[Source: NRL]

A double to Sunia Turuva led the Panthers to a morale-boosting 34-12 win over the Rabbitohs at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night.

With Isaah Yeo and Jarome Luai leading the way, the Panthers steadied the ship after back-to-back losses to the Raiders and Storm.

The Panthers got off to a flyer when Yeo busted the line and put a barnstorming James Fisher-Harris over for a try in the ninth minute before the Kiwi prop turned provider with a deft grubber which led to a Luke Garner four-pointer.

A kick was again the order of the night for the Panthers’ third try when Luai nudged the ball into the in-goal for halves partner Brad Schneider to trail through and score for an 18-0 lead.

The Rabbitohs hit back through teenager Tyrone Munro in the 34th minute and went to the break trailing by 12 but that quickly became 16 when Turuva crossed for his 15th try of the season to make it 22-6.

Three minutes later Turuva had a double when Luai got the ball on halfway and exploded into the backfield before sending a perfectly timed pass to his flying winger.

With the Panthers threatening to add a sixth try it was Munro who snared an intercept and raced 90 metres to score his second for the night and pull his team back to 28-12.

The Rabbitohs looked to mount another attack with 12 minutes to play but a dropped ball by Damian Cook invited the Panthers into good field position and Keaon Koloamatangi was sin binned for a professional foul when he tackled Fisher-Harris without the ball as the prop chased a grubber.

Panthers forward Lindsay Smith went on report for a crusher tackle on Jye Gray in the closing minutes and could face a nervous wait for the match review committee charges to be released.

The win takes the Panthers back to second on the ladder on 38 points with the Roosters (36) and Sharks (36) still to play over the weekend as the battle for home ground advantage in week one of the finals continues.