Classy Cleary leads Panthers to victory; Broncos prove toughness ...

The Panthers have beaten the Broncos 15-4 on the back of another masterclass from Nathan Cleary to jump Brisbane on the ladder after a frantic start to Indigenous Round.

Cleary was superb with 101 run metres, six tackle busts, three offloads, two linebreaks, a try and a field goal to break Broncos hearts.

MATCH CENTRE: Broncos vs Panthers teams, SuperCoach scores, videos, updates

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Sunia Turuva dived over in the corner for the first try of the game, despite conjecture over a possible double movement.

Cleary looked to have set up Moses Leota for a brilliant try, before Kurt Capewell produced a try-saving play to deny the Panthers.

Billy Walters was penalised for holding on too long in a tackle on Zac Hosking allowing Cleary to push the lead out to eight points.

Stephen Crichton pounced on a kick form Cleary to score what looked like a fortuitous try, but replays showed Hosking knocked on in leaping for the ball.

Moments earlier Scott Sorensen looked to have scored, but the Bunker ruled he knocked the ball on in diving to scoop up the ball in a contentious call.

Cleary did it all himself to score the Panthers’ second with 30 to play and he converted to make him the youngest player ever to 1,300 points.

Selwyn Cobbo dived over inches before the dead ball line to give the Broncos a sniff at a late comeback.

Kotoni Staggs looked to have scored a second Broncos try, but referee Adam Gee overruled the Bunker’s decision of try and ruled that Reece Walsh took out Tyrone Peachey in the air.

Cleary iced a field goal on the final play of the game to secure a 15-4 win for the Panthers.

BIG HITS

CLEARY MASTERCLASS LEADS PANTHERS TO VICTORY

Nathan Cleary took his running game to another level as he led the Panthers to victory over the Broncos.

Cleary was superb with 101 run metres, six tackle busts, three offloads, two linebreaks, a try and a field goal, but it was his running game in particular that impressed Matty Johns.

“Nathan Cleary was amazing,” Johns said on The Late Show with Matty Johns.

“Whenever you see a really strong performance from Nathan one of the features is his running game.

“I mean he is so effective with his kick and pass that he sometimes puts his running away a little bit.

“But he was very strong tonight with his running game.”

Bryan Fletcher noted that Cleary has been battling a groin injury, but his run selection was perfect against the Broncos.

“He has had a groin injury, but when he is fit he just knows when to run,” Fletcher said.

“He is a player where he has got a great feel for the game. He just knows when to run.”

BRAVE BRONCOS PROVE TOUGHNESS WITHOUT SKIPPER

The Broncos may have gone down to the third title contender in a month after losses to the Rabbitohs and Storm, but they did themselves proud without their general Adam Reynolds.

Matty Johns believes the Broncos are playing well despite not getting wins in recent weeks.

“The Broncos were right up for this one,” Johns said.

“It just shows you what good form the Penrith side is in because they absorbed that early enthusiasm and pressure and countered.

“But it was a very strong performance from Brisbane. There was a lot to like about their performance last week.

“Although they are not winning it shouldn’t diminish their confidence because at the moment Penrith are in peak form.

“You see that with Penrith and their defence. Some of their defence during periods was really physical. They really took it up to the Broncos.”

Gorden Tallis believes the Broncos are playing better than their three losses in their last four games says on paper and their loss to the Panthers should give them plenty of confidence.

“The amount of ball that Penrith had at certain stages of that game for Brisbane to keep them to 15,” Tallis said.

“It was a big loss against Souths and obviously last week against Melbourne and there were reasons for that.

“But they needed to go out there without Adam Reynolds and put in a performance and they will walk away form that with a lot of confidence.

“They played the heavyweights of the competition and I thought Brisbane were great defensively.”

Bryan Fletcher believes the Panthers defence is proving too hard to breach for a lot of teams this season.

“The Penrith Panthers their defence I think last year they were averaging 14 points against,” Fletcher said.

“They are even going better this year. They are very hard to score against.”

CONTENTIOUS NO TRIES MAR THRILLING CONTEST

The Panthers’ 15-4 win over the Broncos was still a thrilling contest, but it could have been even more frantic had a couple of contentious no tries been awarded.

Five no tries were called with three against the Panthers and two against the Broncos and Matty Johns believes some of them were a bit pedantic from the referees.

“Some of the no tries were a bit tough,” Johns said.

“The Sorensen one was touch and go a little bit.

“The review system and I understand you have got to get them right, but just sometimes you have to be careful to not go too far.”

Nathan Hindmarsh believes Sorensen and Staggs were robbed of certain tries.

“The Sorensen one there baffled me,” Hindmarsh said.

“They said he dragged it or something. I was confused with that one a little bit.

“The penalty against Walsh in the Staggs no try was a bit tough.

“If you can get up high enough and be able to turn in the air then fair play.”

Gorden Tallis believes the referees were looking for ways to take tries off the teams.

“Tonight they were looking for reasons not to give points away,” Tallis said.

“A couple of 50/50s went against both clubs.

“Reece Walsh is such an athlete he just hangs in the air. He gets up and wasn’t looking early, but he turns around with the flight of the football. How can you say he left the ground too early if he is still up there catching the footy? I don’t get that.”

MATCH PREVIEW

The Broncos will be without skipper Adam Reynolds when they host the Panthers in a blockbuster clash at Suncorp Stadium to kick off Indigenous Round.

The Panthers and the Broncos are both 1-17.

Jock Madden replaces Reynolds at halfback after replacing Ezra Mam due to suspension in the last month.

For the Panthers Zac Hosking is set to play after passing his HIA against the Roosters despite not returning to the field.

Round 12 is the final chance for players to push their Origin claims with no shortage of players from both teams looking for big games.

Broncos stars Selwyn Cobbo, Kurt Capewell, Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan are all tipped to earn Origin jerseys.

Panthers stars Brian To’o, Stephen Crichton, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin are all tipped to earn Blues jerseys.

Reece Walsh and Dylan Edwards could be unlucky omissions from the final Origin 17s but will be crucial to both side’s chances on Thursday night.

The second placed Broncos and the third placed Panthers will both be looking to sure up their top four spots with a win ahead of the tough Origin period.

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