PANTHERS: 1. Kieran MOSS 2. Eto NABULI 3. Waqa BLAKE 4. Kevin NAIQAMA 5. Wes NAIQAMA 6.Luke CAPEWELL 7.Tom HUMBLE 8.Reagan CAMPBELL-GILLARD 9.Kierran MOSELEY 10.Leilani LATU 11.Vaipuna TIA KILIFI 12. Nathan SMITH 13. Ryan SIMPKINS
INTERCHANGE: 14. Pat HOLLIS 15. Liam AYOUB 16. Tom EISENHUTH 17. Andy SAUNDERS
MAGPIES: 1. Justin HUNT 2. Jake BUTLER-FLEMING 3. Api PEWHAIRANGI 4. Vai TOUTAI 5. Bureta FARAIMO 6. Sam GORMAN 7. Luke KELLY 8. Daniel ALVARO 9. Ben JONES 10. Isaac MALIOTA 11.Pat MATAELE 12. Lorenzo MA’AFU 13. Lionel O’MALLY
INTERCHANGE: 14. Brendan MCKINNON 15. Nick KASSIS 16. Joseph UALESI 17. Danny HOWARD
This week’s game for the NSW Cup Minor Premiership winning Panthers team is a do or die elimination affair with the Wentworthville Magpies. The boys will again travel to Leichhardt Oval on Sunday to try and earn a spot in the 2014 NSW Cup Grand Final.
Having enjoyed the week off last week, the Panthers will be taking on a Magpies outfit that bounced back last weekend with a win against a tough Wyong Roos team, coming away with a 29-16 victory. They will be relying on their wealth of first grade experience through players such as Justin Hunt, Vai Toutai, Luke Kelly and Ben Jones to force an upset against the Panthers in this one.
The last time these two teams met was in the final round of the regular competition where the Panthers won convincingly 44-12 on home ground. But finals football is a very different game and for the first time this year, the Panthers are in a position where they must win to keep their hopes alive so the boys will need to be focused on the job at hand to progress through.
For the Panthers, they will field a very similar team to the one that defeated the Illawarra Cutters two weeks ago, with Andy Saunders coming up to the NSW Cup for his second game of the year after finishing the season with the NYC team. The team’s backline has been in exceptional form of late, led around the park by halves Luke Capewell and Tom Humble who are both setting up tries as well as bagging some for themselves. The platform has been laid recently by big forwards Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Leilani Latu who have stepped up in the absence of Sam Anderson and Tim Grant who have been elevated to first grade or injured in the last few weeks.
This week, the job defensively for the Panthers will be a tough one all over the park, with second rowers Pat Mataele and Lorenzo Ma’afu boasting both power and strength. The Wentworthville side also has the recently named 2014 NSW Cup Player of the Year, winger Bureta Faraimo. To limit his effectiveness, the Panthers will have to ensure their kick chase is immaculate and they number up on the flanks to ensure that one of the competition’s most prolific try scorers isn’t able to cross the line in this match.
With the obvious importance of this match, the boys will need as much support as possible at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday. With no other Panthers in action this weekend, we encourage all fans and members to get out and support the boys in their quest for a Grand Final spot this weekend.
