NRL
Panthers v Titans
Saturday, April 18
Cbus Stadium, Gold Coast
Kickoff: 3pm
The Panthers will travel to the Gold Coast to face the Titans this weekend as they look to keep the momentum going off the back of last week’s win over Manly.
Ivan Cleary has made a couple of changes to the squad with Robert Jennings making his NRL debut, replacing Jamal Idris who suffered a season ending ACL injury. Bryce Cartwright has also been added to the team on an extended bench.
Our boys ran away with the victory when these two teams met in round 2 in Bathurst. A lot has changed for both sides since then; Penrith has undergone a team re-shuffle after losing a few key players to injury, while the Gold Coast appear to have turned the corner after all the off-field controversy that disturbed the start of their season.
Both clubs will be rolling out explosive front rows tomorrow, as well as youthful centres. Former Panther James Roberts will have a big target on his head with Penrith knowing all too well what he is capable of if he finds some open space to run. We managed to shut him out of the last game, but he will no doubt be better prepared this time around.
PENRITH PANTHERS | Moylan, Josh Mansour, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Waqa Blake, Robert Jennings, Api Koroisau, Isaac John, Jeremy Latimore, James Segeyaro, Brent Kite, Sika Manu, Elijah Taylor, Nigel Plum, Tyrone Peachey, Sam Mckendry, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Isaah Yeo, Bryce Cartwright.
NSW Cup
Panthers v Warriors
Saturday, April 18
Pepper Stadium, Penrith
Kickoff: 3pm
On the back of a courageous victory at home last weekend, the Panthers will host the New Zealand Warriors at Pepper Stadium on Saturday.
Our NSW Cup boys didn’t get off to the perfect start against Manly who dominated the match in the first half. A few uncharacteristic errors crept into our attack and a lack of communication in defence made it one way traffic in the early stages of the game.
The Warriors will be tough opponents this week, coming off the back of a win last round, and they will be looking to leap frog Penrith on the ladder with a victory tomorrow. Coach Garth Brennan has kept a similar squad this week with Eddie Aiono coming in for Robert Jennings who’s been called up to play in first grade. Adrian Davis and Tupou Sopoaga have also been included in the team despite some injury concerns during the game last week.
The Panthers will be keen to string together a consistent 80 minutes of tidy football against one of the form teams of the competition. The discipline shown in the second half of the Manly game will give them plenty to build on.
PENRITH PANTHERS | Will Smith, Eddie Aiono, Nu’u Akeripa, George Jennings, David Simmons, Adrian Davis, Sam Scarlett, Sam Anderson, Sione Katoa, Leilani Latu, Tupou Sopoaga, Chris Smith, Andy Saunders, Brendan Attwood, Rodney Coates, Wellington Albert, Pat Hollis, Matt Eisenhuth.
NYC
Panthers v Titans
Saturday, April 18
Cbus Stadium, Gold Coast
Kickoff: 12.45pm
Our Holden Cup boys enjoyed their best performance of the year when they defeated an unbeaten Manly Sea Eagles side at home last week. Their attack was on song and combinations have started to form as a great reward for Coach Cameron Ciraldo’s squad shake-up in recent weeks.
Ciraldo has made a few changes this week ahead of the clash with the Titans. Josh Jay switches to the opposite wing, Jack Nelson will move from the centres to the number 5 jersey, Stanton Albert comes into the starting side at prop and Manu Enise joins an extended interchange bench.
The last time the two teams met, the Panthers were unlucky not to get a result in Bathurst. Both teams had no trouble scoring a collection of tries, but their defensive structures were quite unstable.
Last week’s professional display proved that they can match it with the benchmark of the competition and their coach will expect the same every week.
PENRITH PANTHERS | Brent Naden, Josh Jay, Christian Crichton, Maliko Filino, Jack Nelson, Dylan Edwards, Soni Luke, Stanton Albert, Tyrone May, Moses Leota, James Fisher-Harris, Corey Harawira-Naera, Oliver Clark, Kaide Ellis, Soni Hala, Thompson Tuigamala, Manu Enise, Paea Pua.
