The Knights were leading for much of the game, before Panthers’ forward Connor Chase crossed for a try in the dying minutes of the match to hand Horsham a hard-fought victory. 

Panthers’ coach Rob Gascoyne was happy with his side’s performance. 

“The Knights beat us at Mount Gambier a couple weeks ago, so we had to return the favour,” he said.

“They had a lot of heart and spirit to get the win.”

Gascoyne said the heat and physicality of the match provided a stern test for the team. 

“Stupid mistakes again cost us a couple of tries,” he said.

Forward Tabertia Mooka injured his hamstring in the match, while Taylor Hansson also injured his leg.

Gascoyne said the injuries would make this week’s match against top placed Naracoorte Jets an even tougher challenge.

“They will be missed this week,” he said. 

Despite the injuries, Gascoyne is still positive about facing the Jets in Mount Gambier at the weekend. 

“It’s going to be tough for us, they are the top side. The boys have so much momentum, hopefully they can get away with the win,” he said. 

“Jets and us play really good and hard rugby league. Mentally we will need to get in the game.

“They will be pretty worried about us. We have momentum, we’ve won two in the row.”