Panthers survive scare

Penrith had to survive a second-half Canberra revival before hanging on to score an entertaining 34-16 win in their opening game of the new season.

The Panthers were in cruise control at 22-0 at halftime before a spirited Canberra comeback threatened to spoil their night.

Penrith were relieved to come out of the game with two points after the second half scare.

"They came back at us but we hung on," Panthers halfback Luke Walsh said. "Our kicking game was good but can still get better."

Raiders playmaker Terry Campese rued the fact his team didn't cash in on their comeback.

"We started the second half well but then gave them the ball back," Campese said. "We have no real excuses."

Playing in front of a healthy home crowd, the Panthers threw the ball around with plenty of confidence and also troubled the Raiders with their smart kicking game.

The Panthers scored their opening try of the season from a bomb the Canberra defence was unable to defuse after 12 minutes. Penrith regathered the ball and quick hands saw winger Shane Elford cross wide out.

The Panthers were in again seven minutes later after new hooker Kevin Kingston caught the defence in two minds, turning a pass back inside for lock Luke Lewis to steam over. Kingston scored himself moments later, backing up big Frank Pritchard after the giant second-rower split the Canberra line from 50 metres out.

Winger Michael Gordon converted both tries and the Panthers extended their lead to 22-0 when another Walsh bomb created headaches for the defence, with fullback Lachlan Coote taking the ball and scoring.

The Raiders had their heads down at the break but gave the travelling fans hope with three quick tries after the resumption. Big prop Scott Logan barged over in the 43rd minute and then winger Daniel Vidot and centre Joel Thompson crossed to put the Raiders back in striking distance at 22-16.

And they looked poised to score again soon after before centre Adrian Purtell landed a killer blow against the club that cut him loose over the off season.

Purtell swooped on a loose Canberra pass on his own tryline, racing 90 metres to score to end any hopes of a Raiders victory.

Coote then sealed the win with a runaway try three minutes from the finish.

PENRITH 34 (L Coote 2 S Elford K Kingston L Lewis A Purtell tries M Gordon 5 goals)
CANBERRA 16 (S Logan J Thompson D Vidot tries T Campese 2 goals) at CUA Stadium. Referee: Steve Lyons, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 11,133.