Tommy Talau incident sends NRL fans into meltdown as Penrith Panthers fume after loss

NRL great Corey Parker and Penrith Panthers fans have been left flabbergasted after Tommy Talau was claimed to have knocked the ball on ahead of a Manly try on Saturday. Manly put on a masterful display for Daly Cherry-Evans' record breaking game for the Sea Eagles after they defeated the Panthers 32-18 at Brookvale Oval.

However, the first-half ended in drama after Talau went for an intercept of Dylan Edwards' cut out pass. The ball went to ground and under the current interpretations the drop ball would be considered a knock on. Tolutau Koula played the whistle and scooped up the ball.

The centre then showed off his speed and ran the field with ease to put Manly ahead 14-6 at half-time. While Manly were thrilled, most of the players had stopped believing Talau had clearly knocked the ball on.

The touch judge was right on hand to see the drop ball and was fine with the decision. "That was a chance. It's play on for now, he is going to let this run out. Surely Talau has put it down," commentator Dane Ginane said in Fox Sports commentary.

“Todd Smith jogs over, and he’s calling it a try, wow. It is a four-pointer, it’s going to come down to a replay," he added. Maroons great Corey Parker was left flabbergasted at the awarded try.

“That’s a knock on, I don’t understand how Todd Smith has let that play on,” Parker said. Ginnane was left stunned when the Bunker confirmed the try. “I think this is confirmed, it is, high drama at Brookvale... of course it’s a knock on, a contentious knock down pass," he added.

“We see it every day, the minute that ball goes down they say knock on, this time it goes upstairs, Todd Smith gives it a try... and they come up with try,” Parker added.

NRL fans question knock-on call for Manly

Fans were equally stunned. While the angle makes it very hard to determine if the ball went backwards or not, the interpretation of the knock on rule in the NRL would normally Talau's drop ball called back. And fans were left stunned the try was awarded.

Ivan Cleary laments poor Panthers display

The Panthers were handed their second loss of 2024 in the NRL and coach Ivan Cleary was left frustrated with the amount of intercept passes the team threw. "It was one of about five or six intercepts we threw," he said. "We played poorly, in many different ways."

The Panthers were without Nathan Cleary in the clash, but a Cherry-Evans masterclass helped guide Manly to an easy win at home.