NRL round-up: Panthers march on, Brisbane make history & Warriors survive late scare

It was a week of dramatic comebacks in round eight of the NRL. 

Penrith recorded an eighth consecutive win to start the 2021 season, beating Manly 28-16 at Carrington Park. 

Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o and Liam Martin helped the Panthers to a 16-6 half-time lead which they never looked like giving up, despite Daly Cherry-Evans and Jason Saab crossing to set up a nervy last five minutes.

Canterbury’s woes continued as Parramatta eased to a 32-10 victory in Sydney. 

Clint Gutherson and Maika Sivo both crossed twice, while there were further scores for Shaun Lane and Marata Niukore.

South Sydney produced a ruthless second half performance to topple Canberra 34-20. 

Trailing 16-14 at the break, Wayne Bennett’s Rabbitohs scored 18 unanswered points in 15 minutes after tries from Dane Gagai, Alex Johnston and Jaydn Su’a. Jordan Rapana responded with his second of the match for the Raiders, before Adam Reynolds extended the lead to over two converted scores inside the final minute.

Brett Morris’ treble helped Sydney to a commanding 38-4 win at Newcastle, but there are fears he may have played his final game for the club after picking up an ACL injury in the closing stages.

Daniel Tupou also went third on the Roosters’ all-time try scorers list with his try after just five minutes.

Reimis Smith made it five tries in two matches with a magnificent hat-trick as free-scoring Melbourne brushed aside Cronulla 40-14. 

Josh Addo-Carr, Tom Eisenhuth, Tui Kamikamica, Jahrome Hughes and Brandon Smith also crossed as the Storm ran in 34 unanswered points before Connor Tracey’s late consolation for the Sharks. 

New Zealand Warriors survived an almighty scare to edge past North Queensland 24-20. 

The Warriors were in cruise control at the break, leading 24-4 thanks to four tries, the third of which was finished off by former Super League powerhouse Ben Murdoch-Masila. The Cowboys fought back with three of their own but couldn’t take the game to extra time, despite a late onslaught. 

Brisbane produced their greatest NRL comeback, recovering from 22-0 down inside 16 minutes to stun fierce rivals Gold Coast 36-28.