Brian To'o limps out of Panthers' sixth-straight win
Gun winger To'o initially played on after hurting his leg in a tackle from back-up hooker Peter Mamouzelos in the second half of Friday night's game at CommBank Stadium.
The Panthers took To'o off in the final 20 minutes as a precaution but a representative told AAP the club held concerns for the NSW representative, who has been hampered by injury all season.
To'o's premature exit put a damper on the resurgent Panthers' latest triumph, inspired by stand-in captain Dylan Edwards in the absence of the rested Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary.
The fullback crossed for two tries, one after a brilliant To'o run and the second as he grabbed an offload from Luke Garner in the second half.
He added a try assist to his stats sheet by supporting Blaize Talagi up the field and then finding Casey McLean.
McLean capped off the big win by beating five defenders down the left wing for a second try in the final five minutes.
McLean turns them inside out to score his second! 💥 pic.twitter.com/g0qaohzKs1
— NRL (@NRL) July 18, 2025
Making their seventh-straight loss even worse, the Rabbitohs lost their shining light Keaon Koloamatangi to an ankle issue suffered as he attempted to tackle Garner in the second half.
He was joined on the sidelines by Mamouzelos, who suffered a head knock colliding with Isaiah Papali'i shortly thereafter.
Alex Johnston chased Jack Wighton's grubber kick to cross for his 207th career try in the final 90 seconds and give the Rabbitohs something to smile about.
Johnston is only five four-pointers away from equalling Ken Irvine's record of 212.
The Rabbitohs are now unable to finish the season with a winning record and have their coach Wayne Bennett on his longest losing streak since 2014.
Souths are on track to finish lower on the ladder than any Bennett-coached side in history, a mark currently held by the inaugural Dolphins side that placed 13th in 2023.
The outlook is rosier for four-time reigning premiers Penrith, who now have one hand on a top-eight spot after slumping to last on the ladder after 12 rounds.
They will be hot favourites in their next three games, all against bottom-eight sides, and are guaranteed a winning record to finish the season if they take care of business in all three.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hibs kick out offers for Miller
Hibernian have rejected seven-figure bids for Australia defender Lewis Miller from unnamed clubs in the English Championship. (Scottish Sun)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Farrell keeps it in the family with Lions captaincy
Coach Andy Farrell has named his son Owen to captain the British and Irish Lions against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne on Tuesday. Playing his 20th match for the Lions on his fourth tour, Farrell will lead the Lions for the first time as the tourists turn out at Marvel Stadium in the last of their six tour matches. It's his first start since being drafted into the 2025 squad late as injury cover, with the 33-year-old coming off the bench in the Lions' one-sided win over the AUNZ invitational XV in Adelaide. The Lions are 6-0 on their Australian tour, including a 27-19 victory over the Wallabies in the first Test at Brisbane last Saturday. Backrower Ben Earl and inside backs Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith have been included in the reserves three days after being involved in the 23-man squad for the first Test. Former England captain Farrell will partner Irishman Jamie Osborne in the centres while Scotland No.9 Ben White will combine with England's Fin Smith in the halves. Blair Kinghorn will return from a knee injury to play fullback in an all-Scotland back three with wingers Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe. Welsh blindside flanker Jac Morgan will start, as will exciting young England No.8 Henry Pollock. Ireland centre Garry Ringrose has overcome concussion symptoms to take a spot on the bench. Jamie George will start at hooker after joining the tour group from Argentina after playing with England. Three other Scottish reinforcements -- lock Gregor Brown, hooker Ewan Ashman and prop Rory Sutherland - were named on the bench. Wallabies veteran Kurtley Beale will captain the inaugural First Nations and Pasifika team. Andy Farrell said the match would give all players a chance to push their case for selection for the final two Tests, the second of which comes on Saturday night at the MCG. "The coaches' minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places," Farrell said in a statement "This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests. "This group know the level of performance that we will require against a First Nations and Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power." Lions: Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Darcy Graham (Scotland), Jamie Osborne (Ireland), Owen Farrell (England, captain), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Fin Smith (England), Ben White (Scotland); Henry Pollock (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Scott Cummings (Scotland), James Ryan (Ireland), Finlay Bealham (Ireland), Jamie George (England), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland). Reserves: Ewan Ashman (Scotland), Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Tom Clarkson (Ireland), Gregor Brown (Scotland), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Marcus Smith (England), Garry Ringrose (Ireland).
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
British and Irish Lions: Owen Farrell captain for First Nations & Pasifika XV clash as Blair Kinghorn returns
Owen Farrell will lead the British and Irish Lions for the first time in Tuesday's match against the First Nations & Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium. Farrell is given his maiden start of the tour 17 days after he joined the Lions squad as a call-up for Elliot Daly and forges a midfield partnership with fellow late arrival Jamie Osborne. The former England captain came on as a second-half replacement against AUNZ on July 12 and produced some eye-catching moments in attack as he blew away the cobwebs in his first appearance since May 4. It will be the first time in four tours that he has skippered the Lions and his selection presents the opportunity to play his way into contention for Saturday's second Test against the Wallabies. Blair Kinghorn has the chance to prove his fitness for the Melbourne Cricket Ground showdown after missing the series opener in Brisbane with a knee injury, lining up at full-back. Alex Mitchell is set to continue his remarkable run of having played in every match on tour after being picked on the bench, where he is joined by Ben Earl and Marcus Smith, who are also backing up, having been involved in Saturday's 27-19 win against Australia. Garry Ringrose has recovered from the concussion that forced him to miss out at Suncorp Stadium to secure a replacement's role for the final midweek game of the tour. The Ireland star was favourite to start the Test series at outside centre until he suffered his head injury, resulting in Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu being paired together in their tried and tested all-Scotland combination. There are three specialist opensides in the back row in Jac Morgan, Josh van der Flier and Henry Pollock, each of whom has an outside chance of winning a place on the bench for the second Test. Apart from Farrell and Osborne, there are seven further late additions to the squad involved in Darcy Graham, Ben White, Jamie George, Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Tom Clarkson and Gregor Brown. "This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests," Lions head coach Andy Farrell said. "The coaches' minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places and we want that to continue for the remaining two Tests. "This group know the level of performance that we will require against a First Nations Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power." Lions XV: B Kinghorn; D Graham, J Osborne, O Farrell, D van der Merwe; F Smith, B White; P Schoeman, J George, F Bealham, J Ryan, S Cummings, J Morgan, J van der Flier, H Pollock Replacements: E Ashman, R Sutherland, T Clarkson, G Brown, B Earl, A Mitchell, M Smith, G Ringrose
