Extra Time March 24

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

PANTHER RUMBLINGS

with the Masked Panther

DYLAN'S DILEMMA » As the old saying goes, you can’t keep

‘em all. There’s whispers around that electrifying winger Dylan Edwards could be looking for a new club if he can’t find a permanent spot in first grade at the Panthers. Edwards is the victim of circumstance as when fully fit, Penrith’s backline is stocked with talent. Josh Mansour and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak are both ahead of the 21-year-old, while Matt Moylan has the fullback spot locked down and Dean Whare, Peta Hiku and Waqa Blake also have to fight for spots in the backline.

That leaves Edwards, who has already attracted the attention of rival clubs, playing reserve grade and relying on injuries to get his opportunity. Edwards is contracted until the end of next season but if he can’t find a permanent position in first grade, don’t be surprised if the club show some mercy and allow him to chase opportunities elsewhere. Another piece of the Edwards puzzle is whether the Panthers re-sign Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Dean Whare, who are both off-contract at the end of the season. Watene-Zelezniak’s new deal is all but done, but it’s another story for Whare who may be searching for another club at year’s end.

» NRL referees boss Tony Archer has

admitted that the Sydney Roosters should never have been awarded their match-winning try against Penrith on Saturday night after the officials somehow missed a blatant forward pass that even Stevie Wonder would have seen. It was a horrible night for the officials and plenty of fans would have been willing to chip in to pay Anthony Griffin’s $10,000 fine if he blew up at the press conference.

Griffin kept his cool however, and Archer publicly admitted the most crucial error of the night. On Tuesday, Archer was even stronger, dumping touch judge Jeff Younis from first grade.

» Just on Archer’s admission, we’ve been

told for years that the video referee can’t rule on forward passes for a whole range of reasons, not the least of which is issues surrounding camera angles. It’s interest-

ing then that Archer used video footage to review the forward pass call, and then publicly declared the referees got it wrong soon after the game. If Archer can review the video and make such a call, why can’t The Bunker?

» Talking of officials, former NRL referee and touch judge Phil Haines is now in the real estate world working hard for Property Central in Penrith. He left rugby league in difficult circumstances and has been involved in a legal battle with the NRL over a workers’ compensation claim following an injury suffered during a training session in 2014. Haines recently had a victory, and was awarded a year’s worth of wages.

» The Dally M Medal judging descended

into a farce at Pepper Stadium last Saturday night. Penrith were in front with just eight minutes to go and only lost by two points, but not one Panthers player polled a point in the Dally M judging. Even more curiously, Luke Keary earned three points despite quite obviously not being in the best handful of players on the park. In fact, Keary missed three tackles, made just 13 (the lowest number out of the four halves on the field on Saturday night), didn’t score or set up a try and polled a paltry 11 points in NRL Fantasy scoring.

Latrell Mitchell and Boyd Cordner also grabbed Dally M points, while Michael Gordon’s two try haul was ignored. The judge on the night? Former Panther Joe Galuvao.

» Former Panther Chris Grevsmuhl has

signed with the Gold Coast Titans less than four months after being released from his contract at the foot of the Mountains to deal with personal issues.

Titans coach Neil Henry is confident the club can overcome those issues and find a path for Grevsmuhl back to first grade.

“Chris has obviously had some personal issues that he has had to deal with over the last few months and as a club we’ve taken our time to work with him to get the best results for everyone,” Henry said.

Dylan Edwards is in high demand from rival clubs

» Talking of former Panthers, James

Segeyaro has officially signed with the Cronulla Sharks.

» The Panthers v Roosters match topped

the pay television ratings last Saturday night with 255,000 viewers. All three NRL games had over 200,000 viewers on Fox League including the late-night Cowboys v Sea Eagles match. The return of the NRL has really damaged the A-League, which couldn’t even crack into the top 20 on Saturday night. In a major embarrassment for football, the Newcastle v Melbourne City game was out-rated by a repeat of the ‘Professor’s Second Year Syndrome’ and an episode of ‘Peppa Pig’.

It wasn’t much better for the A-League on Sunday, with the Wanderers v Wellington match out-rated by the NRL, cricket, the

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AFL Women’s League and even ‘The Real Housewives of Sydney’.

» Still on TV ratings, the Friday 6pm

timeslot is all about television and the jury is out on whether it’s been a success.

Last Friday night the Warriors v Bulldogs game attracted 156,000 viewers on Fox League. It was out-rated by the Titans v Eels match at 8pm, which also had competition from Channel Nine. The 156,000 is a far cry from the ratings Fox used to achieve on a Monday night, which the 6pm Friday game has replaced. The end of year review will be interesting.

» My spies tell me that Panther fans may be able to enjoy the latest craze, Frozen OAK, at Pepper Stadium as early as tonight against the Knights.

MATCH PREVIEW

CHANCE TO IMPRESS PANTHERS V KNIGHTS | FRIDAY, MARCH 24 • 6.00PM | PEPPER STADIUM | REFEREES: HENRY PERENARA AND GAVIN REYNOLDS

PANTHERS 1

Matt Moylan (c)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 20

Dean Whare Waqa Blake Tyrone Peachey Dallin Watene-Zelezniak Te Maire Martin Nathan Cleary James Tamou Peter Wallace Reagan Campbell-Gillard Bryce Cartwright Isaah Yeo Trent Merrin Peta Hiku 15 Leilani Latu Viliame Kikau Sitaleki Akauola Moses Leota 19 Tim Browne D Edwards 21 C Harawira

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

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KNIGHTS

The Panthers muscle up in defence last week. Photo: Melinda Jane

TROY DODDS @troydodds

I

n his post-match press conference last week, Anthony Griffin made the very strong point that despite the loss to the Roosters on the scoreboard, he felt his side performed better than the week before against the Tigers.

That is all any coach can ask for in the early part of the season – an improved performance week after week, until things really click into gear.

And while the manner in which Penrith lost last Saturday night has left a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone in the Panthers family – from the coach down to the fans – there is no question that the side produced a performance worthy of a premiership contender.

There were mistakes, missed opportunities and flashes of inexperience, but all in all, Griffin should be pleased with where his side is sitting.

The Panthers have a real opportunity to consolidate their status as a 2017 powerhouse when they take on Newcastle at Pepper Stadium tonight.

In the new dreaded 6pm Friday timeslot, Penrith have an opportunity to really show their class against a Knights side that while brave in the past fortnight, is well behind Penrith in terms of development and ability.

It is these early season games against sides like Newcastle, who most expect to struggle this season, where the Panthers can really build their confidence.

As we saw against the Tigers in Round 2, when the confidence is high, the Panthers can turn a match into an 80 minute highlights reel.

It is this confidence that the team’s inexperienced halves combination of Te Maire Martin and Nathan Cleary desperately need. At times against the Roosters last week, you could tell that while they were trying their hearts out, they didn’t quite have the experience to lead each and every set in the direction it should have gone. That is not unexpected and will come with time.

But a strong performance and a big win tonight will see Martin and Cleary in a good frame of mind to take on the daunting task of battling Melbourne at AAMI Park next week, and the challenges that lay ahead for the rest of the season.

In short, the Panthers are learning very different things based on the quality of opponent they are facing at the moment.

Each lesson is important, and each garners a different result the following week and forms another piece of the Martin / Cleary

1

Brendan Elliot

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

Ken Sio Dane Gagai Peter Mata’utia Nathan Ross Brock Lamb Trent Hodkinson Daniel Saifiti Danny Levi Josh Starling Siona Mata’utia Jamie Buhrer Mitchell Barnett Luke Yates 15 Jack Stockwell Sam Stone 17 Jacob Saifiti Jacob Gagan 19 Joe Wardle Josh King 21 Anthony Tupou

puzzle that will eventually lead the club into periods of long-term success.

I’m tipping a big game from Trent Merrin. After a sluggish start to the year, he improved significantly against the Tigers and last week. He was on the field for 76 minutes, running 154 metres and making 44 tackles (without a miss!).

He’s gotten better every week and is on the brink of a truly outstanding performance.

While tipping Penrith by a big margin may be dangerous territory given what happened back in the opening round of the season against St George-Illawarra, I’m confident that the Panthers will win this game comfortably and perhaps have it sewn up by half-time.

Right across the park, the Panthers simply have too much firepower to be losing a game like this.

Tip: Panthers by 28

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

FEATURE

making his mark NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

P

enrith Panthers rookie Viliame Kikau had one of the most impressive debut performances in years when he ripped through the embattled Tigers a fortnight ago, so much so that the Fijian monster was up until 4am the next morning unable to sleep.

“I couldn’t go to sleep… I was just laying in bed talking to my missus saying it still feels like a dream,” Kikau told Extra Time.

“I never would’ve expected it to come so early in the season but I was really grateful for the opportunity.”

The 21-year-old’s debut on that sunny Sunday afternoon in Campbelltown was something that had to be seen to be believed.

Not only did he bury Tigers and NSW

fullback James Tedesco into the turf with one of the tackles of the year, but he also got himself off the end of year nudie run after scoring a well-earned try.

Kikau said he thought reserve grade football was on his radar to start the season, not the NRL. “My goal during pre-season was to be consistent at training and play as much NSW Cup as I could and then hopefully get the call-up, but it came a lot earlier than I anticipated,” he said.

“The atmosphere, the hype throughout the week, getting prepared and seeing the big crowd – I couldn’t wait to go on and get the first tackle out of the way.”

And it seems Kikau’s performance impressed Panthers coach Anthony Griffin, with the former U20’s Cowboys forward given another chance the following week to do his thing.

Kikau said coach Griffin asks him to increase the game’s intensity whenever he hits the pitch.

Viliame Kikau speaks to the media on Tuesday. Photo: Melinda Jane “Hook wants me to come in and take the attack and defence to another level as well as bring some energy in the middle,” he said.

“It made me feel good to get another game against the Roosters as it told me I was doing a good job. I thank the coaching staff for having the faith in me to pick me up for another game.”

While Kikau knows first grade can be a long, roller coaster ride, he is prepared to work hard on his defence and listen to his teammates to ensure that he has the best chance possible of having a fulfilling first grade career.

One player who Kikau credits for his blossoming start so far is his former Cowboys teammate James Tamou.

“Jimmy (Tamou) had a big impact on me at the Cowboys,” he said.

“It’s great to be playing with him again.”

While Kikau is off-contract at the end of the season, he isn’t focusing on a new deal just yet. Instead he plans to see how things transpire throughout the course of the year.

“I haven’t really thought about my next contract to be honest… I’m just trying to do my best this year and expect the best at the end of the year,” he said.

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REFS NOT TO BLAME NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

I

t was one of the most controversial games of the season so far but Penrith Panthers half Nathan Cleary said poor refereeing decisions didn’t cost his side the match.

Despite going down to the Sydney Roosters in the dying minutes courtesy of a missed forward pass that led to a match-winning try, the 19-year-old shrugged off suggestions the Panthers were dudded by match officials.

“We had our chances to win, we can’t really rely too much on what happened with the refs,” Cleary told Extra Time.

“It was a good game for us, one that we needed, and although it didn’t go our way on the scoreboard, we were pretty happy with how we toughed it out.”

Penrith were well in the contest against the unbeaten competition heavyweights, matching them pound for pound, last Saturday night at Pepper Stadium.

However, Penrith were unable to overcome the Roosters’ experience as well as their own ill discipline.

Cleary said there were plenty of positives to come out of the 14-12 defeat.

“Our execution in attack wasn’t there but that can be expected this early in the season,” he said.

“We made a lot of reference to our defence and toughness in these early rounds, and I think that showed on the weekend.

“Although it didn’t go our way on the scoreboard, there were a lot of positives to take out of the game.”

Cleary, who is currently enjoying his second year of first grade football, is looking more and more comfortable steering the ship with every game.

The local junior said he’s put a lot of hard work into his kicking game – including perfecting his incredible sky-high bombs – during the summer.

“I’ve worked on my bombs a fair bit in the pre-season and the other night against the Roosters, it felt right to put them up,” Cleary said.

“They are pretty hard to perfect – I still haven’t perfected them yet – but I’ve been doing them for as long as I can remember.”

Cleary’s floating and spiralling bombs terrorised the Roosters last weekend, with

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

FEATURE

Nathan Cleary was a popular man with the media following a training session this week. Photo: Melinda Jane Cleary revealing he’s been getting special kicking advice from none other than Panthers boss Phil Gould.

“Gus came out onto the field one day to

help me out with a different kind of bomb.

It’s not an easy thing to picture but Gus was out there with me telling me how to hold the ball,” he laughed.

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

Ivan Cleary is the type of coach Wests Tigers desperately need

JAMIE SOWARD

I

must admit I wasn’t shocked by the sacking of Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor on Monday afternoon.

With their captain Aaron Woods coming out to the media recently saying that he wanted to know who the coach was before he re-signed – not to mention their other three offcontract stars in James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks also having similar thoughts – I think it was in the best interests of the Tigers to make this tough decision as it gives themselves the best chance to re-sign as many of those players as possible.

Ivan Cleary seems to be the front runner for the Tigers coaching gig but Todd Payton is also in the mix. Whoever it is, they’ll have a talented bunch on their hands.

I think Ivan’s shown that he’s interested in getting back into the NRL, but it’s got to be the right situation and timing for him.

Ivan is the sort of coaching candidate the Tigers should be looking at. He’s had plenty of experience in bringing young guys through and he’s also had experience at turning two struggling teams into finals competitors.

Ivan took the Warriors to the Grand Final in 2011 and we at the Panthers finished just one game short of the decider in 2014.

For Ivan to have success it’ll be based on who he surrounds himself with, and Ivan’s always been successful in surrounding himself with the right people.

When a head coach comes in they want to have security and know they have time to shape things how they want to.

I think the next coach should be someone that’s older and has coaching experience rather than a rookie head coach.

They’ll certainly have a big job on their hands but, in saying that, there is a talented core there that they can build around – sometimes you don’t get that luxury walking into a new club.

Oh and for Panthers fans worried about Nathan Cleary following his father to a new club like the Tigers – fear not, as Nathan had that clause in his contract removed a while ago.

Whoever the next coach is, I wish them the best of luck.

And one last thing… I just want to say what a great time I had as a fan at the Panthers versus Roosters game last Saturday night.

It was certainly different sitting up in the stands watching on and not having that anxiousness of preparing for a game.

It was a humbling experience as I went through the ups and downs of what a

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

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regular fan would go through each and every week.

I had a great time on Saturday night and I look forward to getting back to Pepper Stadium soon.

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

IN PICTURES Photos: Melinda Jane

LAST LAUGH TO ROOSTERS 18/03/ 17: Panthers go down in a thriller at Pepper Stadium

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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3

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0

0

52

28

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6

2 Roosters

3

3

0

0

0

74

54

+20

6

3 Dragons

3

2

0

1

0

74

54

+20

4

4 Eels

3

2

0

1

0

68

54

+14

4

5 Rabbitohs

3

2

0

1

0

80

70

+10

4

6 Cowboys

3

2

0

1

0

49

66

-17

4

7 Sharks

3

1

0

2

0

70

58

+12

2

8 Raiders

3

1

0

2

0

78

68

+10

2

9 Broncos

3

1

0

2

0

58

53

+5

2

CLUB

1

10 Bulldogs

3

1

0

2

0

54

52

+2

2

11 Panthers

3

1

0

2

0

58

58

0

2

12 Knights

3

1

0

2

0

74

76

-2

2

13 Sea Eagles

3

1

0

2

0

60

66

-6

2

14 Titans

3

1

0

2

0

70

80

-10

2

15 Warriors

3

1

0

2

0

48

72

-24

2

16 W. Tigers

3

1

0

2

0

42

100

-58

2

Round 4

/ / / / / / / /

Thursday, March 23 8.00pm ANZ Stadium

Friday, March 24 6pm Pepper Stadium

Friday, March 24 8pm Suncorp Stadium

Saturday, March 25 4.30pm Lottoland

IS THIS YOU? Saturday, March 25 7pm ANZ Stadium S Saturday, March 25 9pm Cbus Super Stadium Sunday, March 26 4pm Leichhardt Oval

Sunday, March 26 6.30pm Kogarah Oval

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

HIKU MOVES ON FROM HIT

Penrith centre Peta Hiku has moved on from the ugly incident that saw him suffer a cheekbone injury after being hit by Dragons forward Russell Packer in Round 1.

“They came out with a lot of aggression and I happened to be taking one of our first hit-ups and got hit clean,” Hiku said.

“That’s just the game.”

Hiku said he didn’t believe the incident was personal and said Packer was “just doing his job”.

Hiku was expected to be out for a month but returned last weekend.

MEN OF LEAGUE EVENT

The Penrith committee of the Men of League Foundation is holding a special event in the lead-up to tonight’s game against Newcastle at Pepper Stadium.

All rugby league fans are invited to Hog’s Breath Cafe from 2pm to enjoy a few drinks and food before the match.

Tickets to the event are $40 and include entry to the match against the Knights.

Shane Elford and Royce Simmons will be among the guest speakers.

For more information call Alex McKenzie on 0414 330 651.

NEWS

CLEARY'S comeback TROY DODDS @troydodds

B

oom Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary has backed his father to take on the coaching duties at the struggling Wests Tigers.

Ivan Cleary, who was sacked as Panthers coach following the 2015 NRL season, is the hot favourite to coach the Tigers after Jason Taylor was sensationally terminated on Monday.

“Last year I think he appreciated the year off but now I definitely think he’s ready to get back into coaching,” Nathan said on Tuesday.

“I’ll be stoked for him... he’s kind of had a couple of re-building stages at the Warriors and the Panthers and I suppose the Tigers would be another one but I reckon he’d do well wherever he goes.”

The younger Cleary was already scheduled to front the media on Tuesday morning but the Panthers were expecting a low key attendance at their training session. It was anything but, with reporters taking advantage of the opportunity to get Nathan’s take on his father’s likely appointment.

“I always knew he wanted to get back into it. I think he didn’t realise how much that break was going to be good for him but I think half way through last year he realised he was ready,” he said.

“Nothing is really guaranteed in footy but he was always hoping he would get offered a job and if it does come he’ll be stoked.”

It’s possible that the Clearys could go head to head in round 22 with the Panthers scheduled to play the Tigers at Pepper Stadium.

“I know somewhere down the track it’ll happen and I suppose it’ll actually be pretty cool,” Nathan said.

Could Ivan Cleary be coaching again?

The footy talk and stressful moments are also likely to increase in the Cleary household if the Tigers do come knocking, with Nathan still living at home with his parents.

“It is a roller coaster ride and the coaches are pretty hard done by at times,” Nathan said.

“They’re in the spotlight a lot when their side is performing but everyone knows that when they take on the job.”

If Ivan Cleary does take up the top job at the Tigers, it’ll be a Panthers reunion of sorts with former CEO Justin Pascoe now running the joint venture.

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SCOREBOARD

before the war

NRL ROOSTERS 14 PANTHERS 12 Forward Trevor Gillmeister during the 1994 season

TROY DODDS @troydodds

Y

ou could call it the last season before rugby league lost its innocence.

The year before Super League became a major talking point, the year before the introduction of teams like the Warriors and Cowboys. 1994 still saw the use of a top five system, and rugby league remained very Sydney centric despite the early success of the Broncos.

No video referees, no Bunkers, and very little gambling.

For the Panthers, the club was still recovering from the death of Ben Alexander two years earlier and was struggling for consistency on the field.

The season started off well enough – an 18-all draw against the Gold Coast Seagulls at Penrith Stadium, with the big names scoring all the points – Ryan Girdler scored two tries while Brad Fittler and Gary Freeman also crossed.

When you look at that star-studded team in round 1, 1994 you have to wonder how Penrith didn’t make the finals. A backline that featured players like Greg Alexander, Graham Mackay, Fittler and Girdler; a halves combination of Steve Carter and Gary Freeman; and some real grunt up front with the likes of John Cartwright and Trevor Gillmeister.

Penrith were undefeated after three rounds with wins over the Dragons and Eastern Suburbs helping the side to a prominent position on top of the ladder.

But with rumours persisting about coach Phil Gould’s future, the side started to lose its way.

They lost to North Sydney in round

HOLDEN CUP PANTHERS 38 ROOSTERS 12

4 and were thrashed 37-6 by Brisbane the following week. A Matt Sing double would help the side to a 24-0 win over the Tigers the following week, but all it did was sum up how Penrith were travelling in terms of their inconsistency.

The Panthers sat in the top five at the half way point of the season but losses to Souths, Newcastle and Cronulla (the latter a 32-0 shellacking) saw the side slip out of finals contention. Round 16 would be Phil Gould’s final game in charge – a win over the Gold Coast – with Royce Simmons taking over after that.

The Panthers finished the season in eighth spot with 10 wins, 10 losses and two draws.

Any year in which there’s a mid-season coaching change is tough – and there’s no doubt that this was the case in 1994 for the Panthers. However, with the Super League era emerging, it was even more difficult than it should have been.

ISP NSW

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

BLAST FROM THE PAST

MOUNTIES 16 PANTHERS 6

WW27360

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Friday, March 24, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

CELEBRITY TIPSTERS

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tr ivia 1. Who was Penrith’s major sponsor in 1994 and 1995?

2. Who coached the Panthers in 1982 and 1983?

3. Who is the head of the 2GB Continuous Call Team? (pictured) 4. Which NRL TV show features Ben Ikin and Paul Kent?

5. Who scored Penrith’s only try against the Roosters last week?

ANSWERS: 1. Prospect Electricity 2. John Peard 3.Ray Hadley 4.NRL 360 5. Tyrone Peachey

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 24, 2017

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MEN OF LEAGUE FOUNDATION Penrith Committee Panthers Men of League Round Kick Off Club Friday 24 March 2017

PENRITH PANTHERS V NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

VENUE

HOG’S BREATH CAFÉ PENRITH (OPPOSITE PEPPER STADIUM) TIME FROM 2PM COST $40PP – INCLUDES GA TICKET TO THE GAME, CANAPÉS & DRINK SPECIAL GUESTS PANTHERS LEGEND ROYCE SIMMONS, CURRENT STRENGTH & CONDITIONER SHANE ELFORD & CURRENT INJURED PANTHERS PLAYERS RSVP

BY WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH: ALEX MCKENZIE – 0414 330 651 www.menofleague.com In lieu of attendance donations are greatly appreciated and can be made at www.menofleague.com WW27343