[2024] R1 Storm v Panthers - Game Day Thread

2024 Game Day Archive
21

Our backs did what was expected of them, Edwards safe as ever and May looking an absolute gun, however Turuva was a little rusty.

Cleary had a somewhat off game, and of more concern was the fact Luai didn’t look match ready at all - out of position in both attack and defense, and mostly clutching tackle attempts.

We really missed Kenny for both his dummy half service and his defense. Sommertons poor defense in the middle lead to Leota and Fish working harder, which limited their attacking metres.

Sommerton was also out of position a number of times, with Edwards, Luai, Cleary and even Fish having to go into dummy half numerous times. Lack of match fitness I would think, shades of Katoa from a few years back.

Yeo had a standout performance, in fact all our forwards bare hooker played well. Thought Garner and Eisenhuth had one of their better games for us.

It’s not all doom and gloom, despite the half time earthquake. If history is any guide we will beat the Storm in the grand final now :rofl:

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22

And I forgot to mention Luke. As other have said a first grade hooker he is not. A back up 5/8 maybe, if you think of him in that light he was no worse than Luai :rofl:

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23

Its far from panic stations but there are a couple of things from last night and our game from Wigan which are worth considering for Panther supporters.

One question i have is Cole went from a starting 6 to not even a bench role…what happened there, is he injured, was he dropped?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but maybe we should have started with Cole and kept Luai on the bench to come into the game when the heat went out of the battle.

But that is hindsight and we have to deal with what is in front if us. Another unusual thing which i thought in Wigan was because of their short in goal was us dying with the ball on the 5th tackle. Yet it was evident again last night and now has me thinking is this to avoid the short kick off which seems oddly enough to favour the team kicking out from the in goal.The other reason is we were either out of ideas or we just messed up.Hard to explain why this is a new tactic from us.
I think our forwards last night were Ok, but our backs were terrible.
Turuva had his worst game in Firsts, but Cleary and Luai just lacked something and what was it with Luai going to first receiver towards the end of the game rather than Cleary?

For a team which has prided itself on “process” we seemed to lose all sense of process last night, sure we were hustled by a willing defence and at times had bad calls against us, but in the main we never had control of the match.

We had moments of control, we had some opportunities and they will come but i am more troubled by our lack of control and this leads to poor decisions and poor execution.

Which takes me to our scoring ability. Its been missing now from 2 key games. Sure we can call it rust and reassure ourselves it will come but i think the commentators said we had 12 of our GF 17 on the field last night which should suggest wee all know how to play together but its been missing for 2 weeks and we haven’t scored a point in 3 halves of footy.

That is the red flag right there.

I think we missed the intensity Lenui brought to the game when he came on, he seemed to lift our efforts and made yardage into a defence. We didn’t seem to get a lift from any of our forward replacements, they did their job but couldn’t lift the momentum as Lenui used to.

I know we have to deal with what we now have, but that is where my concern is about scoring points. Forwards lay the groundwork to give our backs the time to weave their magic.

And i thought Storm were just OK, they are not a team offering much in attack like a Broncos side but they defended well against a “lame” Panthers attack.

Agree with all the comments about the hooker, so what was Cleary’s thinking with his starting hooker last night?

Its a loss and no harm done , YET!

Lets see how we dust off for the Eels next week at home, the fans will expect more than what we saw last night.

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24

We might be finally seeing the result of three years of stripping of talent from the top grade, due to the application of an imperfect salary cap, plus the stripping of our backup ranks as those players look for opportunities to play first grade, something that they sensed was just a dream at Penrith.

I also have an issue with players chasing bigger pay packets elsewhere being described as “being forced to leave Penrith”. By and large they leave Penrith for more money, plain and simple, and the almost universal commentary is that they deserve the opportunity to look after their families’ futures. Yet even those on modest salaries at Penrith probably earn more in a ten-or-so year career at Penrith than most supporters earn in a lifetime. And, with good financial advice, they are financially set for a life after football. Of course, around the world the money earned by ‘sports stars’ frequently reaches levels of obscene excess, but that is a topic on its own.

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25

Wow, some tough markers on here. I guess it’s human nature to jump on the backup players when we lose - we didn’t lose because Luke played or Peachey didn’t - some of our main men were a bit off & made errors & we were not at our best as yet.

Disappointed to lose of course (always hate the $torm) but the season is hardly gone for us after 1 game. Melb were up for the game, they are among the top sides in the comp and had their favourite ref, well since Smith retired. A try from a kick & a single line break in 80mins against us is not too bad.

I’m very confident we will be there when the whips are cracking.

Looking at the stats, a bit unlucky to lose again, but dominating field position & controlling will ensure that you will be in the game for 80mins, not necessarily win it. We just need to convert a few more chances & not get called for obstruction when no one is obstructed & we will be fine.

Onwards & upwards

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26

:rugby_football: Knock On Effect NSW Cup | Full Time
Penrith Panthers 28 Tries Isaiah Iongi (2), Daeon Amituanai, Harrison Hassett, Tyrone Peachey.
Goals Paul Alamoti (4/5)
Sydney Roosters 22 Tries Benaiah Ioelu (2), Ethan King (2).
Goals Hugo Savala (3/4)

KNOCK ON EFFECT NSW CUP MATCH REPORT

:rugby_football: Jersey Flegg Cup | Full Time
Penrith Panthers 14 Tries Casey Mclean (2), Angelis Hotere-Papalii.
Goals Joseph Nohra (1/3
Sydney Roosters 4 Tries Hayden Barton.
Goals

JERSEY FLEGG MATCH REPORT

27

On the positive side of the match (after watching the replay there were some standouts.

Taylan May’s return to first grade was impressive. He is hungry and managed to split a few gap in the defensive line. Considering it’s essentially his first NRL match in over a year I am excited to see how his game develops this year. There are lot of naysayers on Penriths 4th title run with the departure of Crichton, but if what we saw from Taylan is just the beginning of his run, I think we will be alright.

I also have to mention the evolution of Luke Garners game. Coming from the shambles that’s the Tigers many had low expectations of him. He’s growth over the past year was great and he seems to have continued that into 2024… and why wouldn’t he, he has had a whirlwind run from Wooden Spoon winner to having a premiership in his finger. He was solid last night and seem to be one of the few players that stuck to the plan and kept the side moving forward.

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28

I’m with you mrwalker, I thought our game as a whole was “sound”. I say that with a few points to consider. We have had some significant travel in the last 2 weeks and that was shown in our attacking sets, we were a little off in terms of the structured plays, someone a bit short, someone in the way etc. You will not see another game all year where NC, Yeo, Moses (x2) drop basic balls like they did, and o’l crocodile hands Turuva will get better, rookie of the year will build his confidence.

I said after that game, whoever plays the Storm next week are specials to win (except tigers lol) they were a spent force 15 minutes to go, but somehow managed to hang on, this will hurt them.

Q. How doesn’t the NRL promote the GF winner to a first round home game the following season. I thought the trip to Melb on the back of England was a real kick in the pants to the trophy holders.

If Taylan May keeps that level of effort throughout the season, he will be awesome for us !

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29

Our attack didn’t click until about round 10 last year, so it’s hardly time to panic. We only lost 2 games after that, 1 without SOO players, and the other when Luai got injured early. When the attack clicks we will be fine.

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