Nathan Cleary in action against the Rabbitohs. Pic Brett Costello

THE Panthers have held-off a fast finishing Rabbitohs side to claim a 28-26 win at an icy Pepper Stadium on Friday night.

Check out who flew and who flopped here:

A five-eighth playing fullback. Some really classy touches at first and second receiver to have the Souths defence on high alert whenever he got involved FULLBACK Alex Johnston 6.5 Solid and was always hunting around for an opportunity but not the influence that he was at the back last week for his side Josh Mansour 8 Backed up a solid Origin performance with an outstanding game for his club. Great under the high ball and threatened all night with plenty of strong carries WING Joe Burgess 6 Did what he had to do well in his first game for his new club but few opportunities came his way with the football Waqa Blake 5 A really dumb off-load mistake early in the second half that led to Inglis try but the ball hardly found him all game otherwise CENTRE Greg Inglis 8 Carried his Origin form into this one. His intensity was up compared to what it has been in other games for Souths and he threatened just about every time he handled the ball Tyrone Peachey 7 Always a threat with his footwork and unpredictability with the football and was heavily involved CENTRE Eddie Murphy 5 Thrown into the game by coach Maguire after the loss of Adam Reynolds but we didn’t see a whole lot from him in his debut Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 7.5 Didn’t see as much football as his wing partner but still very effective when he got himself involved WING Aaron Gray 5 Has lost form since scoring four tries for City in the rep game and nothing improved much for him in this one Bryce Cartwright 8 Yes, he missed Inglis badly when GI scored but his skill with the football and his off-loads contributed big time to the Panthers’ win. 5/8 Cody Walker 7.5 Plenty of good touches and his class at the end gave the Bunnies a belated sniff of victory when all seemed lost Nathan Cleary 7.5 Hard to believe he is only 18 playing his third NRL game. Composed under pressure, kicked well and supported inside for a crucial second half try H/BACK Luke Keary 6.5 Mixed bag again from the halfback. Came up with some good kicking options but running game almost non-existent Leilani Latu 7 A key figure for the Panthers and was another strong performer with a timely second half try that made up for a defensive miss when Turner scored. PROP Tom Burgess 7 Has been disappointing but his work-rate with and without the football in this one was a step up for the big prop Peter Wallace 7 Great way to celebrate his 200th. Got through plenty of defensive work and his running game from dummy half and option taking was spot on HOOKER Cam McInnes 7 Got through a mountain of defence and his work out of dummy half was an improvement on recent weeks Reagan Campbell-Gillard 6.5 A couple of strong carries in both halves got his side on the front foot and nothing wrong with his defensive effort in the middle PROP Nathan Brown 7.5 Earnt his starting spot and didn’t disappoint. Maybe not the explosiveness of previous games but still effective in the middle Isaah Yeo 6.5 Came up with an early error but overall, was strong with the footy and did his fair share of defence 2ND ROW John Sutton 6.5 Had his moments but over-all, didn’t get enough opportunities on the left edge to really make his presence felt Trent Merrin 8 How good a motor does this bloke have? Made 24 hit-ups for 201 metres with three off-loads and finished with 43 tackles in an outstanding contribution to the win 2ND ROW Kyle Turner 7 Ran a really good, strong line for his first half try and was far more effective for the Bunnies than he has been Suaia Matagi 4 Poor defensive miss on Turner for first half try and wasn’t cited after his early first half stint LOCK Sam Burgess 8 Has been rightly criticised for being below his usual high standards but was enormous for Souths in this one. Two late tries and plenty of strong carries and off-loads Sitaleki Akauola 4 One or two decent charges but only thrown into the game in the second half and no real time to shine I/CHANGE Jason Clark 6.5 Strong defensively when he got out there and more effective with the footy than usua Jeremy Latimore 5.5 Gave his side a lift when he came on but didn’t see a lot of game time I/CHANGE Patrice Siolo 3.5 Played only a bit part so next to no impact Chris Grevsmuhl 7 Will savour his try against his old club and didn’t miss a couple of times in defence I/CHANGE Tautalatasi Tasi 4.5 A couple of willing carries but not out there long enough to make an impact James Fisher-Harris 4 Back from injury and looked under done in the limited time he had on the field. Good player who is only going to get better I/CHANGE Dave Tyrell 4.5 Hardly the type of impact player you want to come on and give you a boost and he didn’t 110 TOTAL 106.5 ‘ +
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