Probably the best team we can field at the moment, though I probably would have had Salmon at 14 rather than Peach. Mind you Peach does (marginally) better at hooker.
Up against 3 ex panthers, plus the coach of course.
Johnson very dangerous, but suffocate his game and we should win.
As long as we treat this as a final, and treat the opposition with the upmost respect, we should win comfortably.
A mate of mine always says “rocks and diamonds” about Peach. He certainly offers more potential but I fear the occasional lack of discipline, be it the lazy slap across the face or ball handling error.
These are all fair points, Peachey has even said himself in an article in the Western Weekender that his performance has been inconsistent since his time at the Tigers, but my logic regarding Peachy and Salmon goes a bit further than Saturday afternoon.
Things can go sideways this week, and maybe Cogger or heaven forbid Cleary may pick up a niggling injury against the Warriors. Having Salmon at 18th man means that he will be available for this game if needed, and can fill in at 6 or 7 if the need arises.
Peachy is a strong utility player and is solid in most positions on the field, and in that same article he says he prefers the utility row (he even said he doesn’t mind at all playing in NSW Cup is that’s where he is needed).
Salmon is a good insurance policy and I agree can slot right into the bench if needed. We have hit a streak of bad luck injuries this year (sure Taylan May or Jarome Luai can attest to that). Almost every player in the squad has had some injury downtime this year with a few exceptions.
Also I would say that Peachy would be the first in line to snare that Utility spot vacated by Salmon in 2024. He has some good year left in him and from that interview he had he seems to have a new love for the game and is enjoying his footy, and I feel that is a strength our team has.
For me, this is a really bad sign. We will now be missing two of our most dangerous and creative backs. Plus, you only need to go back to the Eels game to be reminded that the Peach is not a centre. Even Gutherson ran rings around him on one leg. Parramatta scored so many points down that side that the game was done and dusted. You can bet that the Wahs will be sending so much traffic down that side that we’ll need to install traffic lights to stop them - the Peach will just be a speed bump. This will put so much more pressure on To’o to cover two attackers. Is there no decent centre in the Cup side? This will more than balance the loss of Johnson.
Not sure the Eels game was the best example though Faulco. Peach played left centre alongside Jenkins and whilst Gutho got a couple down that side Sivo scored four down the righthand side with McLean and To’o.
What the Eels game showed (to me) was how far up a creek we are if we lose Edwards.
That might sound a little hypocritical from me given other posts about Peach. I think if he’s our weakest link, we’re going to be OK.
You mentioned the Cup side… I don’t know what that means for our depths in centre, given we’ve used Hosking and Peach to fill the void and only opted for McLean when down a winger (Turuva) and two wingers (Tago + Crichton who played FB).
Edit: Don’t forget, with the same/similar backline we have beaten:
Bulldogs 44 - 18 (To be critical, you could say Peach got turned inside out for one try),
Storm 26 - 6 (yes without Hughes),
Sharks 28 - 0
Titans 40 - 14 (Again, could potentially mark 1 try against Peach+Hosking)
I must admit I too am concerned with Tago being out, but Edwards and Sorro in means we are a very different side to that which played the eels, not to mention Kenny’s defense in the middle.
This is however a finals game against a top 4 side, we have to treat it as such, and don’t for a second think we can have it easy or drop our guard like we did in ‘21 against the bunnies.
With the right mindset and fast start we win this.
Something i noticed from our finals series last year, although we were dominant - it seemed after the games where players were rested - it took the boys longer to really get into the game. This gives me confidence that Penrith will start well today. The warriors have had that rest, but they’re also dealing with fresh combinations. Hopefully we can start well and put some early pressure on, score some points and settle all of our nerves!
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