Andrew Johns blasts 'embarrassing' Panthers incident as concerns grow ahead of NRL finals

Concerns are mounting that an officiating blunder could decide an NRL finals game after the Panthers appeared to be dudded out of a try against the Rabbitohs on Friday night. Penrith won 34-12 to book their place in the top-four, but a controversial call to deny Brian To'o a try was widely panned.

The Panthers winger sliced through the line late in the first half and showed some silky skills to evade Jye Gray to score. But what appeared to be a fair try was pulled up by the Bunker, which deemed that Liam Martin had obstructed Rabbitohs defenders in the lead-up.

Martin did stop in the Souths defensive line, but Saliva Havili appeared to take a huge dive rather than attempt to tackle To'o. Havili bundled into the back of Martin and flopped to the ground, appearing to realise he was no chance of getting to To'o.

The Bunker official fell for the tactic, leaving Andrew Johns and Phil Gould fuming in commentary for Channel 9. “This is just absolutely ridiculous,” Johns said. “There’s always people in front of the line, it’s the name of the game. You move the ball laterally at different angles coming back. Honestly.

“He falls over - that is embarrassing. You are rewarding an effort like this. This is what you’re rewarding? Disgusting.”

Phil Gould expresses concerns ahead of NRL finals

Gould said the NRL needs to take action to sort out the officiating heading into the finals. “He had no intention of getting Brian To’o,” Gould said. “It’s way too pedantic. They’ve got tidy all this up before the finals come around. He just deliberately runs into him, he doesn’t even try. Terrible."

On Fox League, Cooper Cronk and Warren Smith agreed that Havili had taken a dive but said the Bunker got the call correct by the letter of the law. “Havili played for it big time,” Cronk said. “But it's still a penalty.”

Smith added: “He milked it, no doubt about that, and in all probability given the angle we just saw, probably doesn’t stop Brian To’o. But unfortunately the players in front of him denied him any chance.”

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Jarome Luai stars as Panthers kick back into gear

Thankfully the decision didn't prove costly for the Panthers, with Jarome Luai helping Penrith shake off a worrying stretch of form to thrash the Rabbitohs. Ivan Cleary's side looked closer to their triple premiership-winning best at home on Friday night than in any other game this month, snapping their first two-game losing streak since April last year.

"There were definitely some better signs, I thought, defensively in particular. It was certainly a step up," said coach Cleary. "It's something to build on."

The Panthers will need other results to fall their way if they want to climb back into the top-two and secure a home final in the first week of the playoffs. Either way, they are destined to finish in the top-four and get a second chance.

With Nathan Cleary out until the finals, Luai and back-up playmaker Brad Schneider found more cohesion on Friday night. It was their second game since Cleary suffered a shoulder injury, allaying fears of a Panthers form slump without the star halfback. "I thought (Luai) kicked really well, which was the foundation of how he played so well at No.7 earlier in the year," Ivan Cleary said.

with AAP