Penrith Panthers Vs Mounties
Sportingbet Stadium, Saturday April 5
Kick-off: 3.15pm
Referee: Luke Phillips
TEAMS:
PANTHERS – 1. WILL SMITH 2. ETO NABULI 3. ISAAH YEO 4. WES NAIQAMA 5. KEVIN NAIQAMA 6. LUKE CAPEWELL 7. ISAAC JOHN 8. SAM ANDERSON 9. KIERRAN MOSELEY 10. REAGAN CAMPBELL-GILLARD 11. MATT ROBINSON 12. NATHAN SMITH 13. RYAN SIMPKINS 14. LEILANI LATU 15. TOM EISENHUTH 16. SHAUN SPENCE 17. MITCH CLARK 18. LIAM AYOUB 19. ANTHONY CHERRINGTON COACH: GARTH BRENNAN
MOUNTIES – 1. JOEY BOND 2. GUS AIGA 3. JEREMY HAWKINS 4. MOSESE PANGAI 5. SAMI SAUILUMA 6. MATT PLACE 7. MITCH CORNISH 8. KYLE O’DONNELL 9. MATT MCILWRICK 10. TOM LEAROYD-LAHRS 11. LAGI SETU 12. MARK NICHOLLS 13. CLAY PRIEST 14. MITCH CAHALANE 15. KURT HORTON 16. RODNEY COATES 17. REECE GOLDSMITH 18. FRANCIS VAIOTU COACH: STEPHEN ANTONELLI
Tomorrow’s NSW Cup clash between the Panthers and Mounties will be one of the toughest in the league this weekend. After a shaky start to the season, Penrith have won their last two games convincingly and are shaping up as a force to be reckoned with, while Mounties are unbeaten this year and sit on top of the ladder.
Last weekend, the Panthers served Wentworthville their first loss, tallying up a whopping 42 points over the Magpies thanks to a very strong team boasting plenty of first grade experience. We have an equally as strong side running out against Mounties this weekend, with the Naiqama brothers playing side by side, flying Fijian Eto Nabuli on the wing, and Isaac John and Luke Capewell in the halves.
Canberra’s feeder club also had a good win last round after trumping North Sydney 20-18. They scored less tries than the Bears on the day, but some exceptional kicking work by Mitch Cornish got them over the line. The kicking game in tomorrow’s clash is sure to be a highlight with Cornish and Wes Naiqama behind the boots again, both coming off 100% accuracy last weekend.
Mounties will be without back-rower Jake Foster, who’s scored six tries in his four appearances and will make his first grade debut, but he’ll be replaced by the very capable Lagi Setu. It’s a similar situation for the Panthers with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak being promoted to the NRL side, making way for Kevin Naiqama to drop into his position.
If Penrith can pull out a performance like they did against the Magpies last weekend, and if their defence is good and they create opportunities to run, they should be able to pull off a win.
