Leeton put on a spirited performance, particularly in the first half, but ended up going down to the Panthers 42-22 at No. 1 Oval. 

The second-placed Panthers weren’t expecting to have any trouble against the home side, but encountered serious resistance in the first half.

Greens coach Clint Halden said there were many positives from the game.

He said he would have liked to have seen his side come out in the second half with the same fighting attitude he witnessed in the first. 

“I thought our guys played a really good game,” Halden said. 

“The Black and Whites are a really good side.

“We did push them hard in that first-half, which I thought was great.”

Leeton raced to a 16-0 lead in the first-half.

Centre Matt Arnold starred for the Greens and crossed for the opening two tries.

His first came after a hit and spin close to the tryline before he used his pace and step to beat three defenders in a 25-metre dash.

Winger Hayden Southgate dived over in the 23rd minute for the Greens’ third and could have extended his side’s advantage soon after, but dropped the ball over the line in the left corner.

Black and Whites made the most of the reprieve to score three tries in five minutes when Leeton’s defence opened up.

James Williams, Stephen Broome and Shane Makea crossed to make it 16-all before Leeton stole a converted try through Arnold near half-time to take a six-point lead into the break.

The Greens faithful would have been hoping for more of the same in the second half, but it was Black and Whites who scored first after the restart.

Forward Veti Mataa barged his way over near the sticks in the 45th minute, the ensuing conversion drawing scores level for the second time in the match.

The Greens thought they had retaken the lead with a try of their own a few minutes later, only for the effort to be disallowed for a double-movement.

Black and Whites didn’t look back from that moment, with four-pointers to Andrew Lavaka, Tom Caqusau (2) and Kelvin Simpson securing the victory.

Halden said it was the Black and Whites that had the momentum as soon as the second half got underway. 

“We made a few mistakes that probably cost us in the end,” he said. 

“I think if those errors hadn’t happened then it (the game) really could have gone either way.”

Results

Reserves

Black and Whites 42 d Leeton Greens 0