https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...0/news-story/bc6f61a9f1929d68c0bd26d5dd1bd9d8
Penrith face nightmare draw to open NRL season 2020
Fatima Kdouh, The Daily Telegraph
March 2, 2020 5:11pm
Subscriber only
These are the five weeks that could make or break Penrith’s premiership tilt.
The Panthers are staring down the barrel of one of the toughest draws to open their campaign, taking on
back-to-back premiers the Sydney Roosters, Melbourne and grand finalists Canberra inside the opening five rounds.
After losing eight from their first 10 matches last year, star halfback Nathan Cleary is all too aware of the importance of knocking off the competition’s powerhouses to set a platform for the season.
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Cleary knows Penrith must come out firing. Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
Cleary told
The Daily Telegraph his side’s 2019 season was all but over by round 10 and that he is desperate to ensure the club doesn’t suffer a similar fate this year.
“We don’t want to be in the position we were in last year, you don’t win competitions in March but you can definitely lose them,” Cleary said.
“We were two wins and seven losses after nine rounds and chasing our tails for the rest of the year. In a competition where there is so little between the teams, it’s hard to regain the ground you lose.
“That was our downfall last year, we went into round one thinking things were going to happen for us and things were going to fall into place after we had a pretty good preseason. We want to get off to a better start this year.”
There were good signs for the Panthers in the trial against Parramatta. Photo: Nathan Hopkins NRL Photos
The Panthers are $3 outsiders with the TAB for their round one match against the Roosters
“You are always a little bit worried about it, but we touched on that [in training],” Cleary, 22, said.
“If we are playing the footy we know we can play we’ll be able to match it with the Roosters. It’s a good opportunity in round one against the world champions to definitely see where we are at. We’ll take a lot of confidence out of the first five rounds if we can get some wins.”
Last year, Penrith’s season was thrown into disarray on the eve of their round one opener against Parramatta after the club became embroiled in a sex tape scandal.
But Panthers veteran Josh Mansour is reluctant to blame the off-field incident for his side’s poor showing in 2019 and the winger believes individual performances weren’t up to scratch, including his own form. It led to coach Ivan Cleary demoting Mansour to Canterbury Cup in May.
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Josh Mansour is desperate for a good year. Photo: Nathan Hopkins NRL Photos
“No doubt, I think it’s pretty obvious last year we had a lot of distractions but we really don’t want to use that as an excuse,” Mansour said.
“We didn’t perform as a team and individually no one could get into any form, which was quite frustrating but it was a challenge that I learned from.
“I took on a leadership role at the start of the year and then I couldn’t get my own form right … and that gives you no leg to stand on when you’re a leader.”
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After a string of serious injuries including a ruptured ACL in late 2016 during a Four Nations tour with the Kangaroos in England, and a severe facial injury in 2018, Mansour said he is feeling the healthiest he has in several seasons.
The flyer held his own in
Saturday’s trial against Parramatta and incumbent NSW Blues winger Blake Ferguson in Bega.
“I’ve done everything I possibly can to have a big year, every single day I left everything out there of the training field,” Mansour said.
“I feel fit and strong. I didn’t take it as a trial. Coming up against Fergo [Blake Ferguson] and the Eels who are a top four side, I wanted to get a lot of confidence out of the trial and I thought I did that,” he said.
