TEAMS
PANTHERS: 1.Corey HARAWIRA, 2.Joshua JAY, 3.Brent NADEN, 4.Peter TIA TIA, 5.Christian CRIGHTON, 6.Jarrod BRACKENHOFER, 7.Sam SCARLETT, 8.Andy SAUNDERS, 9.Josh TANGITAU, 10.Atonio PELESASA, 11.Chris SMITH, 12.Dave COWHAN, 13.Brendan ATTWOOD
INTERCHANGE: 14. Moses LEOTA, 15. Myles TAUELI, 16. Jordan HALL, 17. Elkander FAIROUZ, 18. Josh GRANT
DRAGONS: 1. Sitiveni MOCEIDREKE, 2. Isaac THOMPSON, 3. Euan AITKEN, 4. Brent ANDERSON, 5. Rownland KOTOBALAVU, 6. Drew HUTCHISON, 7. Adam CLUNE, 8. Addin FOUNA-BLAKE, 9. Thomas FREEBAIRN, 10. Dylan LAURI, 11. Wes LOLO, 12. Jack BIRD, 13. Vincent STOWERS
INTERCHANGE: 14. Jack KAVANAGH, 5. Hayden MCCRAE, 16. Bronson HOANI, 17. Harry STEWART
We’re in for an explosive match when Penrith’s Under 20’s take on the Dragons at Sportingbet Stadium. This is the first time these teams have met this year, both are in good form and have put on some very impressive performances in recent weeks.
The Panthers have moved into the eight thanks to a classy 34-18 win over the Gold Coast last weekend and will be hungry for another two points this round. While St George Illawarra downed the Sharks 32-18 and they now sit second on the ladder.
Penrith coach Trent Barrett has settled on a solid team again this week with just one change. Peter Tia Tia comes into the starting side to fill the hole left by Waqa Blake, who’s been called up to NSW Cup. Young Christian Crichton will again play on the wing after two successful games there, and Corey Harawira retains the fullback jersey. Jordan Hall, who made 172m from 18 hit ups last weekend, has been named on a five man bench.
In the Dragons camp, they’ve made a few changes to their side, with Sitiveni Moceidreke moving from the wing to start at fullback, while Thomas Freebairn will guide the team as hooker. Halfback Adam Clune had a brilliant game against the Sharks with three try-assists, and that was without prop Addin Fonua-Blake, who has been named this week.
Penrith will have to harness all of their focus and discipline if they want any chance of controlling the Dragons. The young St George side play a very quick game, which a lot of other sides struggle to keep up with, and they know how to capitalise on mistakes. If we can start strong and fast and be brutally accurate in defence for the full 80 minutes, we should be able to hold them out.
