Match Details
Match Date	12th May, 2002
Opponent	Penrith
Result	Win 25-22
Coach	Steven Folkes
Captain	Steve Price
Venue	Sydney Showground Homebush
Crowd	7,917
Referee	Sean Hampstead

Craig Gower's frustration at referee Sean Hampstead's handling of the dramatic closing stages combined with the heartbreak of yet another loss reduced the Penrith captain to tears in the dressing-room after the game against the Bulldogs yesterday.

Gower mostly kept his head down at the post-game media conference in an attempt to hide evidence of the emotional cost, but the red eyes gave him away.

The Panthers went into the game yesterday not having won a premiership match for 260 days - since they beat Wests Tigers 44-10 last year on August 25.

The players have been criticised both from within the club and from outside it. It has been terribly hard for Gower and the rest of the players to take, and to have victory escape their grasp yesterday, when they were closer to it than they have been all season, was like a kick in the guts.

Penrith hit the front for the first time in the game in the 71st minute, when rookie Bulldogs winger Matthew Utai paid the heaviest price for allowing a Gower clearing kick to bounce twice before making a grab for it.

Rookie Penrith winger Luke Lewis, chasing hard, beat Utai to the ball and raced 40 metres to score. The conversion by five-eighth Ben Reynolds gave the Panthers a 22-19 lead and suddenly it was like they could smell rain coming at the end of a drought.

But the Bulldogs weren't going to go away and for most of what was left of the game they had Penrith under heavy pressure.

Whether every call by referee Hampstead during that critical period was right was the question.

Gower couldn't believe it when Hampstead allowed play to continue rather than call ''held" after Lewis caught a bomb from Bulldogs halfback Brent Sherwin in the 75th minute and was immediately pounced on by multiple defenders, 2m out from the Panthers' line.

Play was allowed to continue and something resembling rugby union's rolling maul formed, with at least five Bulldogs trying to push Lewis into the in-goal and force a drop-out while Penrith got there in numbers to try to keep him in the field of play.

Lewis was forced into the in-goal and the referee ruled a line drop-out. Gower sprinted over to Hampstead and argued against the decision but got nowhere, the referee adamant Lewis had not stopped moving before the Bulldogs got together to force him backwards.

Still, the Panthers continued to hold the Bulldogs out despite the repeat sets the home side was getting and when the visitors finally got the ball back it looked like they were going to hold on.

But, inside the second-last minute, Bulldogs prop Mark O'Meley stripped possession from Penrith lock John Cross and, with 68 seconds left, Bulldogs five-eighth Braith Anasta dived over for a try to clinch a miracle win.

It was touch and go whether a second Bulldogs defender, second-rower Darren Smith, had become involved in the tackle before O'Meley had stolen the ball, which would have rendered the strip illegal. Gower reckoned it was a two-man tackle.

Half answering questions and half venting his spleen, Gower muttered ''it's a joke" when it came to Hampstead's line drop-out decision and ''he's got no idea" when it came to Hampstead in general.

After the media conference and back in the Penrith dressing-room, Gower was asked if he had shed tears over the loss. He was clearly embarrassed to admit he had, but he needn't have been.

As he said: ''It's hard to take, losing that way when you're still trying to win for the first time this year."

Penrith coach John Lang didn't want to complain about refereeing decisions even if he didn't agree with them, saying the Panthers had to ''control their own destiny". How much longer it takes before they do crack it for a win we'll have to wait and see.

Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes admitted his side was ''lucky to get out of it". But, even taking luck into account, it was a tribute to the Bulldogs' professionalism that they did emerge with a win.

Gower headed off last night to take his mum, Maria, out for a Mother's Day dinner. Hopefully, they had a great time, but it won't make today any easier for him. Now it's 261 days without a win.

Source: www.rleague.com

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