Penrith Panthers NYC v Sydney Roosters NYC
Pepper Stadium
Kick-off 1.10pm Saturday
The table-topping Penrith Panthers NYC side are looking to continue their winning ways against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday afternoon at Pepper Stadium.
Coach Cameron Ciraldo has made some key changes to the line-up which battled its way to a 22-8 win over South Sydney last Friday. The victory saw them maintain their position as competition leaders but they don’t have much breathing room with the Cowboys and Broncos only one point in arrears.
The win did come at some cost, with Soni Hala suffering a dislocated kneecap which will see the powerhouse forward sidelined for more than a month.
However this week Penrith hope to welcome back Brent Naden and Oliver Clark from U20s NSW Origin duty, with the duo set to test their weary legs at captain’s run on Friday.
Naden has named in the centres and Dylan Edwards named at fullback but don’t be surprised if these two swap jerseys ahead of kick-off.
Halfback Sam Elwin returns to the side after a late hit saw him stretchered from the field with a jaw injury against Wests Tigers two weeks ago.
He joins the versatile Tyrone May in the halves, although once again whether these two begin the match as the playmaker combination remains to be seen.
Logan Geyer retains his spot in the centres after Robert Jennings’ representative duties saw the son of Panthers great Mark Geyer successfully thrown into the mix against South Sydney.
Prop Stanton Albert returns in place of Moses Leota, who has earned promotion to the NSW Cup squad, and Paea Pua starts at lock.
The Roosters will be looking for payback for the sides’ previous clash in Round 3 this season, when the Panthers got away with a 28-18 win at Allianz Stadium.
The team from the Eastern Suburbs is in a precarious position, currently sixth on the table, but only one loss away from potentially dropping out of the top eight.
PANTHERS NYC TEAMLIST
1.Dylan EDWARDS 2.Manu ENESE 3.Brent NADEN © 4.Logan GEYER 5.Braidon BURNS 6.Tyrone MAY 7.Sam ELWIN 8.Stanton ALBERT 9.Soni LUKE 10.Oliver CLARK 11.Corey WADDELL 12.Corey HARAWIRA 13.Paea PUA
INTERCHANGE
14.Dylan FUAD 15.Cowen EPERE 16.Thompson TUIGAMALA 17.Shane KIEL 19.Kaide ELLIS
