Penrith Panthers 32–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs — Preliminary Final, 2022 NRL Finals Series
24 Sep 2022 · Accor Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 50,035
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2022 NRL finals series: Penrith Panthers 32–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs, at Accor Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 24 Sep 2022.
Sourcing caveat: No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 11′ | South Sydney Rabbitohs — try, Walker |
| 18′ | South Sydney Rabbitohs — try, Kennar |
| 35′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Koroisau |
| 39′ | Penrith Panthers — try, To'o |
| 44′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Leniu |
| 54′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Tago |
| 64′ | South Sydney Rabbitohs — Taane Milne — sent off for a high shot on Spencer Leniu 64' (first send-off in an NRL final since 1994) |
| 77′ | Penrith Panthers — try, Cleary |
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: Koroisau 35'; To'o 39'; Leniu 44'; Tago 54'; Cleary 77' Goals: Cleary (5/5 conversions) 36', 40', 45', 55', 79'; Cleary — penalty goal 64' |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Tries: Walker 11'; Kennar 18' Goals: Mitchell (2/2 conversions) 12', 19' Sin bin: Taane Milne — sent off for a high shot on Spencer Leniu 64' (first send-off in an NRL final since 1994) |
Team sheets
| Penrith Panthers | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Edwards | Fullback | Latrell Mitchell | 1 |
| 2 | Charlie Staines | Wing | Richard Kennar | 2 |
| 3 | Izack Tago | Centre | Isaiah Tass | 3 |
| 4 | Stephen Crichton | Centre | Campbell Graham | 4 |
| 5 | Brian To'o | Wing | Taane Milne | 5 |
| 6 | Jarome Luai | Five-eighth | Cody Walker | 6 |
| 7 | Nathan Cleary | Halfback | Lachlan Ilias | 7 |
| 8 | Moses Leota | Prop | Tevita Tatola | 8 |
| 9 | Apisai Koroisau | Hooker | Damien Cook | 9 |
| 10 | James Fisher-Harris | Prop | Mark Nicholls | 10 |
| 11 | Viliame Kikau | Second Row | Keaon Koloamatangi | 11 |
| 12 | Liam Martin | Second Row | Jai Arrow | 12 |
| 13 | Isaah Yeo | Lock | Cameron Murray | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Mitch Kenny | Kodi Nikorima | 14 | |
| 15 | Scott Sorensen | Hame Sele | 15 | |
| 16 | Spencer Leniu | Michael Chee-Kam | 16 | |
| 17 | Jaeman Salmon | Jed Cartwright | 17 | |
| Ivan Cleary | Coach | Jason Demetriou | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
Penrith Panthers overcame a fast Rabbitohs start to book a third straight NRL Grand Final appearance, beating South Sydney 32-12 in the Preliminary Final at Accor Stadium on 24 September 2022. South Sydney raced to an early lead through tries to Cody Walker and Richard Kennar, both converted by Latrell Mitchell, before Penrith hit back with three tries in a nine-minute burst either side of halftime — Apisai Koroisau, Brian To'o and Spencer Leniu all crossing — to lead and never look back. The contest turned further in the second half when Rabbitohs prop Taane Milne was sent off for a high shot on Leniu, the first player dismissed in an NRL final since 1994; Nathan Cleary slotted the resulting penalty goal. Izack Tago and a late Cleary try sealed a comprehensive win, sending Penrith into the Grand Final against Parramatta Eels while ending South Sydney's premiership defence after their 2021 Grand Final appearance.