Extra Time March 10

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Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

PANTHER RUMBLINGS

with the Masked Panther

week from hell » The woman at the centre of the Bryce

Cartwright story we’ve all been talking about this week is a sports journalist who is currently in Australia but spends a fair bit of her time overseas. She usually keeps a very active social media presence but has been quiet since February on both Facebook and Twitter. Her Instagram account is currently private. She’s clearly in regular contact with one of her employers, Channel Seven, as she’s appeared (with her face blocked out) twice on their 6pm news bulletin this week. As it stands she hasn’t been named by the media and is sticking with her ‘Miss X’ title. Contrary to what some reports are suggesting, Cartwright was never in a ‘relationship’ with the journalist – their time together was very casual and very short-term.

» There has been a fair bit of conjecture

about when Cartwright was actually made aware that the story was going to be published in the Sunday Telegraph last weekend. Some have suggested he knew prior to taking the field against the Dragons at Kogarah Oval last Saturday, however I’ve been told this was not the case. The Panthers were certainly made aware early on Saturday afternoon but from what I’ve been able to ascertain, Cartwright didn’t know until after the game.

» Given everything that was happening

last weekend, Cartwright could have been excused from taking part in social functions on Sunday. But just hours after the Sunday Telegraph hit newsagents across Sydney, Cartwright was at Panthers celebrating the first birthday of a team mate’s son.

» Phil Gould does plenty of kilometres

between his home in the Shire and Panthers HQ, but he probably wasn’t expecting to make the trip out west last Sunday.

He ended up jumping in the car after the Bryce Cartwright story broke, so he could meet with the young star face to face.

He then hit the road again and headed to Brookvale Oval to call the Manly v Par-

ramatta game for Channel Nine, before finally venturing back to the Shire.

» More trouble for Penrith’s injury-

plagued backline with Peta Hiku (pictured) suffering an injury against the Dragons last weekend that will see him miss about a month’s worth of football.

Hiku has a fractured eye socket, and the Panthers are quietly fuming that Russell Packer was not charged over the swinging arm that resulted in the injury.

» Penrith’s new Members Council met on

Monday night at the Panthers Academy.

The idea behind the concept is for the club to engage with football club members to get their feedback on everything from merchandise packs to rewards, game day experiences and general goings-on around the team. The first meeting was a huge success and featured a good cross-section of members. Panthers Group CEO Brian Fletcher also sat in on the meeting and offered some insight into the club’s operations and background behind a number of recent decisions.

» How times have changed in radioland.

Radio 2GB’s Continuous Call Team, which has been a staple of the game for more than 30 years, is now going to air an hour later on Sundays so ‘The A-League Show’ can continue. We presume it’s a move to appease sponsors as it makes little sense to bump the rugby league coverage from its traditional 12pm timeslot. It’s a free kick to Triple M, which begins its coverage at Midday. The latest radio ratings are out on Tuesday but won’t give any real indication of the rugby league war on the airwaves given the competition has only just started.

» I’m a big fan of the new Fox League

channel but the re-boot of ‘NRL 360’ has me reaching for sea sickness tablets.

There needs to be an investigation about whether the camera operators are heading to the pub for a long session before the show each night. ‘NRL 360’ has been one of the best rugby league shows on tel-

Peta Hiku will be out for a month due to a fractured eye socket

evision for years but the new style makes it hard to follow and frustrating to watch for the full hour.

» Talking of Fox League, the lack of

Monday Night Football is clearly going to have an impact on the channel’s Monday night ratings. Last year, ‘The Matty Johns Show’ had an audience of 148,000 people on the Monday night following

the first round of NRL action. This year, the number was 57,000 – a significant drop. Ratings for the actual games over the first round were incredible, however, including the controversial Friday night 6pm match – which attracted a whopping 274,000 viewers. I’ll have to eat some humble pie after that result – I predicted the timeslot would be a dismal failure even for TV audiences.

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MATCH PREVIEW

LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN PANTHERS V TIGERS | SUNDAY, MARCH 12 • 4.00PM | CAMPBELLTOWN STADIUM | REFEREES: GERARD SUTTON & MATT NOYEN

PANTHERS 1

Matt Moylan (c)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 18 19 20

Dean Whare Waqa Blake Tyrone Peachey Dylan Edwards Te Maire Martin Nathan Cleary James Tamou Peter Wallace Reagan Campbell-Gillard Bryce Cartwright Isaah Yeo Trent Merrin James Fisher-Harris 15 L Latu Tim Browne 17 Moses Leota Sitaleki Akauola Dallin Watene-Zelezniak Mitch Rein 21 Viliame Kikau

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

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TIGERS

A dejected looking Penrith side last Saturday at Kogarah. Photo: NRL Photos

TROY DODDS @troydodds

T

he Panthers weren’t really at Kogarah Oval last Saturday afternoon.

Sure, they got off the bus, found their way to the dressing room and followed Matt Moylan out onto the turf But mentally, they were a million miles away.

Only Anthony Griffin really knows if there were signs of the embarrassing result emerging in the lead-up to the game, but I suspect their was.

There were so few positives to emerge from the 42-10 spanking that I’m sure Griffin and his players put the result behind them before they even hit the M5 back to

Penrith last Sunday. The extraordinary lapses in defence, the lack of spark in attack and the misfiring of several of the team’s best players all added up to a round one failure, but the NRL premiership is a marathon, not a sprint.

Round one often delivers a few surprises and there’s statistics galore out there about eventual Premiers who stumble in the opening rounds.

It is really no surprise to see Penrith posted as favourites ahead of Sunday’s game with the Wests Tigers. There is still no question that Penrith has one of the best squads in this competition, and while they failed to fire against the Dragons, I highly doubt it’ll happen again – at least not to that extent.

The Panthers have surely learned their lesson about taking opposition sides lightly after last weekend’s diabolical effort.

The Tigers showed against Souths that they can punish teams that are vulnerable, and will be keen to build on the scintillating display against the Rabbitohs.

The game plan for Penrith is actually pretty simple – do everything better.

We can’t have Reagan Campbell-Gillard running for just 44 metres and missing six tackles. We can’t have Trent Merrin making just four runs in 44 minutes on the field, nor can we have Bryce Cartwright missing seven tackles and showing himself as a liability in defence close to the line. We can’t fail to find touch, and James Tamou needs to show us even a glimpse of the go-forward he had at the Cowboys.

Almost across the board, every individual needs to lift from the effort they showed last weekend.

The good news for Griffin is that the problems are so black and white, that they can indeed be turned around in the space

1

James Tedesco

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 18 20

David Nofoaluma Kevin Naiqama Michael Chee-Kam Moses Suli Mitchell Moses Luke Brooks Aaron Woods (c) Matt McIllwrick Ava Seumanufagai Sauaso Sue Chris Lawrence Eljah Taylor Tim Grant 15 Josh Aloiai Jamal Idris 17 Jack Littlejohn Joel Edwards 19 Justin Hunt Jordan Rankin 21 Wes Lolo

of a week. This week has surely been more about mental preparation – especially with the Bryce Cartwright off-field drama also surfacing – than anything else.

The match-ups across the park on Sunday are exciting prospects and a glimpse into rugby league’s medium to long term future as far as star players are concerned.

Moylan v Tedesco, Moses v Martin, Brooks v Cleary – they are all enticing battles.

Where Penrith can and will win the match is up front. While last week’s numbers might not suggest it, the Panthers have a far superior pack and if they lay the platform, Penrith should be able to restore their pride and collect their first victory of the season.

The big unanswered question is how the side, particularly its younger players, respond to the off-field drama that has circled the club this past week.

Tip: Panthers by 4

31

Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

Brought to you by

Loss to Dragons was a blessing in disguise

JAMIE SOWARD

B

efore I talk about what I think went wrong for the Panthers last Saturday against the Dragons, I wanted to touch on the Bryce Cartwright situation first.

After watching Phil Gould’s press conference on Monday afternoon, the club needs to be applauded on how they are handling the drama.

I’ve played at Penrith and know how strongly the club cares for women and women’s rights. They have some fantastic women employed there who are a huge part of the club’s success both on and away from the field.

At no point when this story came out did I think that the Panthers didn’t respect women.

The club made a statement on the two young people involved, and as a player and friend, you want to be there for Bryce.

I think the team will be there for him also.

The next question is when does Bryce play? Well he plays when he is ready.

I know he’s been named to play against the Wests Tigers this Sunday but there is no time limit when this stuff happens in people’s personal lives – you don’t have to

come back and play straight away.

How this situation affects the players this week? I think they’ll handle it just fine.

They would’ve gone back to training this week to focus on Sunday’s game against the Tigers. You don’t want to go to Campbelltown with any excuses.

Now, to what happened against the Dragons at Kogarah last weekend.

I could rattle off a thousand excuses – I’m a footballer – but at the end of the day they simply weren’t good enough.

I said last week that when you play at Kogarah there’s a different atmosphere there, because usually no one is expecting anything from the Dragons and sometimes those games are the toughest to play in.

For me, I think the loss is a blessing in disguise.

Had Penrith come out and won by 40, the hype machine surrounding the team would’ve kept on rolling – instead it’s come to a halt.

This young and exciting squad – tipped to win the comp – received their wake-up call straight away and I think, if anything, that’s a positive going forward.

Jamie Soward played alongside Bryce Cartwright. Photo: Megan Dunn Hook would’ve been very disappointed but it’s only Round 1. While some players looked underdone, I saw enough class and touch from the players that I know they’ll be there come Finals time.

Maybe it’s going to be a harder road for them than many predicted, but they’ll be there.

I thought Waqa Blake was fantastic and I enjoyed seeing Tyrone Peachey fill in for Peter Wallace, when he was injured, at dummy half.

There might be a couple of changes to the side come game day, although Hook may just give that team one more chance to see what they have left.

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

NEWS

Panthers General Manager Phil Gould addresses the media on Monday. Photo: Melinda Jane TROY DODDS @troydodds

B

ryce Cartwright has been named to play against the Wests Tigers on Sunday despite an horrific week that has seen his personal life thrust into the spotlight.

The Panthers have been in crisis management mode all week after revelations that a woman was paid $50,000 to have an abortion after she fell pregnant to Cartwright (pictured) last year.

The 24-year-old Sydney woman went public with the secret deal that was reportedly arranged by Panthers power broker and former player, Lou Zivanovic.

“I felt I had no other option than to get rid of the baby, the pressure was relentless,” the woman, who has not been named, told The Sunday Telegraph.

“I was bullied by Bryce and Lou. They showed no compassion towards the baby and me.”

Mr Zivanovic has since denied the bullying claims.

“Having witnessed bullying and domestic violence first-hand, anyone that knows

me knows I am totally against any sort of violence, abuse or bullying to women,” Zivanovic told the Telegraph.

“At no point during the negotiations was there any hint of bullying or intimidation.

I can say that from my point of view and Bryce’s point of view.”

On Monday, Panthers boss Phil Gould moved to distance the club from the difficult issue.

we have the highest standards of education and welfare here “Out of respect to both parties, particularly the young lady in question, we do not want to go down the road of a public debate about the facts of the case,” Gould said.

“Panthers re-affirms that we have the highest standards of education and welfare here for our players.

“A part of that education process is obviously the respect of women…. we have the utmost respect for women in the workplace.”

Gould denied that the woman had contacted the club and not received a response, and said she was welcome to make contact at any stage.

“She has never called us, she has never written to us and never laid a complaint.

The first we knew about these allegations were on the weekend,” Gould said.

“If at any time she feels the need or wants to come and discuss the matter she can call me and come and see me at any time. If that’s going to help her in the process and we can help her in any way, we have got great respect and want to make sure she’s OK.” Gould said he felt for the woman and anyone else in such a position, but stressed it was a private matter and the club was not involved at any stage.

“We’re giving Bryce all the support we can give him,” Gould said.

“I know a lot of people go through this in their lives and it’s not the first time it has happened to a young couple.

It’s a huge decision and very emotional.”

The NRL has said it will not get involved with the issue, despite a number of leading journalists urging the governing body to investigate. Its stance is that the matter is between Cartwright and the woman.

33

Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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LESSON LEARNED NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

F

ormer Panthers skipper Peter Wallace said his side received the wake-up call they deserved on the back of their 42-10 thrashing at the hands of St George-Illawarra last weekend.

With the nation’s rugby league media tooting the Panthers’ premiership horn all off-season, Penrith’s talented squad were given a hard lesson in believing their own hype.

Whether it was poor attitude or several players underdone, the Panthers simply weren’t prepared for what the Dragons delivered.

Speaking with Extra Time on Wednesday, the 31-year-old hooker said he was disappointed with the heavy loss and that a mix of believing their own hype and complacency were major keys to their defeat.

“Our attitude was the big key, I think,” Wallace admitted.

“We just wandered into the game thinking it was going to happen and it didn’t.”

With Penrith blown off the park, especially in the forwards, Wallace said it was the wake-up call they needed.

“Any time you perform like that it’s a wake-up call,” he said.

“It just drives home the point that if you turn up unprepared in this comp then you’re going to get a flogging.

“The media hype didn’t help us either.

It will be a wake-up call attitude-wise as well. We can all get back to basics this week.”

The Panthers and their fans will be hoping for a remarkable turnaround this Sunday afternoon when they come up against one of the competition’s most impressive outfits from the opening round in the Wests Tigers.

Wallace praised the Tigers’ ‘Big 3’ in James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks.

“Those three are dangerous, and I thought their forwards were pretty good last week too,” he said.

“Defensively, if we play like we did last weekend then it will be a rough night.

“We’ll prepare the same this week; we just need a better attitude going into the game. We got beat physically last week

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

FEATURE

Peter Wallace is hopeful Penrith can turn it around this Sunday against Wests too, so that area needs improving as well.”

Wallace confirmed he’ll be right to line up for the Panthers this Sunday in Campbelltown, despite leaving the field against

the Dragons for a concussion test.

“I got hit in the ear and felt a bit dizzy, but these days you have to get everything checked. I’m fine,” he said.

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Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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1

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0

42

10

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2

2 W. Tigers

1

1

0

0

0

34

18

+16

2

3 Roosters

1

1

0

0

0

32

18

+14

2

4 Eels

1

1

0

0

0

20

12

+8

2

5 Broncos

1

1

0

0

0

26

18

+8

2

6 Storm

1

1

0

0

0

12

6

+6

2

7 Cowboys

1

1

0

0

0

20

16

+4

2

8 Warriors

1

1

0

0

0

26

22

+4

2

9 Knights

1

0

0

1

0

22

26

-4

0

1

Dragons

10 Raiders

1

0

0

1

0

16

20

-4

0

11 Bulldogs

1

0

0

1

0

6

12

-6

0

12 Sharks

1

0

0

1

0

18

26

-8

0

13 Sea Eagles

1

0

0

1

0

12

20

-8

0

14 Titans

1

0

0

1

0

18

32

-14

0

15 Rabbitohs

1

0

0

1

0

18

34

-16

0

16 Panthers

1

0

0

1

0

10

42

-32

0

Round 2

FACE IN THE CROWD

Thur, Mar 9 7.50pm Allianz Stadium

/ / / / / / / /

Fri, Mar 10 6pm Mt Smart Stadium Fri, Mar 10 8pm Suncorp Stadium Sat, Mar 11 3pm McDonald Jones Stadium Sat, Mar 11 5.30pm Lottoland

Sat, Mar 11 7.30pm GIO Stadium Sun, Mar 12 4pm Campbelltown Stadium

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

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Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

Brought to you by

September will tell the real story, not round one

Matt russell

H

ands up who tipped a 42-10 score between St GeorgeIllawarra and Penrith on Saturday? Yes, plenty of you.

Keep them up if you had the Dragons owning the 42?

Suddenly the only hand I see is the fibber’s up the back of

the room.

That shock result was part of another unpredictable opening week, where five ‘away’ teams won, injuries struck, the ball defied physics and four out of eight was good tipping!

Still, we jump to conclusions: The Dragons can attack!

The Bulldogs still can’t!

Souths are gone!

The Sharks won’t go back to back!

It will be a Cowboys-Raiders Grand Final!

The Roosters can’t concentrate for 80!

The Warriors will finish 9th!

Trent Barrett won’t last!

Be careful. Be very, very careful.

Let’s pick Penrith as a case in point. Sure, it was a disappointing start and there is much to fix… but there is also much time.

Last year, Premiers Cronulla opened with a loss. In fact they dropped two of their

first three. Before that, North Queensland started their 2015 Premiership by losing their first three games… heavily!

Souths had three losses in the opening month of their 2014 Premiership season.

The Roosters were pumped 28-10 to open 2013 but still owned Grand Final Day in October.

Hell, the last four years suggest the only way to the penthouse is by having a stint in the cellar to start.

Penrith still has a very good side.

Te Maire Martin and Nathan Cleary will never play their first NRL game together again, Bryce Cartwright will adjust to life back in the second row, Peter Wallace won’t always cop a head knock, the forwards will cover more metres, the 58 per cent completion rate will be improved upon, so too the 44 missed tackles. On we could go.

And before Dragons fans spend the whole week with their chests so pumped the Red V becomes a straight line, consider this. Last year, no team started better than Souths, topping 40 points in the first two rounds. Come September, they were spectators, crippled by a nine game losing streak mid-season.

Dean Whare in action for the Panthers last weekend. Photo: NRL Photos Curb the disappointment. Temper the excitement.

It’s Round 2, not Round 26.

Every game of every round of the 2017 NRL Telstra Premiership is ad-break free during play and in HD on FOX LEAGUE.

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WE WILL NOT WIN

NRL DRAGONS 42 PANTHERS 10

Back page news: Penrith can’t win TROY DODDS @troydodds

R

ugby league coaches and honesty don’t always go hand in hand. And who could blame them, with such media scrutiny on them, their teams and

their clubs overall.

Coaches these days have learned the art of being media managers and PR specialists.

But back in 1991, Panthers coach Phil Gould produced the most open honesty you could imagine from a coach – declaring his team couldn’t win.

All of this came after Penrith had won the 1991 Grand Final, defeating

Canberra 19-12 and sparking immense celebrations among the playing group, coaching staff and supporters.

Despite the season ending in the best possible way, the victory meant Penrith would have to back up for the World Club Challenge, to be played less than two weeks after the Grand Final.

The game against English champions Wigan was to be played at Anfield in Liverpool.

On Tuesday, September 24 1991, Gould declared his side couldn’t and wouldn’t win.

“I’d like to see the game postponed but I understand that is not possible,” he said.

“The way things are going we will be battling to get a side together.”

A combination of Grand Final celebrations and injuries meant that the Panthers were never going to be up for the flight to England in such a short

space of time. Even the master coach Gus Gould was no chance of inspiring his troops against Wigan.

“I can’t imagine us doing much training this week,” Gould admitted in the lead-up to the game.

Despite initial reports that halfback and captain Greg Alexander wouldn’t make the trip, he did end up leading the side into the game.

The squad for the match was: Greg Barwick, Darren Willis, Graeme Bradley, Brad Izzard, Graham Mackay, Steve Carter, Greg Alexander, Brandon Lee, Royce Simmons, Paul Dunn, Paul Clarke, John Cartwright, Colin van der Voort, Ben Alexander, Grant Izzard, Tony Xuereb and Paul Smith.

It turns out Gould was right – the Panthers didn’t win that day, but they certainly weren’t as embarrassed as many predicted. They lost 21-4 and Darren Willis scored Penrith’s only try.

HOLDEN CUP DRAGONS 18 PANTHERS 16

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

BLAST FROM THE PAST

ISP NSW PANTHERS 28 ILLAWARRA 6

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41

Friday, March 10, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

CELEBRITY TIPSTERS

Roosters Storm Cowboys Titans

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215 NRL GAMES

CC TYRES 4731 4822

FUTURE FINANCIAL SERVICES 4704 8585

SYNERGY FINANCIAL SERVICES 4732 6555

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PRD NATIONWIDE PENRITH 0414 620 532

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tr ivia 1. Who kicked Penrith’s only goal against the Dragons last week?

2. Which former Panther now works on 2GB (pictured)?

3. How many tries did Mark Geyer score in the 1991 Grand Final?

4. How many former Panthers are playing for the Tigers in first grade this weekend at Campbelltown Stadium?

5. How many first grade games has Dylan Edwards played?

ANSWERS: 1. Nathan Cleary 2. Darryl Brohman 3. None 4. Four 5. One

Bulldogs Storm Broncos Knights

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 10, 2017

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