Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 2 clash between the Panthers and Eels.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Penrith Panthers Vs Parramatta Eels
Venue: BlueBet Stadium
Date: Friday March 15, 8:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Sunia Turuva, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Taylan May, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Mitch Kenny, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Scott Sorensen, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo, 14. Soni Luke, 15. Lindsay Smith, 16. Liam Henry, 17. Luke Garner, 18. Daine Laurie, 19. Matt Eisenhuth, 20. Mavrik Geyer, 21. Paul Alamoti, 22. Brad Schneider
Eels: 1. Clint Gutherson, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Will Penisini, 4. Morgan Harper, 5. Sean Russell, 6. Dylan Brown, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Joey Lussick, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Bryce Cartwright, 13. J’maine Hopgood, 14. Brendan Hands, 15. Ryan Matterson, 16. Joe Ofahengaue, 17. Kelma Tuilagi, 18. Ofahiki Ogden, 19. Wiremu Greig, 20. Luca Moretti, 21. Makahesi Makatoa, 22. Blaize Talagi
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Eels will roll with the same team that enjoyed a dominant victory over the Bulldogs last weekend, with Mitchell Moses able to overcome a groin issue that hampered him in that match.
There are two changes for the Panthers, with Mitch Kenny returning from suspension to start at hooker, while Scott Sorensen comes back from injury and will start in the second row. Luke Garner drops to the reserves with Matt Eisenhuth named among the reserves, with Luke Sommerton dropping out of the side completely.
Penrith were well below their best in a very scrappy game of football last Friday night, losing to the Storm 8-0. They had plenty of ball and field position but struggled to fire a shot against a stout Melbourne defence.
The return of Kenny at dummy half will bring some composure to the Panthers attack but the pressure will be on to avoid an 0-2 start against an Eels side that looked very strong last week.
Parramatta hold a strong record against the defending premiers in recent times, having won four of their past six games against the Panthers, including a 32-18 win at BlueBet Stadium in Round 26 last year, which was Penrith’s only home loss in their past 11 games.
Expect this to be a tight affair, but the Panthers should be just too strong at home as they bounce back from a tough Round 1 defeat.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 2 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Panthers by 2 points.
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