In a Nutshell
The Panthers kept up their good form with a close win against the Raiders, who were unable to convert late pressure into points.
How it unfolded
The Panthers opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Jamal Idris and Dean Whare created a try for debutant winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. Matt Moylan couldn’t convert, and they added to their lead just before half-time when Jamie Soward brilliantly fed Josh Mansour for a try in the corner that Moylan again couldn’t convert.
The Raiders finally got on the scoreboard after 53 minutes, when Paul Vaughan scored a try that was approved by the video referee and Jarrod Croker added the conversion to make it a two-point game.
But with ten minutes remaining Watene-Zelezniak scored his second try, with Jamie Soward this time missing the conversion. Despite pressure from the Raiders, the Panthers held on successfully to take the two points.
A full roundup of this weekend’s NRL games can be seen in Monday’s issue of Rugby League Express, available in the shops and online from 11.00pm (UK time) on Sunday night.