PANTHERS – 1. Kieran MOSS 2. Eto NABULI 3. Eddie AIONO 4. Wes NAIQAMA 5. Kevin NAIQAMA 6. Luke CAPEWELL 7. Tom HUMBLE 8. Sam ANDERSON 9. Kevin KINGSTON 10. Reagan CAMPBELL-GILLARD 11. Ben MURDOCH-MASILA 12. Nathan SMITH 13. Ryan SIMPKINS
INTERCHANGE: 14. Daniel FOSTER 15. Vaipuna TIA KILIFI 16. Tom EISENHUTH 17. Liam AYOUB 18. Mitch CLARK 19. Iain RICCARDI
COACH: Garth BRENNAN
BEARS – 1. Kane MORGAN 2. Mark O’DARE 3. Joe ULUIBAU 4. Jesse ROBERTS 5. Nick HEDLEY 6. Kurt ALDRIDGE 7. Blake NICHOLS 8. Nathaniel NEALE 9. Matt HYLAND 10. Brad LUPI 11. Jackson WILLIAMS 12. Chris GREVSMUHL 13. Duncan LOW
INTERCHANGE: 14. Tarek EL MASRI 15. Steven TAVITA 16. Josh TOOLE 17. Wes MOURAD 18. Daniel VASEK 19. Sione KITE
COACH: Wayne LAMBKIN
After last week’s strong 36-0 win over the Manly Sea Eagles, the Panthers NSW Cup team have secured the minor premiership for 2014 but will be out to continue their strong season against the North Sydney Bears this week at Sportingbet Stadium. This is an important match for the Panthers side as finals approach, and with the boys having the bye next weekend it is important to gain the 2 points in this clash.
For the 13th placed North Sydney Bears, they will be out to topple the ladder leaders this week and get their third win of the year. They went close to doing this last time these two teams met at North Sydney Oval when they were narrowly defeated 32-28 by the Panthers. This match will no doubt be a similar tough affair with both teams having plenty to play for, and a lot of NRL experience behind them.
The Panthers will be looking to build on last week’s match in which they held the opposition to nil for the first time this year. Tom Humble bagged his second hattrick for the year in an impressive performance and was backed up by a strong all round team effort.
This week for the Panthers, Eddie Aiono has been named in the centres after gaining some NSW Cup experience earlier in the season. The team also welcomes back Sam Anderson from injury, and he will provide good go forward for the team as well as plenty of talk on the field. Strike second-rower Ben Murdoch-Masila also returns to the side after missing last week through an injury sustained in Bathurst against the Sharks.
For North Sydney, they will be looking to use the speed and skill of a number of their outside backs including Joe Uluibau and ex-panther Kane Morgan to get over the line. The Panthers will need to be on their toes out wide to contain these two and limit their effectiveness. In the middle of the park, work horse Matt Hyland is one player who boasts a wealth of experience in the competition and consistently tops the tackle count for the Bears.
