Bennett, Cleary trade barbs as Knights charge into fifth spot THE match was intense and so was the aftermath, with Penrith and Newcastle trading blows long after the fulltime siren sounded at Centrebet Stadium yesterday. Penrith coach Ivan Cleary questioned an incident that left Adam Docker with a fractured cheekbone while Newcastle coach Wayne Bennett suggested the Panthers had been lucky to get away with their only two tries from the video referee. The spat typified what was an intense game, with the Knights making it three consecutive wins to move to fifth spot on the ladder at the expense of the Panthers, who blew their chance to move into the top eight but still retain ninth position. Cleary probably wasn't in the best of moods when he entered yesterday's post-match press conference -- it lasted only two minutes -- but things deteriorated once he was told that Bennett had claimed that Penrith's two tries shouldn't have been awarded. The Panthers coach said he wasn't happy that Newcastle prop Kade Snowden hadn't been placed on report for kneeing Docker as the Panthers forward attempted a tackle in the third minute. He was eventually replaced and took no further part in the match. Adding to Cleary's anger was the fact that Penrith forward Mose Masoe was placed on report for a shoulder charge on Robbie Rochow and backrower Lewis Brown for a high tackle, also on Rochow. "I thought they were OK," Cleary said of his side's two tries. I wasn't happy with the fact one of our players had a broken cheekbone from a fairly dubious knee. We had two calls where we had blokes put on report because the guy carrying the ball stayed down. Whereas our man Adam Docker stayed down having made a tackle, but the play went on and in the end there was no repercussions for it except that he's got a fractured cheekbone. When asked if he thought Snowden had deliberately kneed Docker, he replied, "I'm not going to make a decision on that -- you all saw it." While Cleary didn't want to cast judgment, Bennett had no such qualms, starting with when Panthers winger Dean Whare scored in the corner but clearly seemed to touch the grass over the sideline with his hand. The on-field official ruled a try and video referees Luke Phillips and Justin Morgan found no conclusive evidence to suggest otherwise. As Bennett said, Whare had defied the laws of physics. "The point was his hand was on the sideline -- that's clear evidence that it wasn't a try," Bennett said. His body weight was going down, there's no way that he's taken a hand off the ground and then replaced it there -- you can't do that; it just doesn't happen. The Knights coach was equally scathing of the second try, just before fulltime. Penrith forward Cameron Ciraldo went to kick a ball but looked to miss it before toeing it ahead twice for backrower Clint Newton to grab a try. "Even with the kick, I've got no doubt in my mind he missed the ball . . . you know when they kick it and when they don't," Bennett said. He took solace from the fact that it did not affect the result. The Knights face an acid test against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday and, while Bennett was reluctant to think that far ahead yesterday, he said they wouldn't be resting on their laurels. We've just got to remain diligent and alert that we could lapse into our old selves if we don't keep pressing some buttons.