Penrith produced one of history’s all-time great Hail Mary plays to stay in touch with the NRL’s top eight tonight.
The ninth-placed Panthers were trailing Parramatta 22-16 with one second left in the regulation 80 minutes but gained possession 10 metres out from the tryline at Centrebet Stadium.
As the fulltime hooter sounded, they put it through seven sets of hands and went from sideline to sideline before returning to the spot where the play started, where Michael Jennings grubbered for Lachlan Coote to touch down just wide of the posts for 22-20.
Panthers five-eighth Travis Burns showed he had ice flowing through his veins by potting the conversion to force golden point.
The Eels nearly snatched victory in the first minute of extra time, but Luke Burt’s field goal try that hit the upright.
Luke Walsh ensured sealed his side’s astonishing win when he potted a relatively simple attempt at the other end in the 86th minute for 23-22.
“That’s the most important kick I’ve kicked this year,” Walsh said after fulltime.
“It’s great to have Jennings back in the side, we played well and I’m over the moon,” he said of the last-second try.
Eels star Jarryd Hayne was shattered his side came up short in stalwart Nathan Hindmarsh’s 300th game.
“She’s a cruel game, we had it well and truly wrapped up,” Hayne said.
“You can be so close and not come away with the win.
“I thought it (Burt’s field goal attempt) was over, it just kept fading away and hit the post.”
Scores were knotted 12-12 at halftime after David Simmons and Coote scored for the hosts and Justin Horo and Etu Uaisele for the Eels, who remained in 13th position.
Reni Maitua opened the scoring for the Eels in the second half, before Simmons completed his brace.
Casey McGuire scored with eight minutes left to make the score 22-16 in favour of the vistors.
Despite the win, the Panthers (20 points) dropped out of the eight after the Wests Tigers (seventh, 20 points) overpowered an understrength North Queensland 38-18 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
The Tigers are in seventh thanks to their points differential (+8), ahead of eighth-placed Newcastle (20 points, -1 points differential ) and the Panthers (-4 points differential).
Newcastle can leap back into seventh if they avoid defeat against Manly tomorrow.
In Townsville, the Cowboys, minus star halfback Johnathan Thurston and influential prop Matthew Scott, trailed only 12-10 after the opening minute of the second stanza, but faded to hand the Tigers their first victory in a month.
Benji Marshall scored one, then set one up for Tim Moltzen for 24-10 before Matthew Bowen was just as brilliant for the Cowboys to send Willie Tonga over for 24-14.
After a Marshall penalty goal, Blake Ayshford was first to the Kiwi superstar’s towering kick to score with nine minutes left.
Corey Patterson and Liam Fulton traded tries in the dying stages.
Earlier, Tonga scored in the first minute of the second stanza for 12-10.
The Tigers rushed to a 12-0 lead after tries to Gareth Ellis (eighth minute) and Blake Ayshford (23rd minute) before Paterson opened the Cowboys account when he won the jump for Mathew Bowen’s cross kick in the 36th minute for a half-time score of 12-4.
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