PANTHERS: 1.Logan GEYER 2.Eddie AIONO 3.Waqa BLAKE 4.Brent NADEN 5.Elkander FAIROUZ 6.Corey HARAWIRA-NAERA 7.Jarrod BRACKENHOFER 8.Andy SAUNDERS 9.Kierran MOSELEY 10.Oliver CLARK 11.Chris SMITH 12.Dave COWHAN 13.Sione KATOA
INTERCHANGE: 14. Jordan HALL, 15. Myles TAUELI, 16. Moses LEOTA, 17. Peter TIA TIA, 18. Josh TANGITAU
COWBOYS: 1. Yamba BOWIE 2. Scott SCHULTE 3. Lenny MAGEY 4. Akeripa TIA KILIFI 5.Conor CAREY 6.Ty CARUCCI 7.Cooper BAMBLING 8.Jack KELLEHER (c) 9.Josh CHUDLEIGH 10.Patrick KAUFUSI 11.Coen HESS 12.Corey JENSEN 13.David MUNRO
INTERCHANGE: 14. Jared VERNEY 15. Andrew NIEMOELLER 16. Jack BROCK 17. Ben MATHIOU
Like all of our remaining games for the season, this match is an important one for the Panthers Under 20’s side as they clash with the 12th placed North Queensland Cowboys.
Sitting in 8th position, tied with two other teams on 26 points, Penrith will be looking to keep their spot in the top eight with just four games remaining.
However, this week they come up against a Cowboys team who, like the Panthers, have won three games in a row leading into this one. They will be led up front by the experienced pairing of Jack Kelleher and Patrick Kaufusi, both of whom have been playing in the NYC Under 20s competition since the 2012 season. Also playing for the Cowboys in this match is former Panther Akeripa Tia Kilifi who will be looking for a big match against his old team, in front of friends and family.
The Panthers have a number of changes from the team that defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons last week. Returning to the side at fullback is Logan Geyer, following a stint in the Ron Massey Cup Windsor team. Eddie Aiono also comes back in following an impressive display in the NSW Cup team on the weekend against the North Sydney Bears. Brent Naden, Elkander Fariouz and Myles Taueli also return and will be looking to add enthusiasm and spark to the team. Corey Harawira- Naera comes in to the team for halfback Sam Scarlett who was suspended for a dangerous tackle on the weekend.
With all these changes in the team this week, the depth and talent of the 2014 NYC Panthers team is on display as they look to continue on their winning ways. With the loss of Scarlett, hooker Kierran Moseley will need to use the experience he has gained this year to help the halves steer the team around the field. He will be put on the front foot by the forward pack who has stepped up in recent times to get the team going forward and generate quick play the balls for players like Moseley and Brackenhoffer to play off the back of. This will need to continue if the Panthers are to come out triumphant in this one.
