Extra Time May 26 2023 (Round 13 - Panthers Bye)

true blues

SIX PANTHERS SELECTED FOR ORIGIN OPENER | ORIGIN COVERAGE INSIDE

MASKED PANTHER

SEE PAGE 29

SEE PAGE 31

MATT

SEE PAGE 34

panther rumblings

THE FORTNIGHT THAT SAVED LUAI

! Freddy’s faith in Luai: Jarome Luai was all but gone from the NSW side a month ago, but a stunning fortnight of form and Brad Fittler’s desire to have a club combination in the halves has saved him. But Luai likely knows he must perform in Adelaide or confront the possibility of losing his jumper to Nicho Hynes, who is breathing down his neck and will sit on the bench for the Origin opener against Queensland next Wednesday. Luai is among five Panthers who will run out onto Adelaide Oval – Nathan Cleary, Brian To’o, Liam Martin and Isaah Yeo are also in Freddy’s team. After initially missing out on selection, Stephen Crichton has been named 18th man.

! How Origin week will unfold: It’ll be a busy week for the Penrith players involved in next Wednesday’s Origin opener. Outside of the obvious training commitments, there’s plenty of other things on the to do list – including the True Blues Dinner, which was held on Monday night. The squad will fly to Adelaide on Monday, ahead of a media appearance in Rundle Mall on Tuesday and then the game itself on Wednesday. The Panthers representatives will fly back to Sydney on Thursday and will check in with the club, ahead of a decision on whether they back-up against the Dragons on Sunday, June 4.

! Leniu back next week: Good news for Penrith’s forward pack, with Spencer Leniu to return from his ruptured testicle against the Dragons next Sunday night. I’m told he’s a certainty for the clash, which sits in the rare 6.15pm timeslot at BlueBet Stadium.

! Luke gets game time: Penrith coach Ivan Cleary sent Soni Luke back to reserve grade last weekend (pictured below) to ensure he gets plenty of game time as the team still works its way through its dummy half conundrum. Luke only got 17 minutes of game time against the Broncos last Thursday night, prompting Cleary to ensure he got some work in the legs against the Magpies on Saturday. There’s no question Mitch Kenny is warming into the season at 9, with calls for Luke to be the club’s starting hooker starting to quieten.

! Back as favourites: South Sydney’s time as Premiership favourites didn’t last long. The TAB has reinstalled the competition-leading Panthers as favourites to win the Grand Final at $3.50, with the Rabbitohs out to $4.50. The big fall from grace is the Roosters, who have blown out to $15.00.

! Cleary breaks records: It was a busy night for Penrith halfback and co-captain Nathan Cleary at Suncorp Stadium against the Broncos. The 25-year-old become the youngest player in rugby league history to reach 1300 career points, and his field goal also took him to the top of the record books as far as one-pointers for Penrith are concerned.

! Stadium back in spotlight: A piece in News Corp publications over the weekend suggested the new Penrith Stadium was back as a major talking point, but the truth is the whole thing remains stalled while the State Government work out whether the $300 million commitment will go ahead. Knocking down and re-building the stadium on the current footprint would barely increase the capacity, place the venue under the Government’s

control and likely force loyal Western Grandstand members out of their seats to make way for more corporate facilities. It’s hardly a win. I’m still of the opinion the Government will eventually scrap the project entirely and look towards an upgrade of sorts.

! Spotted: Penrith prop Moses Leota signing and giving his boots to an excited fan at Suncorp Stadium last Thursday night.

involving assault charges is over – which could be some time away. That situation likely suits the Penrith Panthers just fine; they’ve had growing frustrations with Kent and Fox Sports over the way the team has been talked about in recent years. Nobody is smiling over Kent’s alleged actions and everyone is concerned about the alleged victim, but there’s no complaints from anyone that he’s not on air at the moment. One thing that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Penrith and the wider NRL community is News Corp’s lack of coverage of Kent’s case.

! Monitoring health: The Panthers are well aware of how their players are travelling –especially given so many have young families. Each day, the players sign on using a tablet and they rate their sleep from the previous night and their current overall health. It’s been a good initiative – ensuring officials can catch any issues early.

! Kent still off air: News Corp journalist Paul Kent remains stood down and wasn’t back in his ‘NRL 360’ chair this week, suggesting he’ll remain off air until the court process

! Got some goss? I don’t keep secrets but I do protect my sources. If you’ve got some news, email me at maskedpanther@westernweekender.com.au.

Jarome Luai.

nrl ladder & fixtures

face in the crowd

IS THIS YOU?

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As the Panthers enjoy a ‘bye’ round this weekend I thought I’d turn my attention to the four Penrith players who are coming off contract at the end of 2023, which I believe the club needs to re-sign beyond the current season.

While locking up marquee and star players is essential, there is also a tier of players just below that level which are equally as important to a football team. They are the players who provide plenty of ‘bang for your buck’ so to speak.

First cab of the rank is a pretty-obvious one in Scott Sorensen. Long before his best game in Panthers colours against the Roosters a few weeks ago, plenty of clubs had taken notice of Sorensen. Many are now sniffing around preparing to make an offer to this late rugby league bloomer.

His value to a team is immeasurable. Sorensen is a hard worker who has benefited from being in the Panthers system for the last three years. Now there’s no doubt the club will need to stump up some more cash to keep him but he’s worth every penny.

Soni Luke is another player worth keeping for a number of reasons. He has a good footy brain, knows when to run, when to pass and let’s face it, provides the perfect one-two punch with Mitch Kenny as the

starting hooker. One, I feel, doesn’t work without the other.

There’s been some interest in Luke, who in 2024 will turn 28. Obviously at that age he wants to maximise his value before he makes a decision, but he’d be crazy not to stay with the Panthers and continue to develop his game. Again, he will need an upgrade on his current deal but nothing that should break the bank.

The third player I’d re-sign quick smart is Jaeman Salmon. A ‘no-frills’ footballer who also knows the Panthers system inside and out and can play in the forwards as well as in the backs when he comes off the bench.

His value to the team is his versatility and experience but only at a fair price, of course.

Finally, with Stephen Crichton on the move in 2024, I think there is a ready-made replacement waiting in the wings… or centres in Thomas Jenkins. Jenkins has filled out his 188cm tall frame over the last few years but still possesses plenty of speed and power to be more than a handful in the top grade.

Combined the four players I’ve selected for a contract extension beyond this season will provide plenty of value to the team and not chew up too much of the salary cap at the same time.

And you gotta love that!

analysis WW50494 WW50494

Scott Sorensen

with Peter Lang

PENRITH BUSINESSES

BACKING THE BLUES

BACK THE ‘BLUES’

A QUEENSLAND DEATH NOTICE

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of long-time Queensland legend Mr Picknstick.

Mr Picknstick passed early on Monday morning after a severe bout of change swept aside his loyalty and dedication to the cause.

We celebrate his life of more than 40 years, in which time Mr Picknstick had plucked players from reserve grade, out of hospital beds, as freckle-faced unknowns, from the other side of the world, in fact any sort of obscurity, because, well, that’s what Queensland did.

After a long battle with the Blue virus that had chipped away at him for decades, the bout of change led to a rapid and fatal demise earlier this week.

matt russell

Firstly, try-scorer and player of the match in last year’s deciding Game III, Kalyn Ponga, was ruthlessly cast aside despite returning from concussion concerns to blow the Titans apart. Given his head knock against Cronulla and the form of Reece Walsh, this positional change didn’t prove fatal but certainly took its toll.

The deciding moment came when Dane Gagai was left out of the Queensland team. Mr Picknstick noted that Gagai had played every Origin since his debut in 2015. He repeatedly saved his best for State of Origin. He was often Queensland’s best, named Man of the Match multiple times and Player of the Series in 2017.

This season, Gagai is posting career high numbers with ball in hand – runs, run metres, post contact metres, try assists and offloads. His attacking numbers dwarf those of the player named in his position. A real hammer blow to Mr Picknstick.

Even though Gagai has missed 17 tackles over the last month, resulting in six tries, his missed tackle rate is way down on last year and on par with some of his best years with Queensland.

With his final breath Mr Picknstick muttered, “…he’s a proven, reliable centre… replaced by a fullback… who still brings plenty to the table… who’s looked after QLD for so long… and you couldn’t even name him on the wing… that will do me…”. And with that he was gone. We invite all guests to join the New South

Wales Blues to celebrate a life well lived, and a legend that will no longer have to be countered by rival teams.

Rest in peace Mr Picknstick and god bless Queensland.

hidden panther WHO AM I ?

Kalyn Ponga has been axed from the Queensland Origin team.

PENRITH SCORE BIG NSW CUP WIN

Two first half tries to Luke Garner has helped the Penrith Panthers to a resounding 40-10 win over the Western Suburbs Magpies in the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup at Leichhardt Oval.

The Magpies started the stronger of the two teams, opening the scoring in the 14th minute, before Garner’s first try put the Panthers in front in the 20th minute.

Back-to-back sets attacking Wests’ line led to a try to Preston Riki, before Garner backed it up with his second shortly after, giving the Panthers an 18-4 half-time lead.

The Panthers’ momentum continued after the restart, with Daeon Amituanai scoring after a string of offloads.

lower grades report

@LachlanJeffery

They were away again shortly after, however were denied a try due to an obstruction. Off the back of the penalty, Israel Ogden scored for Wests, cutting the lead to 24-10.

Tom Jenkins scored his 10th try of the season in the 60th minute to push the margin back out to 20.

Trent Toelau extended the Panthers’ lead with eight minutes remaining after Wests lost two players to the sin bin, before an intercept off a scrum put the Panthers on the attack for Matt Stimson to score at the death, pushing the final margin to 40-10.

In Jersey Flegg, a disappointing second half saw the Panthers fall 28-20 against Wests Tigers.

The Tigers opened the scoring after just six minutes through Harrison Henson, before a double to Timothy Sielaff-Burns gave the Panthers a 10-4 lead at half-time.

Back-to-back tries to Josh Feledy and Jay Kirk gave the Tigers a 16-10 lead, before Angelis Hotere-Papalii scored against the run of play to

cut the deficit to two. Another pair of quickfire tries ballooned the Panthers’ deficit to 14 points with 10 minutes remaining.

A late consolation try to Ryley Smith brought the final score back to a more respectable 28-20. In Round 13, the NSW Cup squad flies to Auckland to face the Warriors, while Flegg has a bye.

Penrith secured a big win over Wests at Leichhardt Oval. Photo: NRL Images.

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