Panthers lose To’o as Souths’ injury crisis gets worse
Jasper Bruce |
Ivan Cleary is hopeful Brian To’o’s latest knee problem is not serious after the star winger limped out of Penrith’s 30-10 win over South Sydney, whose own injury crisis claimed Keaon Koloamatangi as its latest victim.
To’o initially played on after hurting his knee in a tackle from back-up hooker Peter Mamouzelos in the second half of Friday night’s game at CommBank Stadium.
The resurgent Panthers took To’o off in the final 20 minutes of their sixth consecutive win, with coach Ivan Cleary left to lament another setback in a season of fitness issues for the NSW star.
“‘Biz’ just can’t seem to get through a game without some form of trauma at the moment but he should be okay,” the coach said.
“He seems to bounce back pretty quickly too.”
To’o’s premature exit put a damper on the resurgent Panthers’ latest triumph, inspired by stand-in captain Dylan Edwards in the absence of the rested Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary.
The fullback crossed for two tries, one after a brilliant To’o run and the second as he grabbed an offload from Luke Garner in the second half.
He added a try assist to his stats sheet by supporting Blaize Talagi up the field and then finding Casey McLean.
“I thought Dyl did an outstanding captain’s knock, with (hooker) Mitch Kenny,” coach Cleary said.
“You need your leaders to stand up and they definitely did.”
McLean capped off the big win by beating five defenders down the left wing for a second try in the final five minutes.
Making their seventh-straight loss even worse, the Rabbitohs lost their shining light Koloamatangi to an ankle issue suffered as he attempted to tackle Garner in the second half.
Koloamatangi looks set to join Latrell Mitchell, Cam Murray and Campbell Graham in a casualty ward that is stretching into double figures.
“It’s just the way it’s going at the moment. We’ll see how long he’s out for,” said coach Wayne Bennett.
Koloamatangi was joined on the sidelines by Mamouzelos, who suffered a head knock colliding with Isaiah Papali’i shortly afterwards.
Alex Johnston chased Jack Wighton’s grubber kick to cross for his 207th career try in the final 90 seconds and give the Rabbitohs something to smile about.
Johnston is only five four-pointers away from equalling Ken Irvine’s record of 212.
The Rabbitohs are now unable to finish the season with a winning record and have their coach Wayne Bennett on his longest losing streak since 2014.
Souths are on track to finish lower on the ladder than any Bennett-coached side in history, a mark currently held by the inaugural Dolphins side that placed 13th in 2023.
But Bennett found positives in defeat on Friday.
“There was no one in that changeroom that I was disappointed in their effort,’ Bennett said.
The outlook is rosier for four-time reigning premiers Penrith, who now have one hand on a top-eight spot after slumping to last on the ladder after 12 rounds.
They will be hot favourites in their next three games, all against bottom-eight sides, and are guaranteed a winning record to finish the season if they take care of business in all three.
AAP
