The Panthers head west once again to face off against the Tigers at Bathurst.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Penrith Panthers Vs Wests Tigers
Venue: Carrington Park
Date: Saturday, April 29, 7:35pm AEST
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Tyrone Peachey 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Matthew Eisenhuth 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Zac Hosking 13. Isaah Yeo Interchange: 14. Soni Luke 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Jaeman Salmon Reserves: 18. Luke Garner 19. Tom Jenkins 20. Chris Smith 21. Jack Cogger 22. Liam Henry
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Starford To’a 4. Brent Naden 5. Junior Tupou 6. Brandon Wakeham 7. Luke Brooks 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. David Klemmer 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. John Bateman 13. Fonua Pole Interchange: 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. Alex Twal 17. Tommy Talau Reserves: 18. Justin Matamua 19. Alex Seyfarth 20. Shawn Blore 21. Daine Laurie 22. Triston Reilly
Referee: Adam Gee
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Panthers have been forced into one change, with Izack Tago set for an extended stint on the sidelines with a pectoral injury. Tyrone Peachey takes his place in the centres, while Sunia Turuva will be one to watch after being named despite not being able to finish last week’s game with an ankle injury. David Nofoaluma is back for the Tigers in a big boost for the side, replacing Charlie Staines, while Brent Naden also returns in the centres with Asu Kepaoa dropping out of the team.
Both sides come into this battle on the back of heartbreaking losses. The Panthers were in control for the majority of their match against the Rabbitohs, before Souths ran in two tries in the final five minutes to snatch the victory at the death. The Tigers should take plenty of confidence out of their narrow loss to the Sea Eagles, where they took the lead with about 15 minutes left to play, before a Manly try in the final 10 minutes sealed their fate.
The reigning premiers come into this as hot favourites, but they will be keen to really stamp their authority on the competition once again after a couple of performances that were not up to their usual standard.
The focus will be on Api Koroisau for the Tigers, who faces up against his old side. The pressure will once again be on their skipper to lead from the front and give his side their first win of the year. He will likely go up against Panthers hooker Soni Luke in an intriguing match up, as Luke has shown glimpses of the same lethal threat that Koroisau provides out of dummy half.
Isaah Yeo continues to be an absolute workhorse for Penrith, who has not missed a single tackle since round one, while averaging just over 41 tackles per game. If the Tigers are going to be any chance of coming away with a win, their defence needs to improve, as they are currently allowing 26 points per game.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Panthers 8, Tigers 2
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Panthers by 18 points.
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