Penrith Panthers 29–28 Sydney Roosters — Qualifying Final, 2020 NRL Finals Series
2 Oct 2020 · Panthers Stadium, Penrith, NSW · Attendance: 7,209
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2020 NRL finals series: Penrith Panthers 29–28 Sydney Roosters, at Panthers Stadium, Penrith, NSW on 2 Oct 2020.
Sourcing caveat: Sources conflict on exact try minutes by a few minutes each; minutes shown are best-estimate composites. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 6′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Morris |
| 9′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Lussick |
| 15′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Mansour |
| 21′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Cleary |
| 27′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Cleary |
| 38′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Cleary |
| 49′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Crichton |
| 55′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Tedesco |
| 65′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Morris |
| 78′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Crichton |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: Mansour 15'; Cleary 21'; Cleary 27'; Cleary 38'; Crichton 49' Goals: Cleary (4/6 goals) Drop goals: Cleary 77' |
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Morris 6'; Lussick 9'; Tedesco 55'; Morris 65'; Crichton 78' Goals: Flanagan (4/5 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Penrith Panthers | Sydney Roosters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Edwards | Fullback | James Tedesco | 1 |
| 2 | Josh Mansour | Wing | Daniel Tupou | 2 |
| 3 | Brent Naden | Centre | Josh Morris | 3 |
| 4 | Stephen Crichton | Centre | Joseph Manu | 4 |
| 5 | Brian To'o | Wing | Brett Morris | 5 |
| 6 | Jarome Luai | Five-eighth | Luke Keary | 6 |
| 7 | Nathan Cleary | Halfback | Kyle Flanagan | 7 |
| 8 | James Tamou | Prop | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | 8 |
| 9 | Apisai Koroisau | Hooker | Freddy Lussick | 9 |
| 10 | James Fisher-Harris | Prop | Siosiua Taukeiaho | 10 |
| 11 | Viliame Kikau | Second Row | Boyd Cordner | 11 |
| 12 | Liam Martin | Second Row | Angus Crichton | 16 |
| 13 | Isaah Yeo | Lock | Isaac Liu | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tyrone May | Sitili Tupouniua | 12 | |
| 15 | Kurt Capewell | Lindsay Collins | 15 | |
| 16 | Moses Leota | Nat Butcher | 18 | |
| 17 | Zane Tetevano | Mitchell Aubusson | 19 | |
| Ivan Cleary | Coach | Trent Robinson | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Gerard Sutton |
Match report
Minor premiers Penrith Panthers hosted the Sydney Roosters at Panthers Stadium in the first Qualifying Final of the 2020 NRL Finals Series, with the winner earning direct passage to the Preliminary Final. Penrith raced to a 22-10 half-time lead built on a first-half hat-trick from young halfback Nathan Cleary and a try to Josh Mansour. The reigning premiers Roosters fought back in the second half through tries to James Tedesco, a second from Josh Morris and, in the 78th minute, a converted try to Angus Crichton that trimmed the deficit to a single point. With scores locked at 28-28 and the siren approaching, Cleary slotted a field goal in the 77th minute to restore Penrith's lead, and the Panthers' defence held out a desperate late Roosters raid to seal a 29-28 victory in one of the most thrilling finals matches of the season.