Panthers pip Knights with last-gasp try

Newcastle fans were livid at a controversial video referee decision to award Penrith
lock Joseph Paulo a try to helped the Panthers to a nailbiting 34-30 NRL victory
over Newcastle at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Monday.
The benefit-of-the-doubt ruling from video referee Paul Simpkins resulted in a
72nd-minute try to Paulo which locked the scores up at 30-30.
Penrith centre Adrian Purtell then crossed in the final minute to deliver the
thrilling win to the visitors after Newcastle had led 24-6 at halftime.
Knights halfback Scott Dureau appeared to be impeded as Paulo flew high to grab a
Luke Walsh bomb and the decision brought a hail of boos from the crowd of 15,894.
Newcastle five-eighth Jarrod Mullen looked to have scored the clincher in the 68th
minute after the Panthers had fought back to 24-24.
Knights winger Akuila Uate bagged a first-half hat-trick as his side took advantage
of three Penrith forward passes at their own end to pile on four tries in 15 minutes
before the break.
The Panthers mounted a second-half comeback, scoring in their first set of six when
Knights fullback Shannon McDonnell spilled a bomb and Michael Jennings sprinted away
for his first four-pointer of 2010.
A soft try to interchange forward Sam McKendry eight minutes later made it 24-18 and
the momentum was with the resurgent visitors.
Luke Lewis capitalised on a horror bounce from a Walsh grubber in the 62nd minute to
score millimetres inside the deadball line and the conversion had the scores level
at 24-24.
Mullen shredded the Panthers defence in the 68th minute to give the Knights the
ascendancy again before Paulo's controversial four-pointer.
It had been a first half of two halves.
Newcastle were woeful with their handling early and the more controlled Panthers
scored first in the 20th minute when fullback Lachlan Coote scooped up loose ball
after a grubber from former Knight Walsh.
But then an unforgivable three forward passes in their own territory from the
Panthers - twice from hooker Kevin Kingston - gifted the Knights the field position
to score four tries.
Uate crashed over twice from dummy half, sandwiching those short-range efforts with
a 95m sprint down the right sideline after the Panthers had messed up an attacking
raid.
Cory Paterson got the other four-pointer, another soft try from close to Penrith's
line.
The Panthers were boosted by the early return of powerhouse second-rower Frank
Pritchard (shoulder), who hadn't been due to return for another month.