Apart from Cleary & Sorensen missing, this is the best side we have, imho. Agree with Gogatee that Tago & Alamoti could swap sides. Also agree that I’d like to see Toelau be given a go at 6, but I doubt it’ll happen. Hope Alamoti starts, he was killing it before he got injured.
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Like that ref TBA has been appointed. Have to be better than that NFI that we normally see 
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Yeah, the NRL were a bit late to the party with appointing referees this week.
For the record, Peter Gough got the job.
Yes, I think they’ve been busy shuffling the deckchairs at the appointments meeting. Reports are that there will be a post-season revue. Time for some people to be moved on!
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Updated NRL Teamlist: Round 26
The starting side remains unchanged with Daine Laurie, Luron Patea and Luke Sommerton dropping off the extended bench.
The Panthers will wear the 2024 Home Jersey.
Looks like it’s going to be challenging conditions with this wind! Would have been good to have NC in that regards.
Getting close to our full-strength team, just missing Soro & Nathan. Team looks stronger than last week. Hard to be critical of IC over 5 seasons now, but I think that he went to the well just once too often with Laurie so Tito back is a better option I think.
In addition to controlling the game by dominating possession & field position, I suggest we need to be a little more expansive and run in a few more points.
See you at the game!
I think we need to dominate this game and win big. Hopefully the ref doesn’t make it a contest and allows the game to flow, God knows we WILL have the measure from an endurance POV.
Carrrrn the Pennies
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Unfortunately the refs are trying to keep souffs in the game.
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A much improved performance, but still a long way short of our best. Hopefully it’s an upward trajectory from here.
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Panther Pride Man of the Match voting now open Alamoti played well on his return from injury
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One important result is that, with Manly beating the Dogs, it puts a 4 point gap between us and the 5th placed teams. We can’t finish any worse than 4th, so it guarantees 2 bites at the cherry.
Hope we rest Edwards next week. He doesn’t look anywhere near right to me.
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It was great to come away with the somewhat easy win, and see our confidence restored albeit against the team coming 3rd last.
Wow Yeo sure stood tall, a brilliant solo try, try assist, no missed tackles, a gazillion running metres etc etc.
On Edwards it is obvious he is being somewhat nursed into the finals. Not kicking goals or line dropouts is a clear symptom of this.
What a difference Alamoti makes, and good to see him play on Turuva’s side, with Tago and To’o on the same side. Don’t know what it is but this combination fixes our edge defence.
I thought Kenny had a blinder. Great to see him kicking grubbers from dummy half, both near tries, with one a dropout and th other a sin bin penalty.
Fish had a great game too, and I thought the starting of Henry and using Leota off the bench worked well.
Jerome got back to his good form, and combined well with Yeo to direct the team.
Often overlooked, but Garner is so important to our team. Solid defense, who can also run good lines and step.
Schneider went much better, didn’t overplay his hand, and good in defense.
All in all a satisfying result. Gee the atmosphere at the game was something special, in what was our last night game at Penrith Park (barring the somewhat remote chance of a home final). Next Sunday will be even better I expect.
We still have Cleary and Sorensen to return, so this morning at least I am optimistic of our finals chances.
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Next week should be a special occasion for sure. Just letting you know the game is not Sunday next week. The game is 7:35pm SATURDAY night. Wouldn’t want you to miss it 
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I noticed this a few weeks ago when Tago was shuffled over to the left edge, before injuries forced further changes. The Turuva + Tago combination does not work. Tago still rushes out (did again last night) but alongside To’o doesn’t cause a yawning gap.
My only concern is going to be when Cleary is back what that means.
I’ve said it since his return and last night Edwards looked both better and worse. At some points he’s starting to get a little more fluidity in his running but there were moments he was clearly grimacing in pain. Hopefully he didn’t make the injury worse last night.
Give him a rest.
We have a shot at top 2, but it relies on us winning next week and Sharks + Roosters dropping one game each in the next two weeks.
Regardless of that, Edwards probably needs a rest. I’d love to see Ionghi or Turuva at FB with McClean coming in. Aside from building combinations, we don’t need next week. We’re a long way up a creek if Edwards gets worse.
Despite the scoreline I don’t think last night was overly convincing, but I am confident it was a good base to build from in the next couple of weeks, especially with a Cleary return and providing no more injuries.
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Oh, how our expectations have changed through our golden period (2020 to date). I can recall times when beating the rabbits by 22 points would be cause for jubilation, but we feel somewhat let down by the win 
Again we played a team that tried hard for most of the game, we did most things well, scored 6 tries to 2, dominated possession, made 8 line breaks to 1 & yet we all feel somewhat disappointed,
I don’t know what the game elapsed time was, but the game seemed to take forever & there was no flow at all in the game. The game was just terrible for about 20 minutes from Turuva’s second try. The combination of the ref & his mates on the lines and the bunker just strangled the life out of the game. We are at our best with the game flowing, where our fitness and power just strangles the opposition. Constant stop/start and extended delays just keep the other mob in the game. That said, Bennet will need to have a big cleanout as the fitness of the rabbits is poor. Despite the game going nowhere for many minutes, the rabbits players were down on the haunches at times, even though there were a lot of rest breaks.
The dream lives on - top 4 finish & a whole new comp starts after next week. We have a good chance as any.
Yeo shows every week that he is truly the best player in the game in 2024
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I think the thing is the last month of footy hasn’t been overly convincing; Cleary has pinched a couple of close wins and we’ve lost a couple. We’ve dropped from 1st to 4th, potentially lower depending on how this round went (now no lower than 4). Injuries were mounting, even now key players like Edwards look busted and Cleary is Rd 1 finals prospect. All at the worst possible point in the season.
Gus was on the commentary talking about how he can see a big score of 50+ coming, but it felt like we never got going and the Rabbits were always in it.
That said, I saw a solid foundation to build from last night and agree with your comments mrwalker.
I remember thinking ‘what on earth is going on’ after Tito’s second try. The Rabbits looked cooked. But then the game just took forever. 65 minutes in, the wife sat down to watch and said ‘wow, there’s still a long way to go’. I hadn’t looked at the clock but thought there was only a couple of minutes left. Man was I shocked!
I have to specifically cheer this:- Cody Walker’s fwd pass was called!! 
But wtf was going on here: NRL on Nine on Instagram: "Joey and Gus were NOT too chuffed with this one! 😡 #9WWOS #NRL"
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I guess that some clubs send their roster off for a course at NIDA.
Seems the footy gods have shined on Penrith this week.
Roosters and Sharks have upset by the Raiders and the Warriors. This will leave Penrith in outright second place. A victory over the Titans next week will assure that Penrith will secure a home final in the first week.
NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg have also secured their place in the finals, with the Jersey Flegg playing a Qualifying Final against the Bulldogs and the NSW Cup side scraping into the finals (which is quite a feat considering the rotating squad they have had filling in first grade spots) will play a Elimination Final against the Warriors.
NSWRL Finals Week 1 Schedule
| Grade | Match | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| K.O.E NSW Cup | New Zealand Warriors (4) v Penrith Panthers (5) | TBC | TBC |
| Jersey Flegg Cup | Penrith Panthers (2) v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (3) | TBC | TBC |
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