Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 26 clash between the Panthers and Rabbitohs.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Penrith Panthers Vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Venue: BlueBet Stadium
Date: Friday August 30, 20:00
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Sunia Turuva, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Paul Alamoti, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Brad Schneider, 7. Jarome Luai, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Mitch Kenny, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Luke Garner, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo, 14. Trent Toelau, 15. Lindsay Smith, 16. Liam Henry, 17. Mavrik Geyer, 18. Matt Eisenhuth, 19. Daine Laurie, 20. Casey McLean, 21. Luron Patea, 22. Luke Sommerton
Rabbitohs: 1. Jye Gray, 2. Tyrone Munro, 3. Taane Milne, 4. Fletcher Myers, 5. Jacob Gagai, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Cody Walker, 8. Davvy Moale, 9. Damien Cook, 10. Sean Keppie, 11. Keaon Koloamatangi, 12. Tallis Duncan, 13. Cameron Murray, 14. Peter Mamouzelos, 15. Jacob Host, 16. Thomas Burgess, 17. Siliva Havili, 18. Dean Hawkins, 19. Liam Le Blanc, 20. Brock Gray, 21. Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson, 22. Richard Kennar
Referee: Peter Gough
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has made some changes to his side’s backline, which has been leaky in defence in recent weeks. Sunia Turuva has been recalled on the wing, while Paul Alamoti plays his first NRL game since Round 20, where he suffered a broken arm. Daine Lauri and Casey McLean are the duo to make way. Mitch Kenny is also back in the starting side after missing last week due to suspension, with Luke Sommerton dropping back to the reserves.
For the Rabbitohs, captain Cam Murray is out for the rest of the season after copping a suspension, with a replacement yet to be confirmed. Cody Walker is back in the side, returning from concussion and replacing Dean Hawkins, while Siliva Havili has been added to the bench in place of the injured Shaq Mitchell.
The Panthers come into this match on the back of two straight losses, last week going down by two-points to the Raiders which saw them drop from second to fourth on the ladder. The defending premiers will need to turn around their form or could be in danger of missing out on a top four finish. While their final two matches of the regular season are very winnable, they will need their attacking stars in Jarome Luai and Dylan Edwards to return to their best after quiet performances a week ago.
The return of Cody Walker should provide a boost for the Bunnies, but they will need a special performance to come away with a victory, after winning just one of their past seven matches. South Sydney kept it close for the first 30 minutes against the Knights last week, but couldn’t continue with the job, the Knights running away 36-16 winners despite losing multiple players to injury.
The Panthers have shown in recent times they can leak points on their edges so, with their defence not producing to the standard they have set during their dominant run over the past couple of years. If Walker and fullback Jye Gray can expose those weaknesses, there is an opportunity to pull off an upset.
Coming off two straight losses, however, expect the Panthers to bounce back in coach Cleary’s 250th game in charge of the team and gain some momentum heading into finals.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Panthers by 14 points.
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