Penrith Panthers 15–14 Canterbury-Bankstown — Minor Preliminary Semi-Final, 1997-sl NRL Finals Series
1 Sep 1997 · Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 10,492
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Minor Preliminary Semi-Final, 1997-sl NRL finals series: Penrith Panthers 15–14 Canterbury-Bankstown, at Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore, Sydney, NSW on 1 Sep 1997.
Sourcing caveat: Confirmed named scorers total Canterbury-Bankstown 10 of 14 points (4 short, one further try) and Penrith 11 of 15 points (4 short, one further try) — both recorded as unattributed rather than guessed.
Scorers
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: Robbie Beckett Goals: Ryan Girdler (3/3) Drop goals: Ryan Girdler |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Tries: Jason Hetherington Goals: Daryl Halligan (3/4) |
Team sheets
| Penrith Panthers | Canterbury-Bankstown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Jorgensen | Fullback | Rod Silva | 1 |
| 2 | Robbie Beckett | Wing | Hazem El Masri | 2 |
| 3 | Ryan Girdler | Centre | Matthew Ryan | 3 |
| 4 | Bobby Thompson | Centre | John Timu | 4 |
| 5 | Jason Williams | Wing | Daryl Halligan | 5 |
| 6 | Steve Carter (c) | Five-Eighth | Craig Polla-Mounter | 6 |
| 7 | Craig Gower | Halfback | Barry Berrigan | 7 |
| 8 | Phil Adamson | Prop | Steve Price | 8 |
| 9 | Danny Farrar | Hooker | Jason Hetherington | 9 |
| 10 | Carl MacNamara | Prop | Darren Britt | 10 |
| 11 | Matt Adamson | Second Row | Solomon Haumono | 11 |
| 12 | Jody Gall | Second Row | Simon Gillies (c) | 12 |
| 13 | Darren Brown | Lock | Travis Norton | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tony Puletua | Robert Relf | 14 | |
| 15 | Duncan MacGillivray | Steve Reardon | 15 | |
| 16 | Brett Boyd | Robert Mears | 16 | |
| 17 | Garen Casey | Mitch Newton | 17 | |
| Royce Simmons | Coach | Chris Anderson | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Graham Annesley |
Match report
Halftime Canterbury-Bankstown 8-15 Penrith. Match was originally scheduled for Stockland Stadium on 30 Aug but moved to Belmore Sports Ground.