A Penrith trainer has been slammed for a “disgraceful” act during the Panther’s golden-point win over Gold Coast on Saturday.

Penrith five-eighth sensation Blaize Talagi scored the winning try to down a brave Gold Coast 30-26 in a drama-charged classic at Robina.

Panthers halves Talagi and Nathan Cleary orchestrated a 24-0 lead by halftime before the Titans hit back in stunning fashion in front of 18,174 fans.

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Gold Coast fullback AJ Brimson and half Jayden Campbell turned it on with sheer individual brilliance as the hosts scored five tries in 25 minutes to take a 26-24 lead in the 74th minute.

But there was huge controversy on the conversion attempt that would have given the Titans a four-point buffer.

Campbell’s attempt was halted after a Panthers trainer ran directly in front of him.

The Titans star reacted angrily to the situation, while the trainer immediately apologised but looked sheepish.

Cleary flustered by the incident, Campbell set up again before pushing his attempt wide.

“Oh, the trainer has just run straight in front of Jayden Campbell,” commentator Michael Ennis said.

Andrew Voss then hit out at the trainer.

“That is disgraceful, that is absolutely disgraceful,” he said.

“You can’t make that mistake, unbelievable. Come on. Have you ever seen that? Have you ever seen that?

“I think he gets a second shot... that is high controversy, I don’t know what action you take. That’s just beyond the pale... boy, oh boy. What a moment.”

The missed conversion kept the margin at two points, which brought the possibility of a two-point field goal into play.

And Cleary, as only he can, landed the 41m field goal in the 79th to take the match to golden point.

He then missed his first field goal shot from 30m out before 20-year-old Talagi started and finished a 60m attacking raid in the 83rd minute.

“I didn’t see it, but (we were) just chatting about it in there. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said after the match.

“We had a sub that we were going to do and I changed it at the last minute, that’s what he was doing, he was trying to communicate with the bench.

“Because it was a late change, there’s a lot of stuff going on to make sure we didn’t make that change we were going to. That was why there was a bit of confusion.

“In the end it was just an honest mistake, he apologised straight away. Anyone around him would have seen that, the Titans would know that.

“I am happy to say we apologise for it, because it’s not something that anyone set out to do. It was just an honest mistake.”

The Panthers secured an eighth consecutive victory to leave the four-time defending premiers on 29 competition points, just one behind the fourth-positioned Warriors.

In an ominous omen, Penrith have made the grand final on all five occasions (2003 and 2020-2024) they have previously won eight in a row.

The Panthers are capable of challenging for a fifth straight title but will need to heed lessons from their great escape. They were cruising at halftime but the Titans had other ideas.

Brimson sent centre Brian Kelly in before Campbell intercepted a Cleary pass to race 90m and get the 16th-placed Titans on the board.

Campbell was at it again to step and weave his way through and hooker Sam Verrills dived over from dummy-half. Minutes later Phil Sami finished off a Brimson bust and the lead had been cut to two.

Sami was in again after Penrith muffed a Kieran Foran bomb and Gold Coast led 26-24 with six minutes to play.

The Titans scored three tries when centre Izack Tago was in the sin bin for a professional foul on Brian Kelly.

It was Cleary and Talagi brilliance that then saved Penrith.

Talagi has been a revelation in 2025 after filling the big shoes of club legend Jarome Luai.

His confidence and decision making have grown each week, and the 20-year-old’s skillset and speed are top notch.

Panthers winger Thomas Jenkins has enjoyed a breakout year and he leapt high above opposite number Jaylan De Groot to snaffle a pinpoint Talagi bomb to open the scoring in the 19th minute.

Cleary genius with the ball in hand deceived the Titans defence to lay a pass on for fullback Dylan Edwards to score.

Cleary, again, bombed away and Talagi leapt high above Brimson before streaking away under the sticks.

Centre Casey McLean then rocketed 55m to score on the cusp of halftime.

The fireworks then exploded after the break in what was a sensational match.

- With AAP