A close look at the EELS PANTHERS

CLUB PREVIEWS: SEASON 2020 CONTINUED

PARRAMATTA EELS

PENRITH PANTHERS

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS

LAST YEAR: 10TH PLACE HEAD COACH: IVAN CLEARY CAPTAIN: JAMES TAMOU HOME GROUND: PEPPER STADIUM WEBSITE: www.penrithpanthers.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500014 CONTACT: 123 Mulgoa Road, Penrith, NSW 2750 POSTAL: Locked Bag 8322, Penrith, NSW 2751 PHONE: +61 2 4720 9100 TAB ODDS: $19.00 The return of the prodigal son did not quite go to plan last year. Ivan Cleary came back to coach the Panthers in a highly controversial move from West Tigers. He was sacked by boss Phil Gould four years ago but decided to return home to the Blue Mountains working under Gould again. It was meant to be a celebratory return with Cleary at the club where he starred as a player and coaching his playmaker son Nathan. Whether it was the expectations from fans and media LAST YEAR: SEMI-FINALIST HEAD COACH: BRAD ARTHUR CAPTAIN: CLINT GUTHERSON HOME GROUND: BANKWEST STADIUM WEBSITE: www.parraeels.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500031 CONTACT: 2 Eels Place, Parramatta, NSW 2150 POSTAL: PO Box 2666, North Parramatta, NSW 2150 PHONE: +61 2 8843 0300 TAB ODDS: $10.00 The Eels were one of the feel-good stories of last season. They recovered from dead last in 2018 to stage a thrilling run to the finals that ended in a semi-final loss at AAMI Park. Yes, they did get a 32–0 flogging from a Melbourne side that was as close to perfection as you get in rugby league that night. But there were far more positives to take from the LAST YEAR: PRELIMINARY FINALIST HEAD COACH: WAYNE BENNETT CAPTAIN: ADAM REYNOLDS HOME GROUND: ANZ STADIUM WEBSITE: www.rabbitohs.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com CONTACT: Level 4, 265 Chalmers Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 POSTAL: Locked Bag 1, Redfern, NSW 2016 PHONE: +64 2 8306 9900 TAB ODDS: $10.00 It is fair to say Wayne Bennett knows all about winning NRL Premierships. After all the renowned Super Coach has won seven of them. In his first year in charge at South Sydney last season he took the Rabbitohs to the Preliminary Final before losing 16-10 to Canberra. The Rabbitohs will start this campaign among the Premiership favourites after adding Latrell Mitchell to the list of recruits since Bennett took charge including Ethan Lowe, Jaydn Su’A and James Roberts. The signing of Mitchell from the Roosters ensures they have one of the best backlines out of any club in the competition, putting too much pressure on Cleary and the players or other reasons but the final 10th position was disappointing. New captain James Tamou replaces James Maloney who has taken his skills to the Catalans Dragons. Nathan Cleary will need to step up to take over the organisation of the backline and showcase his undoubted talents. Coach Cleary has overhauled the team’s attack over the summer as the Panthers attempt to re-assert themselves in the NRL’s top echelon of clubs. Outstanding hooker Api Koroisau has signed from Manly in a key part of that restructure. “Our attack wasn’t where we wanted it to be last season so we plan to have some different dimensions this year,” coach Cleary told foxsports.com.au. “Api’s a key signing. He gives us more clarity in our spine as to who’s doing what. He’s the most senior member of our spine and he’ll take a large share of responsibility there. “He plays a certain style out of dummy-half that frees up space for everyone around him. That in itself should make us a lot more dangerous. It’s pretty clear now Nathan runs the team whereas with Jimmy Maloney it was more of a shared role. “Jimmy was a very dominant personality on and off the field and while he was great for us, it’s time for the next generation now.” campaign for coach Brad Arthur and his team than negatives. Moving back to play in Parramatta at the impressive new Bankwest Stadium after two years based at Homebush Stadium captivated the spirit of their loyal fan base and lifted performances on the pitch. The Eels have recruited well with star rep forwards Ryan Matterson (Tigers) and Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Panthers) adding greatly to an already strong pack. Captain Clint Gutherson and Mitchell Moses had outstanding seasons last year. Both are expected to push for NSW and Kangaroos honours. If they fire to the best of their ability then the Eels are likely to be around at the pointy end of the season. Coach Arthur has not forgotten what happened in 2018 and has learnt from the mistakes during that disastrous campaign. “There will be no excuses. It is up to us now. It will come down to our want and desire. I remember 2018. There was expectation and we simply didn’t aim up. I'll bear the brunt of that,” he told smh.com.au. “But now the challenge for us is on the back of a good season last season, we need to be better again.” with the 22-year-old superstar set to take over at fullback from retired great Greg Inglis. The Rabbitohs also have plenty of talented young forwards with props Keaon Koloamatangi, Tom Amone, Ky Rodwell and Kurt Dillon along with Tom Burgess, Liam Knight, Tevita Tatola and Mark Nicholls. The halves pairing of Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker is one of the most established in the NRL. Braidon Burns is again fit and expected to hold down a starting centre berth alongside James Roberts with Dane Gagai and Campbell Graham likely to start on the wings. “I think we have got more depth than we had last year, to be totally honest,” Rabbitohs GM of football Shane Richardson told www.nrl.com. “We’ve planned well, not just for this year but the year after and probably the year after that as well. We’ve been planning a long way ahead.” In the past nine months, Souths have lost their last three captains in John Sutton (337 games), Greg Inglis (265) and Sam Burgess (182), along with England prop George Burgess (150), who boast a combined 934 NRL appearances between them. But the excellent recruitment over the last few months and the wisdom and rugby league smarts of coach Bennett will ensure that loss of experience is no issue. NRL CLUB PREVIEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30