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Telstra Premiership | Full Time
Penrith Panthers
10
Tries Stephen Crichton, Brian Toāo. Goals Nathan Cleary (1/2)
Melbourne Storm
6
Tries Ryan Papenhuyzen. Goals Ryan Papenhuyzen (1/1)
I guess one thing we will have going for us is that we wonāt have the pressure of the āfavouritesā tag on us. Many Commentators, critics and NRL fans have already put the line thorough us, saying we are done.
I disagree. The last two weeks has been a real trial by fire. Both Souths and Parramatta threw everything at us, and we have still managed to stay in the fight. I am under no delusion thoughā¦ Melbourne will turn the heat right up on us this weekend. But I feel we are in a better position to bring the fight with those two matches under our belt.
With the Storm having the week off, I think we will want a minimum 7 point buffer going into the last 20 minutes. Our defence is good, but Iām expecting the Storm to come home strong & any less than that could see the fatigue factor be our Achilles heel.
not there yet but close to getting the ticket to the main dance and fittingly Storm stand in our way of appearing in our consecutive GF.
Doubt we will have either Kikau or Kenny for the game and Nathan was touting May yesterday for the Kenny spot and IMO, would be a bad move
We have enough ball players in the squad, we need big boppers to maintain the intensity and to hold at worst and roll over at best the Storm forwards.
This game could be a classic.
I firmly believe the winner of the comp comes from this game.
But we need to focus on THIS game, not what can beā¦we need to focus on getting this job done.
Iām a little excited about this game, bit weird but I am confident.
I think the week off pre finals and the week off last week will play in our favor. Their big names have essentially played once in 4 weeks. Look at how JFH came back, Cleary, Luai etc - If we go at them like we did Saturday night, they will struggle the last 15.
The demon in me says it will be decided by the ref and the game will be a runaway for who ever gets the ref calls. If they ref the ruck ala the Roosters v Manly game, we will win by 40ā¦if not and Storm get away with standard Storm tactics, I fear the result.
gees i hope we donāt play May, Storm will be rubbing their hands together with him in our side as he is a defensive liability and has been shown to be on too many occasions
Our defence will have to be front and centre again this week and i donāt believe we can carry May, we need all 13 on the field to be on their game.
I would go with Tago who looks like he has ability and could cover a few positions
If Too does make it to play i would keep Naden on the bench as the utility player
Storm will do what they always do, try to blow a side away early and ācruiseā homeā¦we need to be ready from the kick off and its not like us but if we could put 12 on them early, we just might see Storm panic.
I really donāt understand the anti TMay lobby. Yes, he wasnāt NC when called on to play at 7, but as #14 he does the utility job for us & acts as cover if Api was to go down during the game.
He filled in at FB in the 2nd half vs $torm when Dylan was injured & did a serviceable job, without us having to totally restructure the lineup on the run.
He makes his tackles in the middle & his missed tackle ratio is low. He can throw a pass.
He is the best option for the bench utility role
I look at TMay similar to Mbye (only a 1st grader at the tigers) who plays where ever told/needed, fills a void but will never win you a game or have an impactā¦BUT he is capable of losing you a game with an average game. In my own opinion, he has too many average games, luckily our group have been capable of overcoming his deficiencies. This game however is not a regular season contest, itās our 2021 season on the line. I personally would bring Spencer in and have Api play 80 with Luai having 2 x 5 minute dummy half stints each half to give Api a breatherā¦if he needs it !
I guess we will have to disagree. I find it hard to be critical of a player who has done a job for us over the past 2 seasons, and I think he gets a bad rap over the failure to be NC in those games when NC was out. Very few teams have anyone who could what NC does week to week, including their well paid specialist halves.
I recall some of the players who have worn our jersey & just how bad they were & I am truly thankful that we have someone better than them.
And the comparison to Mbye if flawed. Mbye was signed as a marquee player, a specialist fullback/centre who has proven such a flop that they have had to play him as a utility to try and get some of their moneys worth.
Anyway, I expect that TMay will play in #14 and I will be supporting him to have a good game & for us to win!
his purported utility play devalues his performances. Not easy to play a different position week in / week out. Having said that heās only just come back from injury hasnāt he, So now we have to hope heās fit enough to fill those possible roles, not ideal.
.
Agree Puss, we are worried about ToĆ³ but no one is mentioning the impact if our bench utility goes down 5 minutes in with a recurring knee injury, surely cannot be 100%.
One thing I try and take to heart is, I donāt think IC is a āpreferential treatmentā kind of coach, yes NC was calling for him to be picked, but IC would do what is best for the team in his mindā¦hereās hoping.
He obviously has the goods on the training paddockā¦but so did Luke Walsh
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Match
Venue
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Weather
Partly Cloudy 26Ā°C (<1% Chance of Rain 
)
Broadcast
NRL Live Pass [LIVE]
Kayo Sports [LIVE]
ABC Sydney 702AM [LIVE]
Brian Toāo
Brent Naden
Team Lists and Match Officials have been updated.
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