PENRITH PANTHERS 16 CANBERRA RAIDERS 20
TOM SMITH, Glen Willow Oval, Mudgee, Friday 

KAEO WEEKES scored a golden-point winner for the ages as Canberra and Penrith dished up a mouth-watering entree to the NRL’s Friday night heavyweight double-header. 

Three and a half minutes into extra time, Nathan Cleary came within inches of booting the Panthers to victory — but his field-goal attempt rattled off the woodwork into the arms of Jed Stuart, who sent Ethan Strange streaking down the field, with Weekes waiting in support. 

Strange levelled the scores five minutes before the full-time siren, before Jamal Fogarty sprayed his shot at goal. Weekes, Cleary and Fogarty then missed a succession of field-goa attempts. 

Then, with the game on the line, the Green Machine went the length of the field to tighten their grip on top spot. 

It’s the second week in a row Penrith have fallen to a golden-point try, after Harry Grant dummied Melbourne to victory at CommBank Stadium in Round 24. 

The locals crammed into Glen Willow Oval in Mudgee — a small town three hours inland from Sydney — for an electrifying game of immense consequence, with Canberra leading the race for the Minor Premiership and Penrith closing on a top-four berth. 

They left with the Raiders taking a giant stride towards the JJ Giltinan Shield and the Panthers a step further back from a playoff double chance. 

Ivan Cleary’s men have lost no admirers in these two narrow defeats, and received a major boost with co-captain Isaah Yeo returning from a shoulder complaint. 

Fresh off a Round 24 bye, Ricky Stuart was forced to make do without Xavier Savage after half-time when the winger suffered a shoulder injury of his own. 

The Raiders may have benefited from a fortunate ricochet for their winner, but an unlucky bounce cost them the opening points. 

With Penrith on the march, Blaize Talagi stabbed a kick into a wall of Raiders defenders, and Casey McLean grounded a simple four-pointer. 

Joseph Tapine — who churned out a trademark monster display up front — single-handedly steamrolled his way over the stripe to get the Raiders on the board. 

But McLean’s second — this one a searing sprint into the left corner after Cleary and Dylan Edwards spread the ball wide from a scrum — sent Penrith to the sheds in front. 

Once Liam Martin snaffled a Cleary cross-field kick under the sticks, showing a fair leap for a big man, the four-time reigning premiers enjoyed a commanding 16-6 advantage. 

However, Simi Sasagi kept the Raiders in the hunt, filling Savage’s boots by combining with Strange down the left edge. 

With time running out, Strange stepped up again. 

Adding another chapter to his brilliant breakout season, the 21-year-old stand-off produced a beautifully timed wrap-around with his halfback Fogarty to draw the scores level. 

Fogarty missed that conversion from 15 metres in from touch, then Weekes, Cleary and Fogarty all misfired field-goal attempts. 

But when the Penrith maestro clanked an extra-time shot against the upright, the Green Machine streaked 95 metres for a thrilling win. 

GAMESTAR: Kaeo Weekes notched a game-high 276 running metres on top of his match-winning try. 

GAMEBREAKER: After Nathan Cleary’s field-goal attempt hit the upright, Jed Stuart, Ethan Strange and Weekes combined to send Canberra the length of the field for a heart-stopping win. 

MATCHFACTS
PANTHERS
1 Dylan Edwards
2 Thomas Jenkins
3 Izack Tago
4 Casey McLean
5 Brian To’o
6 Blaize Talagi
7 Nathan Cleary
8 Moses Leota
9 Mitch Kenny
10 Lindsay Smith
11 Luke Garner
12 Liam Martin
13 Isaiah Papalii
Subs
14 Brad Schneider (not used)
15 Liam Henry
17 Scott Sorensen
19 Isaah Yeo

Tries: McLean (15, 33), Martin (43)
Goals: Cleary 2/3

RAIDERS
1 Kaeo Weekes
2 Jed Stuart
3 Matthew Timoko
4 Sebastian Kris
5 Xavier Savage
6 Ethan Strange
7 Jamal Fogarty
8 Josh Papalii
9 Tom Starling
10 Joseph Tapine
11 Hudson Young
12 Zac Hosking
13 Corey Horsburgh
Subs (all used)
14 Owen Pattie
15 Simi Sasagi
16 Morgan Smithies
17 Ata Mariota

Tries: Tapine (30), Sasagi (58), Strange (75), Weekes (84)
Goals: Fogarty 2/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 10-6; 16-6, 16-12, 16-16; 16-20

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Panthers: Nathan Cleary; Raiders: Kaeo Weekes

Penalty count: 5-6
Half-time: 10-6
Referee: Grant Atkins
Attendance: 9,925