Panthers to face Bulldogs in blockbuster semi-final after ending Warriors’ season

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The quest for five is alive.

A team that redefined what is possible in the salary cap era now has a chance to create further history. Never before has a team come from outside the top four to win the grand final during the NRL era, but there appear no limits for this Penrith outfit.

This final series was meant to mark a changing of the guard, but the Panthers’ 24-8 away win against a gallant Warriors side could result in more of the same after setting up a blockbusting all-Sydney final against a battered Bulldogs at Accor Stadium next weekend.

Once again, the difference at the pointy end of the season was Nathan Cleary. In a game that smacked of ambush – a despised underdog, a slippery Go Media Stadium surface and a baying crowd – the champion halfback kicked the opposition to death.

Given the conditions, the kicking game was always going to be decisive. So it was a surprise that Isaah Yeo was one of the first to put boot to ball. But normal service soon resumed.

Cleary kicked often and early, sometimes as early as the third tackle. On four separate occasions, he earned his side a repeat set. And on one of the few occasions the Warriors were able to do likewise, Cleary earned the ball back with his goal-line drop out.

Nathan Cleary converts Isaiah Papali’i’s try.

Many of Cleary’s most effective kicks were those that skidded along the slipper surface.

“I thought it would be quite hard for the back three to control the ball on the ground,” Cleary told Fox League.

“Also, when it’s windy I think it’s sometimes hard to put up those higher kicks, you don’t know where they are going to land.

“I just felt I had a bit more control of the lower ones. We got a few decent results. I also kicked one dead in the second half that hit us in the bum a bit, they scored that set. A few things to work on.”

The Panthers celebrate a try against the Warriors on Saturday.

Perhaps his greatest trick, however, was the way he manufactured the opening try. It came in the last tackle, when he opted to pass and caught the Warriors, who were expecting a kick, off guard.

The Warriors wouldn’t go quietly. When Brad Schneider, a surprise starter at hooker in the absence of Mitch Kenny, burrowed over early in the second half, it felt like the Panthers would run away with it. Yet they didn’t go away, a try to the barnstorming Leka Halasima keeping the Warriors and their fans in the contest.

In tight contests like this, the result often hinges on the bounce of the ball. It was appropriate that, off the boot of Cleary, it bounced Penrith’s way. One of his clearing kicks was allowed to bounce, sat up for the chasing Luke Garner, who found the support required to seal the deal.

There were other moments that proved pivotal. Dylan Edwards’ effort to prevent a 40-20 was matched only by a similar piece of brilliance to get out of his in-goal from Paul Alamoti, a shock inclusion at the expense of Tom Jenkins.

Another factor was the speed and ferocity of a Penrith defensive line that conceded only one try. It had the effect of not only denying but creating points, forcing a turnover that allowed Brian To’o to streak away for the clincher.

It left the Warriors to lament what could have been. They bravely fought on for much of the season without their two most influential players, NSW forward Mitch Barnett and halfback Luke Metcalf. They will have high hopes for the next season when both are back on board.

The result has catapulted Penrith into a position that appeared unthinkable just a few short months ago. They sat in last spot after losing to eventual wooden spooners Newcastle after a dismal night at Bathurst in round 12. It prompted, in coach Ivan Cleary’s words to suck the team in a “vortex of self pity”.

Having negotiated a play-off against former assistant Andrew Webster, Cleary senior will come up against another in the form of Cameron Ciraldo.

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