Penrith were outstanding today. 16 from 16 completions in the first half and 28 from 31 for the match. Forwards laid a tremendous platform.
Well folks here we have it; a Panthers v Tigers grand final. Who would ever have guessed that the Tigers would make it to the grand final given their earlier form. To be honest, all Tigers fans should go out and by a lottery ticket if the story I have just been told is true!
With two rounds to to go the Tigers needed to win both games to have even a remote chance of making the finals play-offs. Their two last opponents being the Eels and WSAS. Now most punters at the time would not have given the Tigers a hope in hell of beating the Eels, but the same would have favoured them to beat WSAS.
Now lets go back to R8. There is less than two minutes left on the clock in the Eels v Tigers game. The Eels are up 21-20 and are about to receive the kick-off from the Tigers to restart the match. The Tigers surprisingly kick deep, and the Eels winger, without any pressure whatsoever, drops the easiest catch from a kick-off he will ever receive under the circumstances. The Tigers immediately regather the ball and twenty seconds later they score the match winning try. Tigers win 24-21! Now for the twist!
The Tigers go on to beat WSAS and finish the competition on 12 points, however had Eels winger caught the ball like most would have thought he should, the same lad would have wound down the clock, the Tigers would have lost that game and they would have finished on 10 points in equal eighth position with Melbourne and Illawarra. But because the Tigers would have had a lesser points percentage ratio than the Storm or Steelers they wouldn't have even made the finals! Now they are in the GF! Luck?
Personally I attribute some of the Tigers success at the back end of the season to the return of their 2012 NSWRL U/17 representative Rhys Armstrong. Armstrong returned to the line-up in R6 after a lengthy stint on bench due to injury. And what a revelation he has been! This 'centre' come 'back-rower' was slotted into the five-eight role on his return and didn't disappoint making the position his own. Not only has he given the 'right side flank' of the field an extra attacking dimension, he has sured up the defence on the same side which (as far as junior rep league is concerned) sees more than its fair share of attacking raids! Let me explain.
Over the last 10 or so years I have seen my fair share of 'junior representative league' and if there is one comment I can share it would be to state that junior rep league players are not traditionally dexterous when it comes to passing both ways (which is unlike their rugby union cousins). In other words most of the attack seems to be down the 'left side flank' (i.e. passing right to left-passing right handed). In fact by the end of R9 seven of the top 12 leading try scorers for SGB (as reported in the 'RLN') were positioned on 'left side flank' (in terms of attack). There was Pangai, Holmes, Knight, Lussick, Nicoll-Klokstad, Aloiai, and Satterthwaite, and all prolific try scorers! Throw Davis, Naden and Luke in there as well given the finals series!
Unless their is a strong five-eight in the team with a commanding presence, who has an equally strong and dexterous passing game, attack seems to be one dimensional and rarely will you see the ball go down the 'right side attacking flank. This ability to effectively attack both sides of the field through Luke and May has been the strength of the Panthers all season which has out them above the rest of the pack! This is what Armstrong has also brought to the Tigers, and their results I believe support my assertion. As stated above he is also strong in defence (and actually pulled off a great try saver in the Eels game in R8), but he will need to be on his game as he will have the likes of Naden and Luke coming his way all day!
The Panthers you would have to say are the hot favourites! Their coaching staff have obviously been aware of the oppossition's strengths and weaknesses. This has been reflected in the results throughout the season, especially during the finals. Though they were a little unlucky against Parramatta, the Panthers certainly bounced back against the Bulldogs and attacked the Bulldogs up the middle (where the Bulldogs had been weak all season). And yesterday they exploited the Dragons weaknesses and neutralised the big Dragons forwards to march into the GF.
Given the above you can expect that the coaches at Penrith will have again done their homework and I beleive you can expect the Panthers boys, through Jennings and Freeman, to go down the very weak 'right hand flank' of the Tigers as they did back in R2. As prolific a try scorer is Satterthwaite, his defence, and that of his winger Sutton (if he plays), has been questionable throughout the SGB season, and as I said earlier - the Panthers already know this! in saying this I am sure that I have even seen the ever reliable workhorse Matt Wood a few times this season on this flank to sure up the defence here, but that leaves the middle exposed!
Anyway my heart says the Tigers (if their Divine intervention continues), nevertheless my mind says the Panthers because games are generally lost and won on the back of defence and Penrith have this facet of the game covered in my opinion!
Tuc
