Round 1 Panthers Vs Cowboys - Panthers Stadium

[franklin2323]

I thought that for Kikau last night too, at one point I didn’t expect to see him back either but I think for a bigger boy like him they would want to get a bit more of the match fitness under his belt.

Later in the year you can. No one has the fitness yet

 

[Luke Bowden]

Well clearly I am seeing things differently to everyone else.

The Cowboys were Diabolically bad. They were so pathetic there were reserve grade teams that would have beaten them today. Kyle Feldt by himself was a one man horror show.

Our efforts against them were poor. I could never imagine being this unsatisfied with a 24-0 Victory but here we are.

The other 'good' teams in this comp would have put 50-60 on that complete rabble - those teams being Storm, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Raiders perhaps even the Eel's. Our attack was awful and clunky.

The plan seemed to be give it to Laui and the Mt Druitt mob on the left even if they had ZERO space to work with and it was bad. It seemed as though they thought they could score off every play. WRONG. You have to create space on the outside by having your forwards creating momentum and drawing some of the defence toward them! The amount of times I saw them receive the ball flat footed 15 metres from the sideline and think they could go around them was crazy. Even the diabolical Cowboys could defend that most of the time and they did. Seemingly the hype has gotten to their heads. Enough of the 'Hero ball' - I hope that IC cuts that crap out - thankfully they seem to realise it toward the middle of the 2nd half and cut back on that a little.

The handling errors from our team were awful. We have to cut that shit out quick smart if we want to contend for a top 2 spot.

Our Defence was seemingly excellent - but it is hard to judge. The Cowboys offered close to nothing and their mounting error rate fatigued them. So it could have been a case of we 'forced' them into constant error - or they were just hopeless. IMO it was a bit of both.

Based on this game I could say two things - we would have lost to the other Top 6 teams on today's form (maybe not the Eel's) - and the Cowboys would have to be clear favourites for the spoon.

I love that our club is at a point where we can have a first round win of 24-0, with no injuries and still can find a page of shit to improve on.

It wasn’t that long ago that we would have been over the moon with a 8-6 win. Shows that we have shifted our standards up a lot higher.

Two points in the, Defence looks good, Plenty to work on in attack. No injuries that we are aware of.

Life’s Good

 

[John Hamblin]

We have 6 of first 7 games at night . A big advantage in the warmer months

 

[chrisD]

I didn't think Edward's passing was that great, looked to me like what it is, a non natural making a decent go of it because we need it. It's also obvious he's only doing it on the right.

Capewell hasn't got a mention, I think he should, thought he was only topped by Fish in the quality/quantity from our forwards last night. Swapped sides of the field too and was as solid as could be in defence on both.

 

[kinghippo]

Agree on this. I thought momo was solid, did nothing wrong. But really didn't stand out, which, for a side with 65% of possession is a bit average.

To me he looks a great back up player but lacks a bit of x factor.

We didn't go to the right much at all, and when we did it usually ended up with a 2nd rower cutting back in.
It's a brand new combination, 2nd row, centre and wing, it will improve as will momorovski.

 

[panthersam]

I didn't think Edward's passing was that great, looked to me like what it is, a non natural making a decent go of it because we need it. It's also obvious he's only doing it on the right.

Totally agree, nothing ever really looks smooth in his passing like it does for some of the other fullback sweeping into those backline movements.

I think as the year goes on we should be switching Edwards and Staines in attack at different times when close to the opposition line to see what that can potentially produce.

 

[kinghippo]

A lot of talk around the media about how bad NQ were, it seems everyone has forgotten that is what we do.
We force teams into looking bad with relentless pressure and field position.
NQ were bad because they were exhausted and could find no space. Their forwards were dominated and their backs got belted.
We made our mistakes in attacking situations, we dropped 3 over the line and easily could have had a lot more.
The part of the game I liked was despite the mistakes we kept pushing the attack. There was no point playing safety first footy, they didn't let the mistakes worry them, reset and pushed again. Very professional.

 

[Luke Bowden]

I didn't think Edward's passing was that great, looked to me like what it is, a non natural making a decent go of it because we need it. It's also obvious he's only doing it on the right.

Capewell hasn't got a mention, I think he should, thought he was only topped by Fish in the quality/quantity from our forwards last night. Swapped sides of the field too and was as solid as could be in defence on both.

I’ll watch the replay later, but I don’t remember him throwing a bad pass?

 

[Crashtest]

Eiso made me eat my words. Whilst it's easy to look good with 65% possession..I thought he was strong. I hope he keeps it up. He is a tall guy, should be encouraged to offload in attacking territory

He showed last night he can hold down the 4th prop spot. Topped the tackle count with 32 at 94%, and ran for 129m. Not bad numbers for a budget buy.

 

[herbert henry1908]

20 tries from 30 games. Most at centre. He's the x factor we need on the right side. Him and Staines imo would be lethal.

He may not have had a good game last night but Brent did things at centre last year that were easily as good or better than critta.

He’s a great attacking weapon, no doubt. And he can play centre, but he’s more suited to the wing. I don’t see his defence ever really improving, so to demand a spot at centre he’s going to have to keep up a high rate of try scoring. If that slips away, even a little, he can’t play centre.

 

[herbert henry1908]

You, and others, say it's his most natural position, however he has mostly played centre at nrl level.

How do you come to thst conclusion based off his performances at centre in nrl? Score 20 tries in 30 games....let's move him further away from the ball.

We saw last night, Staines barely touched it in a shut out performance. They attacked on the left because that's where the x factor is. Naden needs to be right centre

Easy. He can’t read defence.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t play centre, but in order to he either needs to improve his defence or maintain a very high rate of try scoring in the centres.

 

[Girds89]

Easy. He can’t read defence.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t play centre, but in order to he either needs to improve his defence or maintain a very high rate of try scoring in the centres.

See my post re: m Jennings..

Was a terrible defender early in his career. Some good coaching turned him into a great defender.

Defence can be taught. X factor can not.

 

[herbert henry1908]

See my post re: m Jennings..

Was a terrible defender early in his career. Some good coaching turned him into a great defender.

Defence can be taught. X factor can not.

Naden is 25, he’s been around for a fair while now. I’m almost certain they would’ve done a lot of work on his defence already.

 

[WestyLife]

He did one in the trial game too. Why people say he can't pass I don't know.

If he can he needs to use it more and it's him creating the perception that he can't do it consistently.

Well clearly I am seeing things differently to everyone else.

The Cowboys were Diabolically bad. They were so pathetic there were reserve grade teams that would have beaten them today. Kyle Feldt by himself was a one man horror show.

Our efforts against them were poor. I could never imagine being this unsatisfied with a 24-0 Victory but here we are.

The other 'good' teams in this comp would have put 50-60 on that complete rabble - those teams being Storm, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Raiders perhaps even the Eel's. Our attack was awful and clunky.

The plan seemed to be give it to Laui and the Mt Druitt mob on the left even if they had ZERO space to work with and it was bad. It seemed as though they thought they could score off every play. WRONG. You have to create space on the outside by having your forwards creating momentum and drawing some of the defence toward them! The amount of times I saw them receive the ball flat footed 15 metres from the sideline and think they could go around them was crazy. Even the diabolical Cowboys could defend that most of the time and they did. Seemingly the hype has gotten to their heads. Enough of the 'Hero ball' - I hope that IC cuts that crap out - thankfully they seem to realise it toward the middle of the 2nd half and cut back on that a little.

The handling errors from our team were awful. We have to cut that shit out quick smart if we want to contend for a top 2 spot.

Our Defence was seemingly excellent - but it is hard to judge. The Cowboys offered close to nothing and their mounting error rate fatigued them. So it could have been a case of we 'forced' them into constant error - or they were just hopeless. IMO it was a bit of both.

Based on this game I could say two things - we would have lost to the other Top 6 teams on today's form (maybe not the Eel's) - and the Cowboys would have to be clear favourites for the spoon.

Ivan seemed to be disappointed in how the game went so I'm taking it as us just being raw and the coaching staff will have it sorted.

hammer is supposed to be faster than the fox and Staines held his own.

exactly. I'll keep an eye on him going forward but I'm missing this thing where he can't handle first grade.

Edwards passing honestly looked great compared to last season. All this shit I talked about him and he comes out passing the ball like a young Matt Moylan lol happy to be wrong about that.

Agreed, I'll never be happier to eat my words.

They still had about 3 or more gears to notch up. 1st round and yes attack needs some work but defensively were rock solid. Don’t matter if it’s the Roosters or Storm. We would of strangled them as well and they would of looked like the Cowboys.

This is a big point. Our defense frustrated the Cowboys so much.

Interest to read 2 bulldogs officials where at the game watching Burton last night .they are ramping up the presure to get him.They clearly have a lack of respect for our club.Just for that I say screw them Burton you are going no where

I'd say they just want to keep up with his development as he is their long term 5/8.

He said he was stuffed an took the time off

It's all the defence with the extra speed in the game I assume.

 

[franklin2323]

It's all the defence with the extra speed in the game I assume.

Shorter pre-season, It was crazy hot too.

The state of the game too. If it was closer him and Kikau would of came on sooner

 

[Panfa]

Anyone know if api is OK had his wrist wrapped up and didn't play the last 25 minutes.I know it was hot and sweaty and only rd 1 but there were plenty of bad passes and our attack looked so slow compared to storm and chooks.I think naden needs to come in for either momirovski or Edwards after rd 4 something doesn't feel right attack looks so slow.

 

[Blade23]

Did Api get injured? He was off for a long time

Anyone know if api is OK had his wrist wrapped up and didn't play the last 25 minutes.I know it was hot and sweaty and only rd 1 but there were plenty of bad passes and our attack looked so slow compared to storm and chooks.I think naden needs to come in for either momirovski or Edwards after rd 4 something doesn't feel right attack looks so slow.

As of last night, Api was fine. He came off gassed.

 

[Jane Murray]

I've just finished watching the game, thanks @soc123 for the link. That game was a pleasure to watch. We bombed at least four tries, which I put down to the humidity. 13 players are locally produced. I was waiting with bated breath, hoping that the Fish scored, imagine the cheers when this happens? We played so well, we forced the cowboys to play poorly. No player played badly, and just think some believe the lost of experienced players will hurt? Unlikely.

 

[Jane Murray]

The Panthers kicked off their 2021 NRL season with a comfortable victory over the Cowboys at Panthers Stadium.

James Fisher-Harris was unstoppable, running for 219 metres and making 30 tackles through the middle of the field. Out wide Brian To'o came out of the game with 184 running metres, 12 tackle breaks and a spectacular four-pointer.


See all the stats that mattered below:

MOST TACKLES

• Matt Eisenhuth: 32
• Api Koroisau: 31
• James Fisher-Harris: 30
• Isaah Yeo: 29
• Liam Martin: 25
• Moses Leota: 23 (0 missed tackles)
• Kurt Capewell: 18 (0 missed tackles)
• Spencer Leniu: 17 (0 missed tackles)
  

LOUD AND PROUD: ALLAM HOMES TEAM SONG

MOST METRES

• James Fisher-Harris: 219m (22 runs)
• Brian To'o: 184m (18 runs)
• Isaah Yeo: 160m (20 runs)
• Dylan Edwards: 148m (17 runs)
• Paul Momirovski: 147m (16 runs)
• Spencer Leniu: 145m (14 runs)
• Nathan Cleary: 140m (17 runs)
• Matthew Eisenhuth: 129m (15 runs)
• Stephen Crichton: 123m (13 runs)
• Moses Leota: 105m (12 runs)
  

POST CONTACT METRES

• James Fisher-Harris: 107m
• Brian To’o: 78m
• Isaah Yeo: 72m
• Spencer Leniu: 65m
• Matt Eisenhuth: 56m
• Paul Momirovski: 54m
• Dylan Edwards: 50m
• Moses Leota: 47m
• Stepehen Crichton: 45m
  

OAK PLUS GALLERY: PANTHERS V COWBOYS

MOST TACKLE BREAKS

• Brian To’o: 12
• Dylan Edwards: 6
• Paul Momirovski: 5
• Viliame Kikau: 4
• Kurt Capewell: 4
  

MOST OFFLOADS

• Liam Martin: 1
• Nathan Cleary: 1
• Viliame Kikau: 1
• Tyrone May: 1
• Jarome Luai: 1
• Paul Momirovski: 1
• Dylan Edwards: 1
  

MOST LINE BREAKS

• Brian To’o: 2
• Dylan Edwards: 1
• Paul Momirovski: 1
• Nathan Cleary: 1
  

TRIES

• Kurt Capewell: 1
• Dylan Edwards: 1
• Brian To’o: 1
• Isaah Yeo: 1
  

TRY ASSISTS

• Nathan Cleary: 2
• Stephen Crichton: 1
• Jarome Luai: 1
• Liam Martin: 1
  

GOALS

• Nathan Cleary: 4 from 5
  

Panthers Cowboys
Metres 1,955m 1,302m
Post Contact Metres 726m 584m
Possession 60% 40%
Completion Rate 67% 59%
Tackles 302 383
Tackle Breaks 42 16
Line Breaks 7 1
Kicking Metres 508m 366m

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Always good to start round 1 off with a win.
Last night was our record 10th straight win at Penrith.
Coming into last night since NRL era our win percentage for round 1 was 34.8%

A few points

• As with last year, our attack at the start of the season and after the resumption was rusty. We got better as the year rolled on, but at times left points out on the field. The better teams will be on to us this year. Given it was round 1 I would expect the attack to hum as the year progresses. We have plenty of lethal options in attack if used right.

• I thought our middle was outstanding last night. I am biased but I think Fish is the best prop in the game right now.

• I was so relieved we were able to retain Leniu. A few of us have thought it (and @Smug Panther has said it repeatedly). He will overtake Leota by the end of the year.

• Eisenhuth was terrific. Exactly what you want from a prop. He made plenty of metres and more than held his own in defence.

• Yeo reliable as ever.

• Momirovski went ok and I think he will be a good buy for the club. He does suffer a little like Crichton of having tunnel vision for the line. He just needs a little awareness. Know when to back yourself and go, and know when there is a sure try on offer by passing. I think he can be a good distributor for Staines and score a handy tally for himself.

• I see a good combo of Cleary onto Capewell developing. I am not so sure of moving him over to the other side for Kikau's breather. Martin tore Cronulla apart a few years ago on the left. I would play him there for Kikau's breather. Then shift Martin into the middle later on.

• 'Left side is best side' We pose a mouth-watering combination of potential tries and line breaks on the left edge. Get it right, Chrichton and To'o will be fighting it out for the Top try scorer gong in the NRL this year.

Last night was the first night in the club's history we kept a team scoreless in round 1.