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The last regular season game for 2014 will see the Penrith Panthers host the New Zealand Warriors at Sporting Bet Stadium. Join The Roar for lives scores and commentary from 6:25pm AEST.
The Warriors will hoping to lock down the final spot in the top eight with a strong away victory against the Panthers, while Penrith are playing for a top four finish and with it, a second chance in the finals.
The Panthers will be hoping to break a two game losing streak to build some momentum heading into the the sharp end of the season, and a solid performance against a dangerous Warriors side will do just that.
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Penrith are coming off the back of two tough losses against quality top eight opposition, the Melbourne Storm and the Sea Eagles – who got the better of the the Panthers in the final seconds.
Despite losing 25-24 the boys from Penrith showed they can mix it with the NRL’s elite.
The return of James Segeyaro will provide Penrith with a huge boost, and the hooker will be a major part in the Panthers finals campaign and but he will need to maintain his fitness if Penrith are to make a deep run into to September.
Sika Manu has been moved to the lock position in replace of Adam Docker, while second rower Lewis Brown has been promoted to the starting side. In addition, Kierran Moseley will move back to the bench with the return of Segeyaro.
The up and down form of the New Zealand Warriors has been on show in recent weeks, highlighted by back-to-back home games at Mt Smart stadium that saw extremely opposite results.
First, they were embarrassed by the Roosters 46-12, then exactly a week later they beat the Gold Coast Titans 42-0 in a classic Warriors style victory.
Simply, the Panthers will have to be on their toes against an unpredictable New Zealand outfit.
The Warriors will field the same 1-17 that played against the Titans last weekend, with the addition of skilful forward Feleti Mateo added to an extended bench.
The last time these two sides met was back in Round 16, when the Warriors were too good for the Panthers winning 30-20 at Mt Smart Stadium. In the last outing, fullback Sam Tomkins and halfback Shaun Johnson were instrumental in the win, with a Johnson intercept try in the final minutes the deciding factor – the Panthers will have to ensure that Johnson and Tomkins cannot create the same momentum this time around.
The closely contested match could had have been a lot different with five eight Jamie Soward leaving the field with a ankle injury last week and Jamal Idris playing his first football game in a month.
However, a lot has changed since this clash and it appears unlikely that the Warriors will be able to win away from home.
With the return of hooker James Segeyaro, I’m predicting that Panthers will be to be too strong for the Warriors and, in doing so, will lock down a top four spot in front of their home crowd in Penrith.
Or will the Warriors fight their way into the top eight and send the Panthers into the finals on the back of three losses in a row?
Join The Roar tonight at 6:25pm AEST for live scores and updates and to debate in our live blog.
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