he twice put deep kicks over the Dolphins’ dead ball line and was burnt badly by Farnworth for his try.
When it mattered though, he delivered.
Kenny suffers suspected leg fracture | 00:59
MILKY MAGIC
Jenkins continued his dream start to 2026, scoring the try that lifted the Panthers into golden point.
It was his 16th from seven games this season, an extraordinary seven more than anyone else in the competition. The revelation of the year had early leapt high above Jamayne Isaako to score his 15th for Penrith’s third try.
HERBIE THE THIEF
Dolphins strike centre Farnworth was enormous in a beaten side, twice stealing the ball from Penrith attackers to go with his try, 183 run metres, two line breaks and an incredible 12 tackle busts.
FOX LABS STATS
– Record Breaker – Thomas Jenkins becomes the first player in Premiership history to score 2+ tries in seven straight games. He has 16 tries in 7 games this season
– Heart Breakers – Second golden point match between these two sides in only their fourth meeting. Penrith won 28-26 in 2024.
– Penrith have led at half time by at least 18 points in all six of their victories this season. Third time leading to nil.
High tackle calls under question | 02:00
– Only the 4th time since 2020 the Panthers have conceded 20 or more second half points.
– Penrith had 58 percent possession in the first half, with 33 tackles to 13 in the opp 20 and three linebreaks to one. The Dolphins had 62 percent possession in the second half, with 16 tackles to seven in the opp 20 and made five linebreaks to two.
– Mitch Kenny was injured in a hip-drop tackle from Kodi Nikorima. Kenny left the field and didn’t return with a suspected fractured leg – while Nikorima was sin binned and placed on report. Two unrelated charges in the past season. Since 2024 the Panthers have won over 70 percent of their matches where Kenny plays, but just four of nine games he has missed.
– Thomas Gilbert was placed on report late in the match for a hip drop tackle on Jenkins. He has no charges in the past 12 months.
– Dylan Edwards scored his first try against the Dolphins – completing the set of scoring against every opponent.
– Fox Lab POTM – Nathan Cleary once again proved his value as the games’ No. 1 player. Fifth time Cleary he has landed a field goal to win in golden point – 18th career field goal overall. 2 try assists, 2 linebreaks, 574 kick metres, 1 forced drop out. His seven points has him surpass the 1800 point mark.
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