Panthers trainer Corey Bocking under fire over late drama as Penrith win 30-26 over Titans

The incident unfolded in the 75th minute of regular time when Titans star Jayden Campbell was lining up to take a sideline conversion after the Titans had clawed back a 24-0 deficit to lead 26-24.

Panthers trainer Corey Bocking ran from the Penrith players’ huddle behind the goal line directly into the path of Campbell just as he was preparing to strike the ball.

Campbell waved him away in frustration as Bocking raised a hand apologetically.

However, Campbell missed the kick, which then allowed Nathan Cleary to kick a two-point field goal in the dying moments of the game to tie up the scores, sending it to extra time where five-eighth Blaize Talagi scored the matchwinner.

Had Campbell converted Philip Sami’s sideline try, the Titans would have led by four points and left the Panthers needing a try to save the game.

“That is disgraceful. You can’t make that mistake, unbelievable,” Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss said.

“Have you ever seen that?

“I think he (deserves) a second shot. That is high controversy, I don’t know what action you take.

“That’s beyond the pale.”

Hasler wouldn’t speculate on whether the incident was deliberate, but expected the NRL to sanction Bocking.

“Did it cost us the game? I don’t know,” he said.

“He will get breached. That’s the only thing that’s going to come out of it.

“I don’t know (if it was deliberate), I can’t really comment. He apologised, didn’t he?”

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said it was an honest mistake.

“I didn’t see it but we’ve been chatting about it,” he said.

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had a sub and I changed it at the last minute.

“He was trying to communicate with the bench for a late change. There’s a lot of stuff going on.

“That’s why there was a bit of confusion. It was an honest mistake. He apologised straight away.

“I’m happy to say we’ve apologised. It’s not something anyone set out to do.”

The trainer wasn’t the only controversy in the game, with a number of officiating decisions from Bunker official Kasey Badger leaving Hasler perplexed.

Badger appeared to miss a high tackle from Brian To’o on Sami as he went over to score late in the first half, when the decision was reviewed after the Titans winger’s foot appeared to touch the touch line.

It was then ruled that the high tackle did not cause Sami to put his foot into touch and wasn’t deemed a penalty try, however To’o was placed on report for high contact.

“Confusing is a good word. That’s all I can say,” said Hasler, who has been issued a final warning from the NRL for commenting on match officials.

“We didn’t get many of them.

“I’m not going to comment. I’ll do it through the correct channels.”

It’s not the first time a Penrith trainer has come under fire this season.

In Round 10, Shane Elford and his North Queensland counterpart, Mitchell Dunn, were both sprung for squirting match balls with water in stoppages of play.

The pair were suspended for two games, and their clubs fined $10,000 each, for attempting to gain an unfair advantage during the 30-all golden-point draw in Townsville.

The actions were deemed to be “in contravention of the NRL rules”.

In 2022, Paramatta were hit with a breach notice and fined $5000 after blue-shirt trainer Steve Murphy ran in front of the goalposts as Nathan Cleary attempted a sideline conversion in the Panthers’ 22-20 loss to the Eels at BlueBet Stadium.

The incident happened in the 53rd minute when the Panthers were ahead 14-10.

Murphy raced away from the Eels’ huddle on the goal line and straight in front of the posts right as Cleary was kicking, although it was not deemed a deliberate act.

PANTHERS EYE TOP FOUR AS CLEARY MIRACLE MAKES IT EIGHT IN A ROW

—Thomas Boswell

The Gold Coast Titans have fallen just short of producing the biggest comeback in its history against reigning premiers Penrith but it’s the actions of a Panthers trainer that will draw the attention of officials in the aftermath.

Gold Coast’s NRL old boys day nearly brought with it a new record, the Titans bouncing back from a 24-point deficit in the 48th minute to go down 30-26 in front of 18,174 fans in an extra-time thriller at Cbus Super Stadium in round 22 of the NRL on Saturday.

Penrith looked on track to cruise to an eighth-straight win and continue its push towards becoming favourites to defend the premiership.

Instead the Jayden Campbell-inspired Titans flipped the script to produce one of the most scintillating second halves in NRL history before being unable to secure a miracle win.

Gold Coast came from 20 points down earlier this season to beat Newcastle but the Panthers appeared to have suffocated a Titans team into submission despite the home side doing little wrong.

Some fleet footwork from Brian Kelly put Gold Coast on the board in the 48th minute before Jayden Campbell followed it up five minutes later, intercepting a Nathan Cleary pass to run nearly the length of the field to put the Titans back in the hunt.

The send-off of Penrith’s Izack Tago for tackling Brian Kelly without the ball on the back of a Jayden Campbell linebreak opened the door for Gold Coast to Sam Verrills to burrow over the line before a Phil Sami double put Gold Coast 26-24 up.

Campbell was kicking to make it a four-point lead before the Penrith trainer ran straight in front of Titans goal kicker moments before he stepped in to take the kick.

He had to restart his pre-shot preparation and then missed, showing his anger in the immediate aftermath.

A magic drop goal from Nathan Cleary 40m out sent the game into extra time where a try from Blaize Talagi won the game for the visitors.

TRAINER’S ANTICS

The Panthers trainer draw a chorus of boos from spectators after running in front of Campbell in one of the biggest moments of the game.

NRL officials will no doubt review the footage and the trainer’s actions. The Panthers official apologised straight after but it did little to calm a fired up Campbell who had just brought his side back into the game.

CLEARY BACK TO HIS BEST

Nathan Cleary has sent an ominous warning to rivals with another near-faultless performance.

Cleary tested the Titans defence with both his running and kicking game. His ability to create time and space for those around him was obvious while he made some incredibly important one-on-one tackles in defence.

Titans big man Beau Fermor tried to isolate Cleary early in the game but the Panthers halfback was relentless and only lifted.

CAMPBELL COMPLIMENTING FORAN

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Originally published as Panthers trainer Corey Bocking under fire over late drama as Penrith win 30-26 over Titans