James Segeyaro catches the eye as Penrith Panthers down Brisbane Broncos Penrith 28 Brisbane 12 Magic man: James Segeyaro scores one of three tries for the Panthers. He fooled them once and was touted "the fresh prince of Penrith" by the ground announcer, but when James Segeyaro fooled the Broncos a third time, he became the man who kept the Panthers' finals hopes alive. It was the smallest man on the field who made the biggest impact in the do-or-die clash against the Broncos on Friday night, bagging a hat-trick in Penrith's 28-12 win at Centrebet Stadium. Segeyaro, arguably the best purchase by any club this season, single handedly destroyed the Broncos' finals hopes with an exhibition of the "show-and-go" that would have former teammate Johnathan Thurston bursting with pride. The Panthers pocket rocket scored his first two tries of the night from close range, dummying his way past the Broncos markers untouched to make a fool of Anthony Griffin's forwards. He capped off an incredible night out at the foot of the mountains by finishing off a brilliant team try to rack up his hat-trick. The win has taken Penrith to 24 points, temporarily equal eighth alongside the Gold Coast Titans and Canberra Raiders. If results go their way, they could remain in the top eight by the end of the round. The Panthers have a tough road ahead in the final two weeks with games against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium and Manly at Brookvale Oval in the final round. The Broncos are on 23 points and have the luxury of playing their final two games at home at Suncorp Stadium against Wayne Bennett's Knights and Des Hasler's Bulldogs. The match could have been marred by another controversial video referee decision when Chris Ward and Luke Patten failed to spot an offside Lachlan Coote and awarded a Broncos goal-line drop-out instead of a penalty when they were trailing 18-12. However the the Panthers failed to capitalise on the error from the ensuing set of six. The Broncos had a golden opportunity to equalise with 15 minutes remaining when Jordan Kahu streaked away down the sideline, only to be rounded up by interchange forward Nathan Smith in an inspirational chase that spurred his side to victory. It was the Panthers who began with all the intensity and momentum when Ryan Simpkins crashed over to give the home side an early 6-0 lead. But a piece of brilliance from Matt Gillett, who looked like LeBron James when he basketballed a pass to the unmarked Oates on the wing, levelled the score mid-way through the first half. Panthers super-sub Segeyaro then made a fool of the Broncos defence when his dummy from close range saw him stroll in untouched for his side's second try of the night. After several failed attempts to penetrate the Panthers' line, the Broncos eventually cracked when a flying Oates picked up a bouncing ball on the run to level on the stroke of half-time. It was the Panthers who began the second half like they did the opening period, with Segeyaro's dummy once again fooling the Broncos to score his second try of the night without a hand placed on him. Broncos lock Corey Parker was then warned by the officials after abusing the referees for awarding a penalty to the Panthers for a high tackle from Ben Hannant on Kevin Kingston, critical of Kingston staying down in what he deemed a soft challenge. The penalty provided the Panthers with a gift two points to extend the lead to 20-12 with 10 minutes remaining. Segeyaro then sealed the deal with his third try of the night. PENRITH 28 (J Segeyaro 3 R Simpkins tries L Walsh 6 goals) bt BRISBANE 12 (C Oates 2 tries S Prince 2 goals) at Centrebet Stadium. Referee: Gavin Badger, Luke Phillips. Crowd: 8,817.