General Discussion Thread

[OldPanther]

This is what happens when top teams turn soft:

 

[mxlegend99]

Hard to disagree we've had the softest draw so far. Eels and Cowboys alone are half our games played and they have 1 win from 12 matches played between them. Funnily enough these were supposed to be the toughest games so far.

But the draw will even out somewhat by seasons end.

 

[forby]

Old Panther and MX - why can't you both just chill out and get over this soft draw BS. Any team that can win 5/6 is doing very well. Teams go up and down from year to year. The NRL draw is not based on SoS. It isbased upon TV ratings, and club requests.
If Penrith go on and make the top 4, which you keep telling us wont happen despite having a top 4 roster because of the coach, you will give the credit to a soft draw.
It is becoming very tiresome to keep reading this across numerous threads.
The Panthers are doing well, just enjoy it!
After watching them across 52 seasons since I was 8 I know I am!

 

[OldPanther]

Old Panther and MX - why can't you both just chill out and get over this soft draw BS. Any team that can win 5/6 is doing very well. Teams go up and down from year to year. The NRL draw is not based on SoS. It isbased upon TV ratings, and club requests.
If Penrith go on and make the top 4, which you keep telling us wont happen despite having a top 4 roster because of the coach, you will give the credit to a soft draw.
It is becoming very tiresome to keep reading this across numerous threads.
The Panthers are doing well, just enjoy it!
After watching them across 52 seasons since I was 8 I know I am!

In that very thread I said to someone that it was more interesting that our start to the year should have been harder based on Eels twice (top 4) and Cows (GF) and it's funny how things work out. I have said at least twice now on this forum that I think we are playing a sustainable brand of football this year in comparison to the last two meaning I don't think it matters who we play, I have confidence we can win.

"If Penrith go on and make the top 4, which you keep telling us wont happen"

Biggest load of B.S on here. Me and MX argued we SHOULD be top 4 while everyone else took a bit shit on the roster in order to discredit our opinion. We were the positive ones about the club. Turns out looking at this year we were right.

 

[mxlegend99]

Old Panther and MX - why can't you both just chill out and get over this soft draw BS. Any team that can win 5/6 is doing very well. Teams go up and down from year to year. The NRL draw is not based on SoS. It isbased upon TV ratings, and club requests.
If Penrith go on and make the top 4, which you keep telling us wont happen despite having a top 4 roster because of the coach, you will give the credit to a soft draw.
It is becoming very tiresome to keep reading this across numerous threads.
The Panthers are doing well, just enjoy it!
After watching them across 52 seasons since I was 8 I know I am!

Where have we said we cant make the top 4? I've thought we've had a top 4 quality roster for the past 5 years now.

My criticism is we cant beat top 4 sides. And have an average record against the other sides in the top 8. Not that we cant or wont be one. Im very happy with where we are now. But beating shit teams doesnt make you a premiership contender. Weve been comfortably winning agsinst shit teams since Hook artived.

Each year we have maybe one bottom 8 side that screws up. But we destroy the others. Last year it was Souths. This year it appears the be Bulldogs.

Until we beat a good team though what have we proven? Were better than the teams outside the top 8? We proved that the past 2 years already. That's not what we need to fix in order to be a premiership threat. We need to beat other premiership threats. Theyre who we face in the finals.

Edit
And why is it a bad thing to not get carried away about our wins so far? Should we be buying grand final tickets or some shit?

We're just being realistic. This years draw in general is soft as f**k. Even the good teams arent that good. There's definitely a window for a team like us to win a premiership here.

Storm are human again
Roosters stars arent enough
Cowboys got worse adding the best half and forward in the game to their top 17.

But again.. until we face other good rosters or teams in form we cant know how we stack up against them.

 

[forby]

Ok, I accept you think that we could be top 4, but can you please stop the soft draw BS.
I don't want to get into slanging matches over this.
I probably just get frustrated with these type of comments. I have followed the Panthers for too long to ever try to make excuses for their success. I also get frustrated because I now miss too many games due to work. Like now, I am in Brussels, Belgium and wont be back for another 2 weeks.
I just think that we should just embrace the team's run, and not try and justify it!
Panthers 4 ever!

 

[OldPanther]

Ok, I accept you think that we could be top 4, but can you please stop the soft draw BS.
I don't want to get into slanging matches over this.
I probably just get frustrated with these type of comments. I have followed the Panthers for too long to ever try to make excuses for their success. I also get frustrated because I now miss too many games due to work. Like now, I am in Brussels, Belgium and wont be back for another 2 weeks.
I just think that we should just embrace the team's run, and not try and justify it!
Panthers 4 ever!

I just like stats and looking closer at games. Not knocking the team at all. If we have a soft time of year we are guaranteed to have a hard month as well. For example rounds 10 - 11 we play Tigers then Dragons back to back.

Also Moses came out and said the try to Waqa in round 1 killed their confidence. So we very well could have created our own soft month by being awesome. god I love Blake.

Sucks you miss games mate. Hope you can get back and catch a few.

 

[mxlegend99]

Ok, I accept you think that we could be top 4, but can you please stop the soft draw BS.
I don't want to get into slanging matches over this.
I probably just get frustrated with these type of comments. I have followed the Panthers for too long to ever try to make excuses for their success. I also get frustrated because I now miss too many games due to work. Like now, I am in Brussels, Belgium and wont be back for another 2 weeks.
I just think that we should just embrace the team's run, and not try and justify it!
Panthers 4 ever!

How is it bullshit? It's a fact.

Why does it offend you if people are realistic about the season so far and not getting carried away with it?

 

[forby]

Facts are what you want them to be! NQ were GFs last year, Parra were top 4. Those are also facts. If both come good and make the 8 by your facts are draw suddenly becomes 'hard'! That it is why it isBS! You can only win the games you have!
We have won 5/6. You want to belittle this by saying it is a soft draw.
Enjoy, dont try to justify!

 

[Westernised Panther]

Facts are what you want them to be! NQ were GFs last year, Parra were top 4. Those are also facts. If both come good and make the 8 by your facts are draw suddenly becomes 'hard'! That it is why it isBS! You can only win the games you have!
We have won 5/6. You want to belittle this by saying it is a soft draw.
Enjoy, dont try to justify!

Bingo!

At the start of the season, who would have predicted Parra and North Qld's current form? 2017 Top 4 and Grand Finalist right there, and we will play them twice in the space of nine rounds.

 

[OldPanther]

Bingo!

At the start of the season, who would have predicted Parra and North Qld's current form? 2017 Top 4 and Grand Finalist right there, and we will play them twice in the space of nine rounds.

Of course no one could predict it. We all said the first 10 rounds would be a good test and the Cows/Eels were tipped as top 4 favourites.

We can't control other teams poor form it's just the facts as they stand right now. It looks like we'll be in our tough period from round 10.

 

[age.s]

Who would have thought rounds 10 and 11 would have been the tough part of the draw? Crazy season.

 

[Luke Bowden]

This is what happens when top teams turn soft:

Of course no one could predict it. We all said the first 10 rounds would be a good test and the Cows/Eels were tipped as top 4 favourites.

We can't control other teams poor form it's just the facts as they stand right now. It looks like we'll be in our tough period from round 10.

Is it poor form, or are their opponents playing better?

We beat the Cowboys and Parra because we are fitter and dominated the middle third of the field. Not because they are poor teams.

 

[Luke Bowden]

A replay of our ISC game is on Fox at 9:00am if anyone wants to IQ it. Check out how our Reggie’s are tracking.

 

[umina panther]

Its a fact that we have had a soft draw. Its also a fact that we are playing well (first 3 rounds we were average) and can still improve.

Gould seems to have actually done something useful and created a bit of a siege mentality and really got the boys together. I think we are a red hot shot of winning the comp if we can stop the injuries.

 

[franklin2323]

Bingo!

At the start of the season, who would have predicted Parra and North Qld's current form? 2017 Top 4 and Grand Finalist right there, and we will play them twice in the space of nine rounds.

Those ratings also don't take into consideration the injuries of the side.

 

[franklin2323]

A replay of our ISC game is on Fox at 9:00am if anyone wants to IQ it. Check out how our Reggie’s are tracking.

Perfect. I can get more opinions on Luai. I didn't see him to anything to demand selection especially as we are winning

 

[franklin2323]

Its a fact that we have had a soft draw. Its also a fact that we are playing well (first 3 rounds we were average) and can still improve.

Gould seems to have actually done something useful and created a bit of a siege mentality and really got the boys together. I think we are a red hot shot of winning the comp if we can stop the injuries.

Didn't idiots on here say we can't judge our opponents until the table is final? So can't comment yet

 

[OldPanther]

Is it poor form, or are their opponents playing better?

We beat the Cowboys and Parra because we are fitter and dominated the middle third of the field. Not because they are poor teams.

Someone asking the right questions.

 

[OldPanther]

Poor Mansore:


CHN article


Desperate Panthers wanting it more despite injuries: CHN

Penrith have arguably the worst injury toll of any side after six rounds of the Telstra Premiership, but a group of young replacements are proving the difference according to Panthers back-rower Corey Harawira-Naera.

The Panthers could be without as many as seven first grade regulars for their clash with the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday, but have still managed to win five of their first six games to sit in equal second on the competition ladder.

Not only is it Penrith's best start to a regular season since 1999, it is also a huge improvement on their dismal 2-7 opening to last year after having been installed as premiership favourite before a ball was kicked.
Their latest injury - to winger Josh Mansour (fractured cheekbone) - is another blow. It is hoped that Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will return from a fractured jaw for this week's clash.

Tyrone Peachey continues to play a Mr Fix it role at five-eighth with James Maloney stepping up in the absence of young star Nathan Cleary.

Second-year forwards Harawira-Naera and Viliame Kikau were dominant on the edges in the side's 35-12 win over the Titans on Sunday, while the club has been forced to blood the next generation early with Wayde Egan, Kaide Ellis and Christian Crichton all earning NRL debuts in recent weeks.

"It's just attitude," Harawira-Naera said of the ability of the side to keep winning
"We've got a few boys dropping through injury but everyone is coming in and taking over, looking after positions while they're away.

"I guess we're just wanting it more than other teams right now and it's showing on the scoreboard."

Harawira-Naera's shift to the centres on Sunday proved a masterstroke for Anthony Griffin's side with the Otaua junior scoring two tries and holding his own against Dale Copley.

The late switch was not a surprise tactic according to Panthers coach Anthony Griffin. Harawira-Naera has become familiar with the position during his time in the lower grades.


"I was a bit lighter back then," Harawira-Naera laughed.

"I haven't played 80 all year so it was good to get it all out, probably don't need to do as much work in the back-row but that probably helped me

"I was grateful for the opportunity, he could've done something else and put someone else there so just happy to contribute."

Penrith's opponents on Sunday the Sharks have an injury crisis of their own with concerns over Andrew Fifita, Wade Graham, Luke Lewis and Paul Gallen on the weekend, adding to a list that includes James Segeyaro, Jason Bukuya and Sione Katoa.