PANTHERS: 1.Matt MOYLAN, 2.Josh MANSOUR, 3.Dean WHARE, 4.Jamal IDRIS, 5.Dave SIMMONS, 6.Jamie SOWARD, 7.Peter WALLACE (C), 8.Sam MCKENDRY, 9.James SEGEYARO, 10.Brent KITE, 11.Sika MANU, 12.Tyrone PEACHEY, 13.Adam DOCKER
INTERCHANGE: 14. Matt ROBINSON, 15. Jeremy LATIMORE, 16. Isaah YEO, 17. Tim GRANT
RAIDERS: 1. Anthony MILFORD, 2. Reece ROBINSON, 3. Jarrod CROKER, 4. Jack WIGHTON, 5. Mosese PANGAI, 6. Terry CAMPESE (C), 7. Josh MCCRONE, 8. David SHILLINGTON, 9. Glen BUTTRISS, 10. Brett WHITE, 11. Josh PAPALI, 12. Jarrad KENNEDY, 13. Shaun FENSOM
INTERCHANGE: 14. Matt MCILWRICK, 15. Joel EDWARDS, 16. Paul VAUGHAN, 17. Dane TILSE, 18. Mitch CORNISH, 19.Shannon BOYD, 20. Kyle O’DONNELL, 21.Sami SAUILUMA
The Panthers will once again push for their first back to back victory this Sunday when they take on the Raiders in the nation’s capital.
Inconsistency has been our biggest problem this season, and after posting our first away win over the Knights last weekend, the mountain men are focused and ready to break their 2014 win-loss hoodoo.
Coach Ivan Cleary was pleased with the way the boys played last Sunday especially when we had so many key players out of action. We will be without Captain Kevin Kingston, Nigel Plum, Lewis Brown and Elijah Taylor again this week, but fill-ins James Segeyaro, Matt Robinson, Tyrone Peachey and Isaah Yeo are definitely up to the task.
Apart from those injury changes, Ivan has kept the same team as last week and will be looking to Soward and Wallace to guide the team through Canberra’s hard-hitting defence. Fullback Matt Moylan has been outstanding in recent weeks, and we will need his ‘never say die’ attitude to run the ball hard up the field, while wingers Josh Mansour and Dave Simmons will again be key to our point-scoring.
It’s been a very different couple of weeks for the Raiders, having conceded 54 points in each of their losses to Manly and the Warriors. Coach Ricky Stuart has made some significant changes to his team this week as he tries to get back on the front foot, bringing former Panther Mosese Pangai into the starting side and shifting Terry Campese from halfback to five-eighth. Jarrad Kennedy, Josh Papalii and David Shillington are also back in the starting side, which sees Dane Tilse, Joel Edwards and Paul Vaughan dropped to an extended bench.
The last time these two sides met was back in round 5 when Penrith defeated Canberra 12-6 in wet and soggy conditions at Sportingbet Stadium. We’ll obviously be looking to make it two from two, but we need to be on high alert for a surprise bounce back from the home side who have been beaten and bashed about over the last few weeks and will be very keen for a win in front of a home crowd. The Raiders are an unpredictable side, especially with all the changes Stuart has implemented, and the Panthers will need to be at their defending best.
