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Eels
1 Jarryd Hayne (c)
2 Semi Radradra
3 Will Hopoate
4 Willie Tonga
5 Ken Sio
6 Corey Norman
7 Chris Sandow
8 Tim Mannah (c)
9 Nathan Peats
10 Fuifui Moimoi
11 Kenny Edwards
12 Manu Ma'u
13 Joseph Paulo
Interchange
14 Kelepi Tanginoa
15 Peni Terepo
16 Mitch Allgood
17 David Gower
Coach: Brad Arthur
Panthers
1 Matt Moylan
2 Kevin Naiqama
3 Dean Whare
4 Jamal Idris
5 David Simmons
6 Jamie Soward
7 Peter Wallace
8 Nigel Plum
9 Kevin Kingston (c)
10 Sam McKendry
11 Lewis Brown
12 Elijah Taylor
13 Adam Docker
Interchange
14 James Segeyaro
15 Jeremy Latimore
16 Tyrone Peachey
17 Tim Grant
Coach: Ivan Cleary
Eels v Panthers preview
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent
NRL.com
3:00pm Wed 26th March, 2014
Eels v Panthers
Pirtek Stadium
Saturday, 5.30pm (AEDT)
It's incredibly difficult to label any clash in March as a must-win, but there's a sense of urgency surrounding this Battle of the West that makes Saturday night significant for both teams.
While the local derby has been more of a 'friendly' than a rivalry in recent seasons – two new opposition code teams in the western Sydney's sporting landscape will do that – we assure you, there's a lot more than pride at stake when Parramatta and Penrith clash at Pirtek Stadium this weekend.
For the Eels, their last-minute 22-18 loss to Manly was so heartbreaking that it drove centre Willie Tonga to tears in the sheds. Co-captain Jarryd Hayne was so vocal about the officiating that he went within a whisker of copping a $10,000 fine, while coach Brad Arthur looked a frustrated man as he was heard uttering "close enough is not good enough" after the game.
On top of the 54-4 pasting they copped from the other grand finalists last year in the Roosters a fortnight ago, the wooden spooners head into this game still struggling to convince their flustered fan base that their team can literally kick any goals this year.
To that end, forgotten halfback Chris Sandow is in line to make his first appearance of 2014 in place of Luke Kelly, while Arthur has also dumped winger Vai Toutai for Ken Sio.
Arthur will hope the changes bring the required result, because a third straight loss – especially to their headline-grabbing neighbours – and the faithful might quickly turn into the merely hopeful.
In contrast, the Panthers were on the other end of a last-minute result, defeating the Bulldogs 18-16 after the buzzer on a clutch sideline conversion from boom fullback Matt Moylan that sent a healthy crowd into rapture.
There was a '50s and '60s theme on the day but the team had nothing 'old school' about it as new buys Jamie Soward, Kevin Naiqama, Jamal Idris and Elijah Taylor all continued to impress their home fans.
Soward in particular went a long way to proving his marquee status, laying on all three tries, including the decisive three-man cut-out pass in the game's waning moments for Naiqama that set up Moylan's match-winning attempt.
For now, this new-look Panthers side is placed in the top four. But in their quest for relevance, a victory over a disheartened neighbour will be crucial in proving their status as an elite team in 2014.
Co-captain and halfback Peter Wallace returns from his groin injury, re-uniting with Soward in what will only be their second game together at the club.
Watch Out Eels: Bulldogs coach Des Hasler was particularly frustrated by Penrith's ability to control the ruck, and most of that has to do with 'bash brothers' Nigel Plum and Adam Docker continually putting runners on their backs – without much help needed. Not many predicted that either player would start for Penrith's stacked forward pack this year, but with the new rules designed to create faster play-the-balls, Ivan Cleary's fearsome duo are ensuring their teammates win the crucial battle in the middle.
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Watch Out Panthers: Of all the young, unknown forwards Arthur is unleashing in 2014, second-rower Manu Ma'u looms as the most dangerous over the first three rounds of the season. Having recently put pen to paper on a new two-year deal, the former Auckland Vulcan leads the forwards in tackle breaks and metres. Against Manly last Sunday, Ma'u ran more than 150m in hit-ups alone.
Plays To Watch: Jamie Soward admitted he had seen tape of Bulldogs winger Corey Thompson in Round 2 and targeted the under-sized winger with cross-field bombs to high flyer David Simmons, resulting in two tries on Penrith's right edge. And with Manly's three tries coming as a direct result of Parramatta's rushing defence on the flanks, both Soward and the sweeping Matt Moylan will be sweating on any opportunities to set up their two wingers in and behind the defence.
On the other side, the Sea Eagles may have won the game, but Parramatta were the better side last Sunday, making more line breaks and forcing more missed tackles than their highly fancied opposition. Most of the damage came from Parramatta's dynamic left edge, with rejuvenated centre Willie Tonga and popular winger Semi Radradra combining for two tries, four line breaks, three line break assists and almost 340 metres. Similar to Moylan, look for fullback Jarryd Hayne to create plenty of opportunities on that left-side sweep.
On another note, four of the past five games have been decided by an odd number (seven points in Rd 18, 2013; one point in Rd 16, 2012; 33 points in Rd 4, 2012; and one point in Rd 19, 2011). With Soward and Chris Sandow in play, don't be surprised if a field goal is kicked on Saturday night.
Where It Will Be Won: The first 20 minutes will tell us how much the last-minute loss will have affected Parramatta's inexperienced players. If they're not mentally ready for a Panthers side that has done all their damage in the first half of their wins, then the result can be decided early.
The History: Played 102; Parramatta 59, Penrith 42, drawn 1. It's been all Penrith the past three years with the mountain men winning five of their past six, including a sweep of last year's home-and-home series. The Panthers romped home 44-12 in Matt Moylan's Round 7 debut before David Simmons recorded one of his seven doubles in a tight 17-10 affair at Parramatta in Round 18.
What Are The Odds: The market suggests this will be tight with the Panthers $1.70 and the Eels $2.08 with Sportsbet.com.au, but punters disagree. It's all one-way traffic with virtually all of the money bet so far going on Penrith.
Match Officials: Referees – Shayne Hayne & Henry Perenara; Touch Judges – Luke Potter & Dave Ryan; Video Referees – Bernard Sutton & Steve Folkes.
Televised: FoxSports 1 – Live 5.30pm (AEDT).
The Way We See It: The inclusion of Sandow is a shrewd one for Arthur, because he'll revitalise a team that put in a lot of effort for nothing at Brookvale. It'll be close, but the Panthers have had a lot of experience over the past fortnight in close games. Panthers by seven points.
Eels v Panthers
Eels: Expected to play as named. Chris Sandow replaces Luke Kelly at halfback, Ken Sio takes the spot of Vai Toutai on the wing, Joseph Paulo is starting at lock for the injured Ben Smith (finger) and prop Mitch Allgood has been added to the bench.
Panthers: Late changes are possible. Penrith’s first-choice halfback Peter Wallace was named to return from a groin injury at the expense Isaac John - yet John was reportedly training with the team today, while Wallace was not and looks in serious doubt. Back-rower Sika Manu, coming off shoulder surgery, has been touted an outside chance to play and trained with the team today.
Eels smoke past Panthers in derby
http://www.nrl.com/
Parramatta have made it back-to-back home wins to start 2014, powering their way to a 32-16 win over neighbourhood rivals Penrith on Saturday night.
Two moments of brilliance from Eels talisman Jarryd Hayne and a complete kicking game from recalled halfback Chris Sandow was the backbone of a strong performance in front of a raucous home crowd of 14,448.
Penrith looked set to post the first points of the evening when they set up for a long right-side shift, but what should have been a Matt Moylan try assist for David Simmons instead became one for Willie Tonga, as the Eels centre intercepted and ran 90m to post the first points. Sandow, who was primarily brought in to make every four-pointer six, converted for the 6-0 lead.
But Moylan didn't have to wait long to produce a try for an actual teammate, making the most of a Dean Whare flick pass down the right to find a rampaging Isaac John on the inside eight minutes later. The Penrith fullback also added the extras, to lock the game up at 6-6.
After a period of dominance with the ball, a penalty against Penrith finally gave the home side an opportunity in the 27th minute and hooker Nathan Peats – who recorded a remarkable 30 tackles in the first half – took advantage, selling a big dummy to a gullible Nigel Plum at dummy-half to regain, with another Sandow conversion, Parramatta's six-point advantage.
The local derby descended into an arm wrestle again after that, with both sides having tries taken them off them, including a potential try of the year.
Eels centre Will Hopoate was robbed of a remarkable four-pointer in the 33rd, when he found himself on the end of a passage that included more than 10 passes, only for it to be denied by the video referee who found forward Peni Terepo offside from a Jarryd Hayne bomb earlier in the play. The replays weren't needed for Isaac John's no-try two minutes later, ruled the beneficiary of a forward pass in the lead-up.
But the Panthers did manage to grab one just before half-time through second-rower Lewis Brown, who took a leaf out of Peats' playbook and bullied himself over Hopoate to touch down. Moylan, who kicked a game-winner after the full-time siren against the Bulldogs last week, couldn't nail a similar attempt at half-time.
It was Penrith who burst out of the gates upon resumption, Moylan again playing distributor in the 43rd when he put Whare through a hole on a blind side shift.
But the Eels – as they had all night – answered quickly via a powerful charge from second-rower Manu Ma'u just four minutes later. Sandow's extras re-established his side's two-point lead.
The turning point came in the 57th when, with his side holding a slender two-point lead, Eels money man Hayne came up with a bullet cut-out pass for left winger Semi Radradra, who proved just too powerful for David Simmons.
The Eels co-captain turned it on the longer the game went, becoming the third player to score from dummy-half in the game when he powered his way over his opposite number in Moylan in the 68th minute.
And for the finishing touch, Hayne created a neat two-on-one for Hopoate to set up Sio for the final try of the match.
Parramatta 32 (Tonga, Peats, Ma'u, Radradra, Hayne, Sio tries; Sandow 4 goals) defeated Penrith 16 (John, Brown, Whare tries; Moylan 2 goals). Crowd: 14,448.
Excellent game of footy
I saw the score. Really exciting round of NRL it seems!!!
Very hard to pick teams on form there is very little consistency from anyone , I love itQuote:
Originally Posted by DIEHARD
Our worst game of the season: Cleary
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent
NRL.com
9:22pm Sat 29th March, 2014
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary didn't hesitate when he described his side's 32-16 spanking to Parramatta as their worst performance of the season.
"We've had some good signs and tonight was a disappointment. It was by far our worst game. So yeah, it's about bouncing back [next week]."
The Panthers headed into the game as favourites after an impressive opening three weeks but were quickly taught a lesson by a side Cleary said "wanted it a little bit more than us".
"It's not effort. But it was just... we've had three big weeks and this week, maybe we just weren't quite ready to have another one," he said.
"I actually thought we were probably on top in the first half for a lot of the time, but execution let us down a bit.
"Then I don't know, we hit the front in the second half and they were too good. They had the edge in just lots of little things tonight. I think they wanted it a little bit more than us."
The third-year mentor refused to use the excuse of co-captain Peter Wallace again being a game-day exclusion due to a nagging groin injury, instead bemoaning the fact that his side were simply "off the pace".
"It's not ideal, but that's no excuse. We had the same guys as last week, so it was just one of those nights where we were just off the pace in lots of things. Execution, little close in lots of stuff, [but] close wasn't close enough," he said.
Added fill-in halfback Isaac John: "We just didn't turn up with the right attitude and I think it showed in the tries they scored. It's something that hasn't been part of our game this year. Just glad it happened early on in the season so we can try and fix it."
Cleary hoped to have his halfback available for next week's clash against the Raiders.
"He wasn't far off [tonight]. The fact that he injured himself about a week ago, the day before the last game, meant that there's two games [he's missed]," he said.
"Hopefully he'll be right. It's just a bit of an annoying thing, but it's only a week ago. Hopefully we can sort that one out."