PANTHERS: 1.Kieran MOSS 2.Eto NABULI 3.Nathan SMITH 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.Vaipuna TIA KILIFI 13.Ryan SIMPKINS
INTERCHANGE: 14. Leilani LATU, 15. Daniel FOSTER, 16. Pat HOLLIS, 17. Tom EISENHUTH
MOUNTIES: 1. Jack AHEARN 2. Reece ROBINSON 3. Mosese PANGAI 4. Sami SAUILUMA 5. Wayne DARGAN 6. Joey BOND 7. Ryan CARR 8. Mitch CAHALANE 9. Reece GOLDSMITH 10. Mark NICHOLLS 11. Jake FOSTER 12. Tevita PANGAI JUNIOR 13. Lagi SETU
INTERCHANGE: 14. Clay PRIEST, 15. Adam TANGATA, 16. Matt PLACE, 17. Shane SHACKLETON
After enjoying the bye last weekend, the Penrith Panthers NSW Cup team will face Mounties at Leichhardt oval this week, in the penultimate round of the NSW Cup.
Sitting atop of the NSW Cup ladder, 8 points clear of their nearest rivals, the Panthers will need to be sure to avoid any complacency as they look to build some form going into the finals. Mounties will be looking to do the same and break their way into the top 4. They are currently equal fifth on 30 points but sit outside the top four due to for and against. This is despite improving their percentages with a dominant 40-0 victory last week against the North Sydney Bears.
The last time that these two teams met was back in round 5 at Sportingbet Stadium where the Panthers came out on top with a 32-16 victory after a hard battle. The Mounties had a number of key players missing that day and will be sure to be another tough task for the Penrith boys.
The Mounties are a feeder team for the Canberra Raiders in the NSW Cup, thus they have a number of players with first grade experience including Reece Robinson, Sami Sauiluma, Jake Foster and Mark Nicholls.
They will be relying on a number of key players this weekend to upset the Panthers including former Panthers player Moses Pangai and his younger brother Tevita Pangai Junior. Moses is coming off a great game last week in which he scored a hattrick of tries whilst Tevita is impressing in his first season of NSW Cup at the young age of just 18.
For the Panthers, they will be aiming to keep up their impressive defensive display of late which has seen them concede just 12 points in the last two games that they have played. With undoubted attacking ability across the park, this kind of defence will be needed if they are to defeat the Mounties this weekend and continue their great form.
