- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Panthers 26
Sharks 18
Brilliant game of football this as the desperate Penrith Panthers manage to take out the victory 26 points to 18 over the Cronulla Sharks at Pepper Stadium in Penrith.
During the first half it really looked like the Cronulla Sharks could have run away with it at certain points as they had the breeze at their backs and played some very good football plus controlled the possession of the game. The Penrith Panthers were good during the first half but no where near the quality of the Wade Graham and Valentine Holmes inspired sharks.
Holmes in particular scored a try to give the Sharks the lead at the end of the first half that will go down as one of the tries of the season with his whole body suspended outside the field of play he managed to score. The Sharks with a penalty goal after a controversial penalty goal lead 18 – 12 at the half time break.
Following that the Sharks never really seemed to come out of the sheds or adjust playing into the wind as the Penrith Panthers took over control of the game. The first try came just 5 minutes into the second half to Matt Moylan after an awesome sequence of play that started from inside their own half.
The Sharks constantly dropped the ball and gave away penalties giving away all momentum to the Panthers throughout the second half and as a result did not score a point. When Matt Moylan kicked a penalty goal with about 20 minutes to go to give the Panthers the lead it looked like they were going to go into their shell which they did inviting the Sharks back into the game a couple of times, however the Sharks couldn’t make the most of it.
The Panthers then got the match clinching try to Tyrone Peachey. Following that the Sharks really opened up but couldn’t do anything with it to post points against the Panthers defence. In the end the Panthers were deserved winners.
For the Sharks Wade Graham and Valentine Holmes were best on ground whilst Lewis Brown was man of the match. Matt Moylan was also fantastic for the Panthers.
Sunday afternoon sees a showdown at the foot of the mountains as the massively in-form Cronulla Sharks travel west for a day-time clash against the struggling Penrith Panthers at Pepper Stadium. Join The Roar for our live coverage from 1:45pm (AEST).
The Penrith Panthers have really been under the pump in season 2015, and are struggling with injuries.
Their biggest injury is undoubtedly to Jamie Soward who was the diamond in the Panthers’ line up last season in their run to the preliminary finals.
After seven rounds the Panthers are desperate for form and some wins, as they sit in 13th position on ladder with just three wins and four losses.
Meanwhile, the Cronulla Sharks started the season in horrible fashion before turning it around in the last three weeks, beating some of the competitions big guns in the Sydney Roosters, the Newcastle Knights. Last Monday night, in some of the most atrocious conditions you will ever see, they managed to knock off the reigning premiers, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
This leaves the Sharks with three wins and four losses as well, but they seem to be in much better shape than the Panthers even though they sit in 10th place, just a few rungs up.
In team news, George Jennings comes back into the Panthers’ side on the wing for the injured Josh Mansour. Robert Jennings drops back to the bench as Dean Whare returns from his hamstring injury. Sam Mckendry has been brought into the starting side with Brent Kite dropping out. This also makes way for Sam Anderson to be included on the Panthers’ seven-man bench, along with Tupou Sopoaga and Will Smith.
For the Sharks, captain Paul Gallen – who was a late scratching from last week’s win over the Rabbitohs – returns to start at lock. This pushes his replacement Jason Bukuya back to the interchange bench, and Sam Tagatese to 18th man. No doubt having Gallen back will be a huge boost for the Sharks.
The key to this game is Jack Bird. The rookie has been on fire since he made his debut in the starting side for the Sharks just a few weeks ago against the Roosters; in fact since he made his starting debut the Sharks haven’t lost. His combination with fellow youngster Valentine Holmes has been a thing of beauty for Sharks supporters over the last few weeks and will go a long way to deciding this game.
Penrith will be looking to James Segyaro and Matt Moylan to provide them with the spark needed to win. In 2014 the pair along with Soward were excellent, but without Soward something seems to be missing.
Interestingly, the Panthers have only won one of their previous five encounters with the Sharks, dating back to 2012.
Prediction
The Sharks form has been hot over the last couple of weeks. The Panthers haven’t looked like the team that played in 2014 all year, and with no sign of their injury crisis slowing down the Sharks should be too good.
Sharks by 10.
A fascinating game awaits us as both teams battle to keep in touch with the top eight going into the representative bye round. Join The Roar to follow the game live and join in with the discussion and debate from 1:45pm (AEST).