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Penrith come close to grabbing a second when Liam Martin brings down a Nathan Cleary bomb and gets an offload away to his left, but a couple of passes later Isaiah Papali’i spills the ball.
A penalty for a high shot then gives the Cowboys a trip upfield, and they retrieve their own bomb when Scott Dinkwater’s kick finds Jeremiah Nanai. Nanai offloads to Tom Dearden, who finds Murray Taulagi, then the ball goes back to Dearden and Nanai for a try beside the posts.
Panthers 6, Cowboys 6 after 16 minutes
Penrith have looked like their old selves for the opening stages of this match but they grab their first points through a couple of new signings for this season, Blaize Talagi popping an offload to an unmarked Isaiah Papali’i. Nathan Cleary knocks over the conversion.
Panthers 6 lead Cowboys 0 after seven minutes
Scott Drinkwater kicks off this one for the Cowboys with Lindsay Smith taking the first hit-up of the game for the Panthers. Here’s how both teams are lining up tonight.
North Queensland Cowboys
1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Robert Derby 3. Jaxon Purdue 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Jake Clifford 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 17. Coen Hess 11. John Bateman 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Sam McIntyre.
Bench: 14. Harrison Edwards 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Griffin Neame 22. Kai O’Donnell 18. Zac Laybutt
Penrith Panthers
1. Dylan Edwards 2. Paul Alamoti 3. Izack Tago 4. Luke Garner 5. Brian To’o 6. Blaize Talagi 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo.
Bench: 14. Brad Schneider 15. Liam Henry 16. Luron Patea 17. Thomas Jenkins 18. Luke Sommerton
The Warriors have just clinched a 15-14 win over St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium, continuing a wild weekend which has already included several upsets and three straight comeback wins.
The visitors led 14-0 early but the Dragons hit back with three tries to level the scores, before Luke Metcalf slotted a match-winning field goal.
Earlier this afternoon the Bulldogs produced a spectacular second half to chase down Canberra’s 20-0 half-time lead and finish with a 32-20 win.
And last night Newcastle blew a 20-0 lead against the Titans before Brisbane were beaten after leading 14-0 against a Latrell Mitchell-inspired Rabbitohs side.
Will we see another comeback from Penrith or North Queensland tonight?
The Penrith Panthers are chasing back-to-back wins for the first time this season but it won’t be an easy task against a dangerous Cowboys side in Townsville.
Penrith, the four-time reigning premiers, are incredibly stuck in 16th place on the ladder heading into round 10. But there were signs they could still be a premiership force in last week’s emphatic 32-8 romp over the Broncos during Magic Round.
The Cowboys had won four on the trot before last week’s loss to the Warriors in Auckland, and another win tonight would propel them into the NRL top eight.
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Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.Credit: Getty Images
It is time to start taking Canterbury seriously as premiership threats.
The Bulldogs trailed 20-0 at half-time inside a heaving GIO Stadium in Canberra on Saturday afternoon.
There were 23,827 fans at the ground, and they were all convinced the Green Machine were about to win big and surge to the top of the NRL ladder.
But the Bulldogs scored six unanswered tries to win 32-20. Coach Cameron Ciraldo needs to take a bow. You can only hope someone taped whatever Ciraldo said to his men at halftime so they can use it again at a later date this season if the Dogs slip into similar trouble.
More bad news for the Raiders with second-rower Matt Nicholson leaving the field in the final minute with an ankle injury as the Bulldogs contingent in the crowd cheer on their team’s performance. Matt Burton takes the final carry of the game and there’s the full-time whistle. What a win.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 and still top of the table after trailing 20-0 in front of a packed Canberra crowd, winning this one with ease in the end. Stephen Crichton was phenomenal and inspired the comeback win.
Raiders 32 beat Canberra 20 at full-time
The comeback may be complete but the Bulldogs are now adding to their lead, Jacob Kiraz taking a flick-on from Stephen Crichton then doing a great job to beat a couple of defenders and find the tryline in the right corner. Down by 20 at the break, Canterbury now have a 10-point lead and could stretch further ahead in the final stages.
Crichton drills the sideline conversion between the posts to add the cherry on top.
Bulldogs 32 lead Raiders 20 with seven minutes left
