R8 Knights v Panthers - Game Day Thread

It did look as though they intentionally avoided going left. Maybe they were concerned about knights aiming up at Jenkins.

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Well all except the last 5 minutes or so when it seemed obvious they were trying to let Jenkins expand his record lol

Its not that they avoided going left necessarily, its just that the Knights left edge (our right side attack) had been decimated with injuries. It would have been an obvious game plan to target that side - and i guess if its working, why change it?

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It was deliberate. Newcastle was heavily defending that edge making sure McLean and Jenkins got as little ball as possible.

But unlike Newcastle, Penrith is not a one trick pony and punished then down the other side. I also noticed it’s probably the most amount of tries scored up the middle in a match by Penrith in some time.

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I did notice that they had a lot of success through the middle, with the tries to Dylan and Nathan. I guess that came from the knights expecting the ball to go out wide.

Papali’i had a pretty good game, but seemed intent on not passing the ball. That would have limited the attacking chances on the left.

That was a good win, and adds to an already healthy for-and-against. I know you can only play whoever you are facing, but we need to be cognisant of the amount of quality Newcastle players unavailable through injury, and not get too excited. I wouldn’t expect such an easy run facing Ponga, Best, Frizell, Marzhew, Lucas, etc.

Be interested to see how the Dally M votes go. I expect that Dylan may be catching up on Nathan.

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Another great TEAM effort, loving the fact we are a unit even with the high profile leaders in our squad. Such a joy to watch.

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Not perfect, but pretty good would be how I sum up our performance. Was expecting a bit of a struggle, but the knights always seemed to be under pressure & we were far too good.

Pretty good all across the park with only perhaps Garner having not at his peak game. I think starting in 2nd row is a tough gig, but he always gives 100%.

Moses truly is a beast. He has taken his game to new levels since he became to forward leader in grunt and pain!

I think we are building a top line squad, which is what is needed over 30+ weeks of footy. Next man up is the catch-cry!

Onwards and upwards :paw_prints: :paw_prints:

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Yes he is, but I disagree, he has always played at this level, just with a like-minded attitude next to him in previous years. Lindsay Smith is no JFH - BUT needs to become that support, not the ball player. I hate it when he gets the ball, should be running hard but looks to offload.

I know I am a bit late to the party on this game, but I was highly impressed with Freddy Lussick.

Our replacement hookers in the past needed a few games to ā€˜settle in’, like Luke Sommerton and Soni Luke, both since moved on.

But Freddy stepped right up to the plate and delivered. His style is different to Mitch Kenny, but still very effective. He even managed to snag a try from dummy half.

It’s going to be tough with Kenny benched for an extended period, but it’s made less so by having Freddy Lussick as backup.

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I think having a go from dummy half is part of Lussick’s game. He scored a try against Melbourne the same way. (I know most hookers will have a go from DH, but some more than others, and I think it might be a ā€œgo toā€ in Lussick’s game.

He’s also got a good kick from dummy half, something Kenny doesn’t have. And, while he’s not the monster that Kenny is in defence, he certainly does his share, and got a good motor.

Agree that we’ll miss Kenny, but Lussick was a really handy pick-up. I hope we extend him. If the rumours about Kenny (and Martin) being targeted by the Chiefs are true, he might end up our first choice hooker.

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I have no idea how we snagged Lussick to be a second fiddle hooker, but gee wiz, no complaints from me! From the little I’ve seen of him play, he fits right into the Penrith machine, there is no skipping a beat, we just roll on. The other two you mentioned Steve looked like they had potential to get there, but always felt like they needed a little more work.

Perhaps another way to say it, and this isn’t to de-value Kenny, it is far less obvious when Kenny is missing when we have Lussick.

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