don’t let it end now AFTER TWO YEARS OF STUNNING WINNING STREAKS, SETTING RECORDS, A MINOR PREMIERSHIP, GRAND FINAL APPEARANCE AND COUNTLESS PRAISE, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE BIGGEST BATTLE OF THE WEST IN HISTORY. FULL COVERAGE INSIDE
v SATURDAY 7.50PM
Friday, September 17, 2021 « the western weekender • extra time
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TEAM LINE-UPS PANTHERS
eels
arrds 1 Dylan Edwards
1 Clint Gutherson (c)
2 Stephen Crichton
2 Haze Dunster
3 Paul Momirovski
3 Will Penisini
4 Matt Burton
4 Waqa Blake
5 Brian To’o
5 Blake Ferguson
6 Jarome Luai
6 Dylan Brown
7 Nathan Cleary (c)
7 Mitchell Moses
8 Moses Leota
8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
9 Api Koroisau
9 Ray Stone
10 James Fisher-Harris
10 Junior Paulo
11 Viliame Kikau
11 Shaun Lane
12 Kurt Capewell
12 Marata Niukore
13 Isaah Yeo (c)
13 Nathan Brown
14 Mitch Kenny
14 Will Smith
15 Scott Sorensen
15 Isaiah Papali’i
16 Tevita Pangai Junior
16 Bryce Cartwright
17 Liam Martin
17 Ryan Matterson
18 Spencer Leniu
18 Makahesi Makatoa
19 Izack Tago
19 Oregon Kaufusi
20 Brent Naden
20 Tom Opacic
21 Tyrone May
21 Jake Arthur
v
the final word
the western weekender • extra time » Friday, September 17, 2021
match preview
Brought to you by
Jarome Luai. Photo: NRL Photos.
TROY DODDS
J
ust before 10pm on Saturday night, it felt like the world had caved in for most Penrith supporters. The expected saloon passage to the Preliminary Final, and a likely showdown with Melbourne in the big dance, was suddenly thwarted. But as the sun came on Sunday, hope rose too. This isn’t over – far from it. It can be easy to question everything after that loss to Souths but it’s important to not focus on that 80 minutes and instead look at the last two years. This is a Penrith side that has constantly bounced back, and has developed a never-say-die attitude. You’d be very brave to suggest they’d go out in straight sets after everything they’ve built in the last two seasons, under the most trying of circumstances. What happened last Saturday night is pretty clear – Souths showed up with enormous intent. They shut down Brian To’o effectively, which meant Penrith consist-
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 | 7.50PM | BB PRINT STADIUM, MACKAY | REFEREE: ASHLEY KLEIN ently started their sets on the back foot. The loss of Dylan Edwards was not necessarily felt through goal-line defence or air raids, but in his ability to back-up breaks. Twice Edwards likely would have been there to pounce on opportunities in the second half. The loss of Moses Leota also didn’t help, particularly given Penrith had already suffered a forward blow with the injury to Scott Sorensen. In short, the Rabbitohs had a cleaner preparation and their plans came to fruition. So much so that Wayne Bennett even threw a little pre-game fuel onto the fire last Friday – just to rattle his counterparts a little. I have confidence that Penrith will be much better this week, and equally I’ve got confidence they’re much better than this Parramatta team, that easily could have lost last Sunday’s elimination final to Newcastle. That’s not to say the Eels don’t have ability across the park – Reagan Campbell-Gillard
ABC 702 2GB 873
really stood up last week, Ray Stone is doing a fabulous job as interim hooker and Mitch Moses and Clint Gutherson are both fit at the right time of the season. But it’s been quite some time since Parramatta has played consistently good week-to-week football, evidenced by their fall out of the top four at the back half of the season. This match could well come down to the kicking games of Moses and Nathan Cleary. While Cleary did get some results at different times against Souths, he was never able to take control of the game. That wasn’t helped by a 75 per cent completion rate, 12 errors and 28 missed tackles. This game represents Cleary’s most pivotal 80 minutes of the season. A team he manages cannot fall out of the Finals in straight sets – he must take the game by the scruff of the neck and deliver when it’s all on the line. Like the Johns’, Thurstons and Cronks of the past, he must deliver on the
UPDATES ON NRL.COM
biggest of stages when it matters the most. So too must his halves partner Jarome Luai, who has been far from himself since suffering an knee injury before Origin III. The livewire, excitement machine has been way too subdued in recent times. I’m no coach, but I’d also revert to starting Viliame Kikau. Sure, he offers plenty of impact off the bench, but we know that Penrith can play that Melbourne style of game where if they get in front, they can usually manage the contest. Let’s throw everything at it in the opening 20 minutes – it’s not patience, but it is proactive. The Eels won’t die wondering – the pressure on Brad Arthur and his team to break a long-running premiership drought is immense. But this Penrith team has achieved way too much in the last two years to let this slip. Turn up like last week and it might be a different story, but I really doubt they will. Tip: Panthers by 14.
PANTHERS $1.25 EELS $4.00
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Friday, September 17, 2021 « the western weekender • extra time
feature
TEVITA WANTS TO LEAVE HIS MARK NATHAN TAYLOR
T
evita Pangai Junior has worn the Panthers jersey a handful of times, but don’t try telling him he’s not one of the boys. The 25-year-old signed with Penrith back in July after spending the past six seasons at Brisbane. Following 96 games with the Broncos, Pangai Junior was granted an immediate release to join the Panthers and boost their chances of a third NRL Premiership. Since arriving at the club less than two months ago, the wrecking ball hadn’t experienced a loss as a Panther and was quickly getting used to the famous post-game victory song. However last Saturday night in steamy Townsville was different. Pangai Junior’s 100th game in the NRL – his first Finals match since 2018 – didn’t quite go to plan. Despite only being part of the Panthers club for a short period of time, Pangai Junior took Penrith’s shock 16-10 loss to South Sydney just as hard as a player who’s busted out more than a century of games for the mighty mountain men. Asked how he felt when the full-time siren sounded, the Tongan international was
brief but firm with his response. “We didn’t play our usual game “The boys have been “I’m in a Panthers jersey, so of course and we didn’t finish off our sets good… I grew up playI took it hard,” the 117kg prop told Extra where we wanted them to ing with a lot of them Time. finish. Like I said, Wayne in the junior repreWhile Pangai Junior only contributed to must’ve said a good sentative teams three of Penrith’s record 21 wins this season, speech at half-time.” and playing against he credited his teammates for working hard With Pangai Junior on them – they’ve all year to give the side a second bite at the his way to Canterbury welcomed me with cherry. next year he knows his open arms,” he “It was a bit of a shock [to lose],” Pangai time remaining at the said. Junior said. Panthers is precious, with “Everyone is “[But] the boys worked so hard to get into every game from here on just eager to get the top four and that’s why you try and out sudden death. back into it and make the top four to get a second chance in He said he’s formed a go at it again. It’s case things don’t go to plan. strong connection with his just important that “We still have to win three games to win Penrith teammates and he’s I do everything I can the Grand Final, so we’re taking it one day keen on strengthening that to put my best foot at a time and week by week.” connection further forward for this Having beaten them in five consecutive for a few more team.” games, Penrith were red-hot favourites games yet. to record their sixth straight win over the Bunnies last weekend. However Wayne Bennett’s men, led by their professional halves and determined forward pack, outplayed the Panthers in every facet causing the only upset of the NRL Finals last weekend. “On the weekend we got outcompeted and Wayne came up with one of his brilliant half-time speeches and they came over the Tevita Pangai Junior is hoping to finish his time at Penrith on a high. Photo: NRL Photos. top of us,” Pangai Junior said.
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WITH THE MASKED PANTHER
LEOTA SIGNS NEW DEAL ! Moses Leota has rejected the possibility of testing his worth on the open market by signing a new deal with the Panthers. The 26-year-old put pen to paper earlier this week on a two-year contract extension. “I’m extremely grateful to re-sign and have the opportunity to continue my career as a Panther,” Leota said. “I’m humbled to have the support of everyone at the club and to know that they believe in me.” It means Leota and James Fisher-Harris will remain up front for Penrith into the future. ! One player who won’t re-sign before November 1 is Viliame Kikau. As I reported some time ago, Kikau’s future at Penrith is extremely clouded. The club won’t be able to match offers from rival clubs that are set to come in once he’s on the open market. The Panthers fear a desperate team looking to boost its gamebreaker stocks could offer the 26-year-old between $900,000 and $1 million a season. “We will have to address that after the season,” Panthers Chairman Dave O’Neill told News Corp last week. “I don’t know what sort of money Vili will command but I’m sure there will be clubs that will offer big dollars.” !
I have no doubt that Wayne Bennett is the bad guy in the feud that erupted with Ivan Cleary last weekend. But elements of the furore between Bennett and Ivan Cleary in the lead-up to and after the Qualifying Final last Saturday night can in part be traced back to a common theme at Penrith – sensitivity. Throughout the club there’s often a tendency to be easily offended by certain issues that could otherwise be left alone. It can often fail to see the bigger picture. That’s not to say Wayne Bennett’s approach last week was fair, nor is it to say any of Penrith’s responses were wrong. Bennett’s accusations about illegal plays and “very reliable sources” leaking him information was poor form, as was his suggestion Cleary’s former involvement with the refereeing department played a part in leaks to the media, but it’s all faded into the background of the ‘theatre’ surrounding it all. However, when you sit back and look at the entire situation from afar, it’s hard not to agree that Penrith added fuel to the fire – perhaps unnecessarily.
James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota will remain Penrith’s front rowers for the long-term. Photo: NRL Photos.
! There’s no question that the NRL has been left red faced by referee Gerard Sutton’s warning to Matt Eisenhuth to ‘hold his line’ after Nathan Cleary’s opening kick of the game against Souths. The NRL would like to think its officials aren’t influenced by media talk and coaches speaking pre-game, but they’re human at the end of the day. As soon as Ivan Cleary knew what had happened early in the game, he was no chance of staying silent at the press conference. Not with so much on the line in the Finals. ! The NRL has shifted next weekend’s Preliminary Final between Melbourne and the winner of Saturday’s Panthers/ Eels match to a 4pm timeslot on Saturday, September 25. That’ll ensure a clash with the AFL Grand Final is avoided – a win for Melbourne sports fans but also for broadcasters, who knew the casual sporting audience would be split. “We pride ourselves on being agile and listening to our fans. It’s clear that a small change to the schedule provides the best outcome for our fans in
Melbourne who have been incredibly loyal throughout the pandemic,” said NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.
!
The TAB now has Penrith at $3.75 to win the premiership, with the odds blowing out after last weekend’s loss to Souths. But the money remains with Penrith to reach a showdown with Melbourne next weekend – they are $1.25 favourites to topple the Eels on Saturday night.
!
Penrith centre Matt Burton has joined forces with DrinkWise for a new campaign targeting country NSW. The ‘Always respect, always DrinkWise’ campaign is aimed at reminding the community about the importance of moderating their alcohol consumption and always being respectful towards others. Roosters NRLW captain Corban Baxter is also part of the campaign. “Corban and I are proud to be supporting this important initiative from DrinkWise and NSW Police, to remind community members to focus on what’s important by looking out for those closest to them and if
the western weekender • extra time » Friday, September 17, 2021
panther rumblings
choosing to drink alcohol to do it in moderation,” Burton said.
!
Former Penrith coach John Lang is still proving pretty tough, even at age 70. Last week he put his hand up to climb into the roof of son Martin’s house to track down a dead rodent. “I’ve never met anyone like my dad. He is completely selfless,” Lang Jnr said. Martin has a rat phobia.
!
Another year, another low key Dally M ceremony. After abandoning plans for a major event at Suncorp Stadium, the NRL will partner with Fox League to present the Dally M Awards over two consecutive Monday nights – September 20 and September 27.
!
Penrith will have to overcome some history if they’re to beat the Eels on Saturday night. The Panthers have never beaten their arch rivals in a Finals game. They’ve only played twice before – once in 1985, and then in 2000. The Eels won both matches comfortably.
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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, September 17, 2021
finals flashback
PENRITH MAKE HISTORY AT THE SCG I
t would take almost 20 years for Penrith to play Finals football for the first time – and it almost didn’t happen. It was 1985, and a young Penrith team featuring the likes of Greg Alexander and Royce Simmons had produced a solid season, but it wasn’t quite enough to secure outright fifth place on the ladder. Penrith were forced into a playoff for fifth against Manly – with the fate of their first Finals campaign coming down to a Tuesday night encounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was a thrilling game played in front of a strong crowd of 16,428, and as it would so many times in the future, the boot of Brandy Alexander got the Panthers home. Penrith won 10-7, with Alexander landing three goals on the road to victory. A few days later it was back to the SCG for their first ever Finals match – against arch rivals Parramatta. 18,939 watched the battle of the west, but it just wasn’t to be for Penrith, who ran out of puff after the elation of the Manly win. Brett Kenny produced a man-of-thematch performance for the Eels, while Eric Grothe scored two tries. Parramatta won 38-6 after being in front 22-0 at the break. The Eels would go on to beat Balmain the following week, before losing the Preliminary Final to Canterbury.
The Sydney Cricket Ground hosted the 1985 Finals series. Photo: NRL Photos.
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Friday, September 17, 2021 « the western weekender • extra time
Brought to you by
Brought to you by
joel caine DREAM FINALE OFF THE CARDS
T
he full-time siren had sounded on the Sunday night of the 25th of October last year. The Panthers had rushed home, but had fallen just short. Future Immortal Cameron Smith would have the perfect farewell. As the dust settled, the majority of us started counting sleeps until the pair would meet again in the 2021 Grand Final. That idea was completely scuppered when the Rabbitohs caused one of the great boilovers in modern Finals footy, downing the Panthers 16-10 in a shock Qualifying Final result. Now, the Storm v Panthers sequel can’t possibly happen this year, but they’ve been set on a war path to meet in an incredible Preliminary Final. If it’s Penrith, it’s the Grand Final rematch, if it’s Parramatta who go through to meet the men in purple, then the Storm face a team who broke their record winning run just a few weeks ago. To the other side of the draw, South Sydney await the winner of Trent Robinson’s patchwork Roosters or Des Hasler’s mercurial Sea Eagles. Sometimes, the best gifts come badly wrapped. The Manly side were lapped by the Storm. However, they’ll have left that match with lessons learned from that contest and the comfort of knowing they can’t meet the two most fancied teams in
WARREN SMITH CAN THE PANTHERS HIT BACK?
B
The disappointment of the 2020 decider.
the Storm and Panthers until Grand Final day – if they are to get there. Recency bias is a term used that gives a greater importance to events that have just happened, and in my opinion, the Panthers are still in this competition up to their eyeballs. I also don’t have any doubts that Tommy Turbo can still have a major say in how these Finals turn out, despite being nullified by Bellamy’s Storm. While some are pencilling in a Melbourne v South Sydney Grand Final, I think there’s plenty of water to go under the bridge until we’re close to announcing that.
etween Wayne Bennett, Ivan Cleary and seemingly anybody else who has ever watched an NRL game, has the word ‘block’ ever been so popular? After the back-and-forth in the build-up to the Souths-Panthers week one Final, to the continuation of hostilities post-game and then the dissecting of the coaching mind-games beyond that, the legality of being able to block defenders from getting to halfbacks on clearing kicks is almost deserving of its own weekly show. Scott Cam will host it, as the NRL presents footy’s version of ‘The Block’. It’s taken up a lot of column inches and air-time, but the reality of it from a Panthers point of view is that they’ll know they have far greater concerns in-house than whether the referees are watching who does what in front of Nathan Cleary when he’s trying to launch another torpedo into orbit. And as is almost always the case when a premiership contender loses a big Final, the magnifying glass goes straight onto the forward pack. The most basic numbers when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of forwards – run metres – don’t make for relaxing reading if you’re Ivan Cleary. Penrith’s big men were comfortably outplayed in the domain of the simple
go-forward, and there’s no doubt it will be the one area they can immediately improve on, and will have to, when they meet the Eels in this week’s sudden-death semi-final. Without good metres and some decent play-the-ball speed off the back of it, the Panthers were far too sideways in attack against the Rabbitohs, and they pushed passes they normally wouldn’t as a consequence. Every defensive victory for South Sydney gave them more energy and confidence, and rocked the normally composed Panthers at the same time. That’s the bad news. The good news is that everything the Panthers did in the regular season gave them the opportunity to overcome a false start in the Finals. They’ll know that the Parramatta forward pack is coming off an impressive showing against the Knights, with former Panther Reagan Campbell-Gillard leading the way in his return from injury. You know how much this game will mean to him against his former club, but the bigger question is what does this game mean to the Panthers? After two years hard work, it’s time for the heavyweights to show they still have plenty of punch. Enjoy the footy.
extra minutes
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Coen Hess claims his Paul Bowman Medal for the Cowboys’ best player.
! Coen Hess has claimed his first Paul Bowman Medal at the North Queensland Cowboys Presentation Night at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre. Hess’ inaugural Paul Bowman Medal comes in his seventh season as a Cowboy and after 118 appearances for the club. Jake Granville won both the Fans Choice Award and the Members Player of the Year, while Heilum Luki won Rookie of the Year at the Presentation Night. ! Prop Payne Haas has won a historic third consecutive Paul Morgan Medal as the Brisbane Broncos’ Player of the Year. At just 21 years of age, Haas joins legends Darren Lockyer, Corey Parker and Petero Civoniceva as three-time winners of the club’s most prestigious on-field award. Only Allan Langer has won the medal more times. The
diminutive halfback took out the award five times, including four in a row from 1993-96.
! Canterbury captain Josh Jackson has been named the 2021 Dr George Peponis Player of the Year. In his 10th season of first grade and his fourth as captain, Jackson led from the front every week and overcame a calf injury during the year to appear in 17 matches, making 786 tackles and averaging 113 running metres per game. ! Melbourne hooker Brandon Smith has been cleared of a suspected facial fracture following a head clash with Manly’s Josh Aloiai at Sunshine Coast Stadium last Friday night, meaning he’ll be fit for the Preliminary Final showdown against either Penrith or Parramatta.
the western weekender • extra time » Friday, September 17, 2021
Nothing is impossible in the world of rugby league
lang on league A
tense exchange between Panthers coach Ivan Cleary and a journalist during the post-match media conference following the loss to the Rabbitohs probably summed up perfectly Penrith’s chances of winning the 2021 NRL Premiership. “Ivan you’ve got to go the long way now, historically it’s been impossible (to win the comp after losing game one), can they do it?” “Impossible is it?” Cleary questioned. “Very hard to do,” responded the reporter. “You said impossible,” bristled Cleary before smiling. “My mistake,” the journo corrected himself. But the supposition wasn’t completely incorrect. It will be tough to win the comp from here. Since 2007, only the North Queensland Cowboys have done it. Will Penrith be only the second team in the past 15 years to do it? Souths, the team who beat the Panthers 16-10, are no certainties either. For no team has won the competition after conceding 50 points in a season. The Bunnies had 50 put on them twice this year but enough about them. The question is, have Penrith missed a golden opportunity to side-step Melbourne and catapult themselves into a Grand Final? It certainly looks that way. Directly after the game against the Bunnies I definitely thought so. I was seething with anger. There’s no doubt Wayne Bennett won the battle of the mind games, he had the refs running for cover, penalising and warning
Penrith players on the run for the very things he bought up earlier in the week. As far as I was concerned, the Panthers were gone for the season. I doubted whether they could recover their confidence in time to beat anyone this weekend. Thankfully I’m a supporter and not a player or a coach. Unlike yours truly, they are made of sterner stuff. On Sunday morning the sun came up and I started to believe again. Difference is, the players probably never stopped believing in the first place. To make the Grand Final Penrith first have to beat the Eels and then back up and defeat the red-hot Premiership favourites, the Melbourne Storm the week after. To me, beating the Eels is definitely something the boys will do. Beating the Storm, I can’t see it happening. I want them to so badly but at the moment I just can’t see it. To me it looks like ‘Mission Impossible’ if I’m being honest. Then I hear Ivan’s words in my head, asking me the same question he did last Saturday night in the press conference. “Impossible is it?” he says. “Very hard to do,” I respond. “You said impossible,” Ivan fires back. “My mistake,” I answer with a nervous smile. He smiles back and thinks, ‘Thank God you’re not one of my players’. To them, nothing is impossible. I can’t wait for the boys to prove me and a lot of other so-called ‘experts’ wrong.
with Peter Lang
A dejected Jarome Luai will look to bounce back into form. Photo: NRL Photos.
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Friday, September 17, 2021 « the western weekender