New Post has been published on www.sportsbanter.com.au
New Post has been published on http://www.sportsbanter.com.au/nrl-round-22-parramatta-eels-v-penrith-panthers/
NRL Round 22 Preview - Parramatta Eels v Penrith Panthers
Parramatta Eels v Penrith Panthers
TIO Stadium, Saturday 8 August, 7.30pm AEST/h5>
It’s billed as the Battle Of The West when Penrith v Parramatta do battle but this time it’s the Battle of the Top End as the NRL somehow saw fit to schedule this traditional local derby to be played over 4,000 km away from Pirtek Stadium, much to the angst of fans of both teams.
Equally disappointing is the current predicament of both teams given it’s a clash of 12 v 13 with neither side given much chance of making the top eight given these two teams are among the heaviest hit by injury in 2015.
It was this clash back in Round 12 that saw Penrith’s finals hopes already shaken through a plethora of other injuries, nose-dive when Matt Moylan suffered what is now likely to be a season-ending lower leg / ankle injury.
Parramatta too have had their share of injuries especially with season-ending injury to high profile recruit Anthony Watmough among others and the behind-the-scenes dramas that have besieged the club throughout the season. Board elections, botched deals, salary cap dramas and player walkouts – you name it it’s all happened at Parramatta in 2015.
A finals appearance for either club is still mathematical but very unlikely given their issues with their player rosters, but both teams will be looking to rack up some wins to finish the season on a high and take some momentum into 2016.
For Parramatta, the NT sojourn completes a three week gruelling schedule that has seen the Eels to travel to Townsville, Gold Coast and Darwin and come into this clash in less than ideal form having lost three straight including their latest 10 point loss to the Titans last Monday night.
After Penrith, the Eels do return to play in Sydney albeit away from Pirtek Stadium until Round 25, instead having to come to terms with playing the in-form Roosters and Sea Eagles, away from home.
Conversely Penrith, return to Darwin for the fourth time in their history, lifted by a spirited performance against the defending premiers on their own turf, going down late 20-16 in a match that had Penrith executed better at key moments could have easily won this game despite missing 10 first graders.
Penrith should also be motivated to do well for chief playmaker, Jamie Soward who brings up his 200th NRL game despite looking down the barrel of having his career ended early when going through the doldrums at the Dragons in 2013 before Penrith came to the rescue.
In team news, Parramatta welcome back centres Will Hopoate and Brad Takairangi in place of Vai Toutai and Bureta Faraimo, which gives the Eels attack extra potency out on the edges.
View image | gettyimages.com
Corey Norman also returns from injury to replace Joseph Paulo at five-eighth, with the ex-Panther named as 18th man. Norman comes up against his housemates James Segeyaro and Isaac John and will be looking to ensure he and indeed Parramatta have season bragging rights over Penrith for the first time since 2005.
More importantly Norman’s inclusion will take pressure off the inexperienced Luke Kelly who has had much to deal since the sudden and messy departure of Chris Sandow to Warrington.
Having flown direct to Darwin after the Gold Coast clash, much will be made of whether the Eels will be leg weary with the amount of travelling they have done in the past three weeks especially with the Darwin heat likely to be a factor as well, though playing in Darwin isn’t foreign to Parramatta given they defeated the Raiders last year at the same venue.
For Penrith, coach Ivan Cleary has seen another player suffer a season-ending injury after it was confirmed Robert Jennings suffered a grade 3 hamstring tear reported to be up to 15cm long after being awkwardly tackled by the Burgess twins last week.
With backline depth running bare, Lewis Brown moves to left centre which sees Isaah Yeo switch to the right centre position, pushing Waqa Blake yet again out to the wing, where he looks most uncomfortable.
Brown’s move to the backs allows Bryce Cartwright to start in the back-row while the salary cap auditor commands that top 25 player, Api Koroisau joins the bench. In exciting news for Panther fans, impressive debutant Leilani Latu retains his place on the bench.
In head-to-head clashes between the two teams, Parramatta lead overall with 54-35 wins and 1 drawn but in recent times, Penrith have the advantage winning three of the last five overall as well as three of the last five away to have an overall six from nine advantage over the Eels.
However the Eels won the last time these two sides met back in Round 12 clinging on to a 26-20 win at Pepper Stadium and are looking for the double over Penrith in a single season for the first time since 2005.
Both sides have yet to taste defeat in Darwin with Penrith having won all three games played including a big win over the Titans in 2013 while the Eels won last year against Canberra.
Both sides don’t have great records with referee Adam Devcich with Penrith having won just six from fifteen including a loss to Parramatta. Parramatta fare even worse having won four of thirteen but have won the one game with Matt Noyen in charge while Penrith have yet to have him adjudicate any of their games.
Cartwright’s inclusion in the starting side should be ringing alarm bells for coach Brad Arthur given the Panther single handedly brought Penrith back into the game after trailing 14 nil during the second half with moments of individual brilliance.
Should Penrith dominate possession in the warm conditions of Darwin, Cartwright’s running game, ball-playing skills and that uncanny offload will cause plenty of headaches once again for the Eels’ brittle edge defences.
He comes into this game in strong form, having scored a try, two line-breaks and two offloads while making 140 metres off 16 runs with three tackle-breaks.
But for Cartwright to shine, Penrith will need their halves, Soward and John (who combined with encouraging effect despite being the 11th halves pairing employed by Cleary in 2015) to employ a kicking game that sees Parramatta start their sets from deep within their own half.
The longer Parramatta are denied territorial advantage the more likely the Eels will commit silly errors but Penrith need to ensure they cut the errors when in possession that has often invited opposition teams to attack in good position placing pressure on an inexperienced defensive line.
If Parramatta are to win, they will need more out of their massive pack of forwards. Tim Mannah has had a stellar season but needs more support from the likes of Junior Paulo, Pauli Pauli (who gets to renew acquaintances with Soward), Manu Mau and Tepai Moeroa, who despite their physical presence have often gone missing in action when it counts.
Should Parramatta’s forwards dominate possession and get that roll-on upfront that they are capable of doing, it will allow Norman to direct play down Penrith’s inexperienced right edge defence where Takairangi and Radradra could run riot as they did back in their Round 12 against Penrith.
It’s no secret that much of winger Semi Radradra’s ability in being the competition’s equal-top try scorer with 17 from 13 games has been built around the left-edge attack offered by his centre partner, Takairangi and Norman and with both back this week, Radradra may just get some quality ball, IF the vaunted Eels pack stand up and be counted once more.
A win here for Penrith could kick-start a late run as their run into the finals is one of the best in the NRL and even if they don’t make the finals, such momentum going into 2016 would be confidence-building for the many youngsters introduced to first grade by Cleary in response to dealing with the NRL’s worst injury crisis seen in 2015.
Both teams should still be highly motivated by the pride and passion such local derbies invoke even if played in the confines of Darwin instead of Pirtek or Pepper Stadium.
But expect the Panthers to handle the heat up north better, which should allow the likes of Segeyaro and Cartwright to exploit an Eels side that is low on confidence especially in defense and should win by ten.
1. Reece Robinson 2. Semi Radradra 3. William Hopoate 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Ryan Morgan 6. Corey Norman 7. Luke Kelly 8. Junior Paulo 9. Nathan Peats 10. Tim Mannah 11. Manu Ma’u 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. David Gower
Interchange: 14. Pauli Pauli 15. Darcy Lussick 16. Daniel Alvaro 17. Isaac De Gois 18. Joseph Paulo
1. William Smith 2. Josh Mansour 3. Lewis Brown 4. Isaah Yeo 5. Waqa Blake 6. Isaac John 7. Jamie Soward 8. Sam McKendry 9. James Segeyaro 10. Regan Campbell-Gillard 11. Sika Manu 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. Elijah Taylor
Interchange: 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Jeremy Latimore 16. Leilani Latu 17. Apisai Koroisau
