St George Illawarra v Penrith
Greg Prichard | May 29, 2009
Friday, WIN Stadium, 7.35pm
Referees: Jason Robinson, Steve Lyons
Head to head: Dragons 13, Panthers 6
Last clash: Dragons 13 bt Panthers 12 at ANZ Stadium (Rd 15, 2008)
TAB Sportsbet: Dragons $1.45, Panthers $2.65
FootyTAB: Panthers +6.5
Player unavailability because of State of Origin selection has a bigger effect on this match than any other this weekend. The Dragons have lost Ben Creagh, Justin Poore, Michael Weyman and Darius Boyd to that cause, while the Panthers have lost Michael Jennings, Luke Lewis and Petero Civoniceva. The Dragons are also still without the injured Jeremy Smith, but get Jarrod Saffy back. The Panthers are without the injured Michael Gordon and Trent Waterhouse, but get Brad Tighe back. So the ins and outs affect both teams much the same. Under those circumstances, it is going to come down to which can best maintain the style that has been successful for it so far this season.
The Panthers have in recent weeks gone a long way towards convincing people that, after a couple of lean years, they are going to realise their potential. But the Dragons have been in a nice groove from the start of the season, so they may be able to handle the changes better. They have aready had some valuable experience at trying to handle upheaval this season, when they played the Cowboys in round nine with a lot of players out and a lot of others backing up from the Australia-New Zealand and City-Country games. The Dragons lost that game in Townsville, but only just. They are at home this time, which will make a big difference. The Dragons have won the last four between these two teams, and the Panthers have a poor record in Wollongong. The Panthers are a chance, but the Dragons are likely to be too solid.
DRAGONS: Jason Nightingale, Brett Morris, Chase Stanley, Matt Cooper, Wendell Sailor, Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby (capt), Jarrod Saffy, Luke Priddis, Dan Hunt, Dean Young, Beau Scott, Neville Costigan.
Interchange: Mickey Paea, Jon Green, Mathew Head, Michael Lett, Trent Merrin, Nick Emmett. (Two to be omitted)
PANTHERS: Jarrod Sammut, Brad Tighe, Geoff Daniela, Maurice Blair, Shane Elford, Wade Graham, Luke Walsh, Tim Grant, Paul Aiton, Frank Puletua, Trent Waterhouse (capt), Frank Pritchard, Nathan Smith.
Interchange: Lachlan Coote, Gavin Cooper, Joseph Paulo, Matthew Bell, Masada Iosefa, Sam McKendry, Andrew Emelio (three to be omitted)
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhq...warra-v-penrith/2009/05/28/1243456676749.html
