NRL: Panthers coach off to great start

Luke Lewis congratulates Petero Civoniceva of the Panthers after scoring a try. Photo / Getty Images

Panthers 30
Cowboys 20
Steve Georgallis' hopes of getting the Penrith coaching job on a permanent basis were given a huge boost as the Panthers saw off North Queensland 30-20 at Centrebet Stadium today.

Georgallis was given the reins until the end of the season this week after Matt Elliott was shown the door by general manager Phil Gould and his NRL side responded well to their new boss.

On a beautiful winter's afternoon in Sydney's west, Georgallis' plans were disrupted after just four minutes when centre Junior Vaivai limped off with a knee injury, forcing Nathan Smith to switch from the backrow.

The Panthers welcomed back Luke Lewis from a hamstring injury and the home side looked a vastly improved unit as a result, following last week's dismal display in the 16-12 defeat at Newcastle.

The Cowboys opened the scoring when former Panther Gavin Cooper barged his way to the line after just six minutes.

But the home side's response to conceding the early try was good, with skipper Petero Civoniceva having the crowd on their feet after a brilliant step left Dallas Johnson and Aaron Payne for dead as he rumbled his way under the posts for his second try of the year.

Travis Burns added the extras and extended the hosts' lead midway through the opening stanza with a close-range penalty.

The Cowboys were also left with a three-man bench on the half-hour mark when workaholic hooker Aaron Payne was forced off the field with a suspected broken hand.

However his replacement James Segeyaro made an instant impact, showing great dexterity when he stretched out to place the ball over the line from dummy-half and restore the visitors' lead.

But roared on by a passionate home crowd, the Panthers' response was swift with a superb try from Lachlan Coote as the hosts claimed a 14-10 halftime lead.

Former Cowboy Burns increased his side's advantage early in the second period with a penalty, only for Cooper to score his second four-pointer after Adrian Purtell and Coote were bamboozled by a horrific bounce from a Thurston grubber kick and the centre touched the ball down.

But once again the Panthers responded positively, with Civoniceva breaking two tackles to set up a try for Lewis, who raced over the line following a swift pass from Luke Walsh.

Burns, who is yet to miss a kick at goal since taking over from Walsh three matches ago, created an eight-point buffer with the conversion, but the Cowboys got themselves back into the game through another Purtell error.

A great break from Ray Thompson put the Cowboys in excellent field position, and Purtell completely misread the high kick from Thurston and Ben Jones couldn't miss.

But the Panthers weren't to be denied, big prop Sam McKendry diving over three minutes from time and Burns, who kicked six goals, booted a penalty in the final minute to round off the win.

PENRITH 30 (P Civoniceva L Coote L Lewis S McKendry tries T Burns 7 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 20 (G Cooper 2 B Jones J Segeyaro tries J Thurston 2 goals) at Centrebet Stadium. Referee: Phil Haines, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 14,090.

- AAP