R21 Sat - PANTHERS v RABBITOHS *Match Thread*

[Timmah]

Penrith v South Sydney
Saturday 4 August, 7:30pm
CUA STADIUM, PENRITH NSW
TIX > Panthers.com.au
LIVE on FOX

LeagueUnlimited LIVE UPDATE
http://www.leagueunlimited.com/liveupdate.php?matchid=210

GAVIN BADGER
Sideline Officials: Jason Walsh, Russell Turner; Video Referee: Russell Smith

Penrith Panthers
1. Jarrod Sammut, 2. Geoff Daniela, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Maurice Blair, 5. Nick Youngquest, 6. Peter Wallace, 7. Craig Gower (c), 8. Joel Clinton, 9. Luke Priddis, 10. Bryan Norrie, 11. Frank Pritchard, 12. Matthew Bell, 13. Nathan Smith
Int - 14. Frank Puletua, 15. Matthew Cross, 17. Paul Aiton, 20. Mark O'Halloran, 21. Tim Grant

South Sydney Rabbitohs
1. Nathan Merritt, 2. Fetuli Talanoa, 3. Nigel Vagana, 4. Shannon Hegarty, 5. Paul Mellor, 6. Ben Rogers, 7. Eddie Paea, 8. Peter Cusack (c), 9. Issac Luke, 10. Roy Asotasi (c), 11. John Sutton, 12. David Fa'alogo, 13. Dean Widders
Int - 14. Shane Rigon, 15. Luke Stuart, 16. Shannan McPherson, 17. Scott Geddes.

Gates open 3:30pm
JERSEY FLEGG > Penrith v Souths Juniors, 3:45pm
PREMIER LEAGUE > Penrith v North Sydney, 5:15pm​

 

[griffo346]

panthers will have the pants pulled down in this game

rabbits 40 odd panthers 20 odd

 

[gong_eagle]

Panthers v Rabbitohs preview

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - 12:44 PM
Glory glory to South Sydney, glory glory to South Sydney, glory glory to South Sydney, South Sydney marches on! Go on, sing it – you know you want to.
Plenty of league fans are building a soft spot for this tenacious “new” South Sydney side as they make a late run to be part of their first finals series since 1989.
If you exclude the newly formed Gold Coast Titans, Souths are the only side in the competition that haven’t seen finals football since the NRL was formed in 1998!
Now just a win away from the top eight and with five matches to play (three of which are against teams currently below them) the Bunnies have every chance of making it but it is imperative they beat the last-placed Panthers this weekend.
The Panthers have had a season to forget and are odds-on favourites for the wooden spoon but that won’t stop them from putting up a fight in front of those loyal fans that have been there throughout this shattered campaign.
Technically they can still reach 22 points (the current mark for the top eight) so any small sniff they have of a miracle goes on the line in this game.
Jason Taylor has named the same side that defeated the Gold Coast Titans at the death last week, however Matthew Elliott has once again made changes to the Panthers after they fell to the Raiders at last start.
Richie Williams is out and in comes exciting rookie prospect Jarrod Sammut. Sammut has been a star at schoolboy and Jersey Flegg level and is one player you are likely to see more of in the future.
Luke Priddis returns to the top grade, sending Paul Aiton to the bench and Keith Peters out of the side but as one big name comes back, another departs – former skipper Tony Puletua has been dropped.
Bryan Norrie and Matthew Bell have been promoted to start, with Frank Puletua moving to the bench, while Matthew Cross and young gun Tim Grant have been added to an extended bench.
Watch out Rabbitohs: Debutant Jarrod Sammut has been waiting patiently for a chance to prove his worth on the big stage and he won’t be afraid to have a real go at the Bunnies.
Sammut plays with unbridled enthusiasm in the lower grades and can pull a try from nowhere and with the finals a mission improbable coach Elliott is likely to unleash the kid with a free reign.
Watch out Panthers: Ben Rogers will be hunting down their kicking game which has been average this year. With five charge-downs Rogers leads the NRL, bettering specialist Steven Price by one.
Youngsters Isaac Luke and Eddie Paea are also proving invaluable – Luke has three dummy-half line breaks to be second in the NRL in just a handful of games, while Paea has scored two great individual tries.
Where it will be won: Discipline on the field for the Panthers and in the Rabbitohs’ minds.
The Rabbitohs should really win this game but complacency will see the Panthers take the win away from them.
Some teams find it hard to get up for important games they are expected to win and Jason Taylor must guard against this.
The Panthers have had issues with the referees all year and are ranked the least disciplined with the most penalties conceded compared to the Rabbitohs who are ranked fourth.
They have been on the wrong end of the whistle 36 times more than Souths.

The History: Played 64; Panthers 28, Rabbitohs 35, drawn 1. Souths might hold the overall edge and they did beat the Panthers 14-4 in round 13 but they have lost their past three matches at CUA Stadium.

Conclusion: We will find out just how serious South Sydney are here.
Taylor will not only want a win in this game, but a comprehensive one to build up to a real assault at the finals.
We will also see how much fire in the belly is left in the Panthers.
The wooden spoon can still be offloaded if they apply themselves… do they care?
The last thing footballers want to be accused of is not having a go but plenty of Panthers players have been tarred with that brush this year.
Their fans deserve some joy – it’s time they gave them their moneys worth, win or lose.
Match officials: Referee – Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials – Jason Walsh & Russell Turner; Video ref – Russell Smith.
Televised: Foxsports 3 – Delayed 9.30pm
* Statistics: NRL Stats.

http://nrl.com/News/Latest/NewsArticle/tabid/76/NewsId/6399/Default.aspx

 

[Timmah]

Statistically speaking (Taken from Big League Magazine):

Head to head clashes (64)
SOUTH SYDNEY 35
Penrith 28
One draw
At CUA Stadium (30)
South Sydney 17
Penrith 13

Last meetings
South Sydney 14-4 at Telstra, 2007
South Sydney 32-26 at Telstra, Penrith 32-20 at CUA, 2006

Big wins
Penrith 43-2 at CUA, 1977
South Sydney 59-5 at Redfern, 1980

Grand Finals
Never met in Grand Final

Under Badger
Never met under Badger

 

[yobbo84]

This has the potential to be the game where Souths make the other teams in the Top 8 sit up and take notice - as long as the team goes in with the correct attitude. Penrith are extremely ill-disciplined and especially against our defence they will give us plenty of opportunities. Big games from Paea, Luke, Merritt, Asotasi, Rogers and Sutton could see us put a few points on for the first time this season. I just hope JT ensures the boy's have their heads screwed on!

 

[panthersballboy]

Both teams have terrible records under badger. Penrith do seem to have given up this year so I'd say Bunnies by 16.

 

[pantherz9103]

I'd say Souths should be favourites in this game so hopefully they don't deal with it well and we get a win, just for something to cheer about and retain some fans. I bet some newer fans are questioning why they bother support us. I think we're going to get the spoon but a couple more wins would atleast keep some more of the casual fans.

 

[griffo346]

good start by the panthers at CUA

Jersey Flegg half-time:

Penrith 14 Souths 0

(tries: Theoharous, Paulo, Penese; goal: Paulo 1/3)

Jersey Flegg fulltime:
Penrith 32 Souths 6

Second half tries: Hlad, Penehoe, Coote; 2nd half conversions: Paulo 3/3

 

[griffo346]

Premier League half time: Norths 16 Penrith 12.

 

[Fiddy]

"Craig Gower Dally M player of the year....WRONG"

Did you even really think that before the year started .. seriously are you on crack?

 

[The Teach]

Fulltime in Premier League:

Norths 56 d Penrith 30.

Tony Puletua didn't play apparently due to his wife having a baby and neither did Richie Williams due to the fact he didn't recover from a corked thigh which happened last week.

 

[gong_eagle]

I foresee the score
Penrith 32
Souths 18

 

[The Teach]

Try bunnies - Talanoa (sp.) 4-0 Souths. Conversion missed.

Mark O'Halloran? What were you doing?

 

[Stranger]

good start by the panthers at CUA

Jersey Flegg half-time:

Penrith 14 Souths 0

(tries: Theoharous, Paulo, Penese; goal: Paulo 1/3)

Jersey Flegg fulltime:
Penrith 32 Souths 6

Second half tries: Hlad, Penehoe, Coote; 2nd half conversions: Paulo 3/3

Did Hlad play for knights flegg/premmy last year?

 

[pantherz9103]

f**k we suck. That's all.

 

[pantherz9103]

There are some encouraging signs and bad signs for the future - good signs incl. - Sammut and Daniela bad sign - Mark O'Hallaran playing first grade.

 

[The Teach]

Yet again, one of our young blokes is leading the way: Jarrod Sammut, welcome to first grade son! Our best player in the 1st 20 mins.

 

[pantherz9103]

Why wasn't Sammut used earlier. I can't believe we had Richie 'nuffy' Williams playing fullback!

 

[Dutchy]

Lose this and the spoon is 100% sealed and delivered.

 

[pantherz9103]

we're up 20-16. We've got to win. Come on atleast try and avoid the dreaded cooking utensil.