NRL.com Wrap | 12-man Knights advance to Grand Final after Sandon Smith masterclass

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Best in class: Knights centre Bradman Best was a beast in attack and defence. Best ran for 185 metres and had three tackle breaks while also coming up with 29 tackles, including some crucial stops as the Panthers threw everything at the Knights.

Sandon stands tall: Knights halfback Sandon Smith came up with two monster plays that turned the game on its head. With the Knights trailing 14-10 and 21 minutes to play, Smith took a tap on halfway and embarrassed the Panthers players who had their backs turned. Then he went the distance again in the final seconds as he intercepted a desperation Panthers pass and raced away to ice an incredible win. Smith tallied 178 run metres and also had 256 kick metres on a day he will never forget.

Full-time: The Knights have produced one of the greatest finals victory in the game's history after playing with 12 men for 44 minutes. The Knights did not concede a point after Crossland was sent off and got home on the back of two runaway tries by Sandon Smith.

80 min: One last roll of the dice for the Knights as they keep the ball alive but Sandon Smith intercepts a Liam Martin pass and runs 80 metres to score the try that sends the Knights into their first grand final since 2001. The siren sounds as Smith converts his own try. Knights 22-14

78 min: Isaah Yeo with a huge run and then on the last play it's a pass knocked down by the Knights. Full set for Penrith 20m out.

76 min: Lindsay Smith comes up with an error in a two-man Knights tackle. The Knights are 20m out from their own line and try to ruck it out again.

75 min: Luke Garner is jammed by Greg Marzhew and the Knights take over but Dylan Lucas hands it back with an error.

73 min: Jack Cogger makes an error 10m out and the Knights have hung on again.

72 min: Liam Martin with a huge hit on Dane Gagai to force an error and Casey McLean gets a shot at the tryline. He looks certain to score but Kalyn Ponga and Jermaine McEwen somehow manage to hold him. 

69 min: Thomas Jenkins catches a cross field kick and offloads for Casey McLean who tries to get a kick away but loses control. Knights come out of their own end.

67 min: More drama for Penrith as Blaize Talagi goes to the ground without a hand being laid on him and immediately it looks like an Achilles injury for the youngster who is helped off by two trainers.

65 min: The Panthers sneak down a short side on the last tackle and Casey McLean gets a grubber into the in-goal where Kalyn Ponga cleans up. The Knights go short with the dropout and Dane Gagai comes up with a superb take.

63 min: The Panthers run it on the last and Blaize Talagi is shut down by Bradman Best. The Panthers appeal for high contact but nothing doing and it's a Knights ball.

59 min: Billy Phillips is penalised for a high shot on Fletcher Sharpe. The Panthers turn their backs and go to sleep and Sandon Smith makes them pay when he takes a tap and sprints 50 metres to score under the sticks. A brilliant piece of heads-up play by Smith who converts his own try. Knights 16-14

58 min: Fletcher Sharpe with a towering spiral kick which Brian To'o bobbles but holds on.

57 min: Dylan Edwards puts in a cross field kick to the right-hand corner but it falls for Bradman Best who comes out of trouble.

52 min: Dylan Lucas is into the game for the Knights.

50 min: A high tackle penalty against Francis Manuleleua has the 12-man Knights under the pump but they hang on when Isaah Yeo makes an error in a three-man tackle.

49 min: Jack Cogger sneaks down a short side and Dylan Edwards handles before Brian To'o grubbers and Bradman Best is forced to tidy up. Knights dropout.

48 min: Fletcher Sharpe aims a kick towards the posts from 20m out but it's way too strong and goes dead to hand the Panthers a seven-tackle set.

46 min: A second bad moment for Thomas Jenkins in the space of two minutes as he spills the ball in contact and the Knights have a full set inside the red zone.

44 min: Kalyn Ponga comes up with an error in the play the ball and the Panthers have a scrum 40m out. Thomas Jenkins tries to put in a kick on the first tackle as the Panthers produce a set play but the kick is a shocker and Dane Gagai comes away.

43 min: The Knights produce an absolute cracker of a try finished off by Dom Young who handled twice in the movement that started on their own side of halfway. Sandon Smith, Dane Gagai and Francis Manuleleua also played a role before the giant winger powered into the corner. Smith fails to convert. Panthers 14-10

Panthers clinical: With 57 per cent of possession and a completion rate of 85 per cent, the Panthers wore down the Knights and grabbed a late try after Phoenix Crossland had been sent off. The Panthers ran for 387 more metres than the Knights and were led in that department by Dylan Edwards with 122 metres and Liam Henry with 90 metres.

Half-time: The Panthers go to the break ahead by eight points but the loss of Nathan Cleary with a serious ankle injury is sure to have Isaah Yeo and his men rattled. Reports are Cleary has suffered a compound fracture of his leg and has been taken to hospital immediately.

39 min: Lindsay Smith with the show-and-go from close range and he pulls through the low tackle of Harrison Graham and slams the ball down for a critical try. Blaize Talagi converts. Panthers 14-6

38 min: Liam Martin with an error coming out of his own end. The Panthers challenge and come up trumps with Fletcher Sharpe ruled to have stripped the ball.

37 min: Blaize Talagi lands the penalty goal from the hip drop penalty. Panthers 8-6

36 min: Phoenix Crossland has been SENT OFF. Nathan Cleary has reportedly suffered a compound fracture of his ankle.

36 min: Superstar Nathan Cleary stays on the ground just 5m out from the Knights line after he is dragged down by Phoenix Crossland. Cleary is in serious distress and the medicab comes onto the field. Replays appear to show a hip drop by Crossland as he came down on Cleary's ankle. Every Panthers player comes to the medicab to wish their mate the best as he is driven from the field. Referee Gerard Sutton calls out Crossland and sends him from the field. 

35 min: Dom Young can't make the catch off a Jack Cole high ball and the Panthers have a shot at points.

32 min: On the back of a Greg Marzhew error the Panthers are hot on the attack again and Dylan Edwards beat a number of defenders on a run to the line. Lead runner Liam Martin appears to make contact with Fletcher Sharpe and deny him a fair shot. Edwards goes back through that space and the Knights get the penalty for obstruction. NO TRY.

30 min: Nathan Cleary's bomb is tapped back by Scott Sorensen but the Knights are there to clean it up and try to ruck it out from deep in their own end. They make just 21 metres on the set before Sandon Smith goes to the boot.

28 min: Lachlan Crouch is pinged for late contact on Jack Cole as he gets a kick in. The Panthers take a tap and keep the pressure on.

27 min: Dom Young is met heavily by the Panthers defence in the corner and sends a wild flick pass back inside which is scooped up by Dylan Edwards who makes 30 metres.

26 min: Nathan Cleary enters the game.

25 min: The Knights go to the air and Tom Jenkins is ruled to have knocked on in the contest. Knights scrum 10m out.

23 min: Brian To'o takes a pass 15m out and sets sail for the line with a weaving run before Cody Hopwood and Francis Manuleleua combine to stop him just short.

21 min: Mitch Kenny grubbers on the last and it rolls into the in-goal where Mat Croker tidies it up. Kalyn Ponga goes short with the dropout but the Panthers come up with the ball.

18 min: Dane Gagai goes to the boot from 10m out but it's too heavy and rolls into touch in goal. Panthers seven-tackle set.

16 min: Moses Leota loses the ball in the ruck and gets up blowing up at Jermaine McEwen. A bit of push and shove follows and the Knights get the penalty.

12 min: Jack Cogger with a perfectly weighted grubber into the in-goal for Blaize Talagi to follow through and score his sixth try of the season. Dylan Edwards adds the extras and we're all square at Accor. 6-6

11 min: The Panthers shift right and Blaize Talagi is taken high by Bradman Best. The Panthers elect to take the tap and keep the pressure on.

8 min: The Knights strike first with a long-range special as Bradman Best beats Blaize Talagi and sets off on a 40-metre run before sending the ball back inside for Francis Leleuua to race away and score. Sandon Smith converts. Knights 6-0

4 min: Jack Cogger kicks again and is hit this time by Tyson Frizell but the tackle is ruled to be late. Penalty Panthers. Dylan Edwards is taking over the goalkicking with Nathan Cleary on the bench. Edwards pushes the kick wide and the ball goes dead. Knights go long with the dropout.

3 min: Jack Cogger is nailed by Mat Croker with a fair shot just as he got his kick away. The Knights make the catch and come away.

1 min: An early error from Tyson Frizell in the greasy conditions and the Panthers have a scrum 40m out from the Knights line.

Nathan stays inside: Nathan Cleary did not go out on the field for his team's warm-up, choosing to remain inside the dressing room. He will kick in general play when he gets onto the field but will not do the goalkicking.

Nathan off the bench: "Just take him out of the biggest impact at the start of the game," coach Ivan Cleary said. "Ultimately where we are really happy with how he has prepared."

Late Mail

Panthers: A huge call by coach Ivan Cleary on game day with Jack Cogger promoted to the starting side and Nathan Cleary coming off the bench. Liam Henry and Scott Sorensen will also start the game with Lindsay Smith and Isaiah Papali'i going to the bench. A couple of minor changes in Saturday's 24-hour update with Freddy Lussick coming onto the six-man bench in place of Billy Scott. Nathan Cleary has worked around the clock on rehab after suffering the injury in the win over the Roosters in week one. "He'll be ready," coach Ivan Cleary declared on Saturday morning. Cogger is back from a three-game suspension and straight into the hot seat in the starting side.

Knights: The Knights are 1-19 with no late changes. Coach Justin Holbrook goes with the same 19-man squad that stunned the Warriors at Eden Park to progress to their first preliminary final since 2013. Back-rower Dylan Lucas got through 14 minutes in his comeback from a fractured ankle and has again been named on the bench, although a late call-up to the starting side could be on the cards. The Knights boast 92 games of finals experience compared to the Panthers' 233. 

Numbers Game

• The Panthers have won nine of their last 10 games against the Knights.
• The Knights are chasing their first preliminary final win in 25 years.
• The Panthers have won five out of six preliminary finals since 2020.
• Winger Greg Marzhew requires one try to equal Dom Young's Newcastle club record of 25 tries in a season.
• Panthers winger Brian To’o has scored nine tries in nine games against the Knights.