I’m siding with Bulldogs coach Des Hasler – it’s hard to believe the Penrith Panthers are not favourites in the lead-up to Saturday’s preliminary final at ANZ Stadium.
Ivan Cleary’s men beat Canterbury in their two meetings this year and returning fresh and confident after a week off from finals action, I think they are a huge chance of continuing their fairytale run right through to the grand final.
The Bulldogs pretty much fell in against a severely depleted Manly last week and will have their work cut out beating a team that shows zero regard for reputations or the favourites tag.
The Panthers just keep finding ways to win against all odds.
>> Roarer Steve Turner thinks that Tim Prentice is wrong – he is tipping a Bulldogs-Roosters grand final.
Call them under-strength, unfashionable, plucky or even lucky – Penrith doesn’t care one iota. They just keep coming and as I heard someone say the other day, maybe they’ve forgotten how to lose!
MORE NRL Finals:
» Full NRL Finals team lists, match information
» GURU: Finals are entertaining, but a tipster’s nightmare
» Tim Gore: NRL preliminary finals by the stats
» South Sydney vs Sydney Roosters full preview
With band-master Jamie Soward in career-best form, nothing seems beyond this gritty ensemble.
The Panthers have an interesting blend of seasoned campaigners and burgeoning youth, with every player willing to do whatever is necessary for the entire group, their league-mad district and the supporters.
I enjoy their style of play and feel they can add another upset to their collection by ousting the Bulldogs and snaring what looked to be a highly unlikely GF berth at the start of the year.
Statistics show the Panthers have had the wood on Canterbury in recent times. They have won five of the past seven duels and going back further, 11 of the past 14.
That might not mean much in the scheme of things on Saturday night, but some teams revel against others and Penrith clearly likes the challenge and physicality of a match-up with their western Sydney neighbours.
As always, the Bulldogs will attempt to monster the opposition through their monster forward pack. However, time and again Penrith has shown the ability to withstand such onslaughts and apply pressure of their own both up the middle and out wide.
The battle between hookers Mick Ennis and James Segeyaro should have a huge bearing on the outcome. Both are key components of their teams’ attack and they are set for a cat and mouse tussle.
While the in-form Soward will have a lot to do with Penrith’s point-scoring ability, I am keen to see how some of the younger Panthers perform in this high-pressure game.
Hard-hitting Adam Docker returns from suspension and will relish his shot at Canterbury’s big boppers. It will be fascinating to see how the team’s back three shape up: Josh Mansour, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Matt Moylan.
This game promises to be another nail-biter and I’ll tip the eye-catching Soward-Moylan combination to come up trumps late in the second half.
The Rabbitohs-Roosters game on Friday night is good enough to be the grand final one week early.
I’m tipping Souths to triumph in this one with their halves combination starring on the back of a surging, Sam Burgess-fired forward pack.
The Roosters coughed up a huge lead against the Cowboys last week, winning by a field goal in controversial circumstances. The previous week, Trent Robinson’s men had to batten down the hatches to stave off the fast-finishing Souths.
Granted, the Roosters found a way to win both games but the team’s inability to kill off opponents should be of major concern to its supporters.
I wrote on The Roar a few weeks ago that Souths look to have found belief in their structures and that 2014 finally shapes as their year.
With a week off to prepare for this biggie, I think they’ll be primed for something very special.
Defence will be king but to me, the game may come down to a spectacular cameo from Rabbitoh maestro Greg Inglis. We haven’t seen one from him in attack since that memorable game against Brisbane a month ago. He is due.
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