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Panthers 11
Sea Eagles 10
A fascinating game this evening at Brookvale Oval has resulted in the Penrith Panthers defeating the Manly Sea Eagles by a single point.
Matt Moylan put in a man of the match performance for the Panthers, kicking the winning field goal with just 6 minutes remaining.
For the majority of the night however, it looked like the Manly Sea Eagles were destined to win the game. The scoring started early in the first half as a defence described by Matt Moylan at half time as lethargic let in 2 line breaks and a long range try to Brett Stewart in the first 4 minutes.
Straight away it looked like the Sea Eagles were going to run up a cricket score on the Panthers.
However, the Panthers managed to bounce back and get themselves into the game tightening their defence up and managing to make some solid meters running forward. The Panthers managed to get a couple of sets in a row on the Manly line and put David Simmons over in the corner untouched.
5 minutes later though the Sea Eagles got back on top as they put Brett Stewart over for his second try of the night in what was more poor defence. In fact all the tries in the first half were off soft defence.
At half time the Sea Eagles led 10 – 4 and the Panthers were lucky to be only that far behind.
Coming out for the second half there was a noticeable change with the Panthers defence who were hitting hard and making life hard for the Sea Eagles.
The next 15 minutes was an arm wrestle but a very frustrating one for the Panthers as they made a number of errors close to the tryline. Eventually though they managed to put Dallin Watene Zeleniak over in the corner but a missed conversion left them two points behind.
More mistake from the Panthers close to the Sea Eagles try line was the recurring theme of the half but the Sea Eagles weren’t playing all that well.
Eventually Matt Moylan hit the line very hard and picked up a penalty which tied the game up with a penalty goal next to the posts. The arm wrestle continued and then a sloppy play from the Panthers 40 meters out brought the ball back to the middle where Moylan managed to slot a field goal.
The Sea Eagles eventually got right back into the game in the last 5 minutes but couldn’t convert with a pair of missed field goals from Mateo and Cherry Evans.
The best players on ground were Moylan, Soward and Brett Stewart for the Sea Eagles whilst George Jennings picked up an ankle injury that could leave him on the sideline for quite a while.
In the end a less than convincing win for the Panthers.
The Penrith Panthers, who are slowly recovering from their massive injury crisis, travel to Brookvale Oval to face the Manly Sea Eagles who appear to have turned a corner in the last two weeks. Join The Roar from 6:45pm (AEST) for our live coverage.
The Sea Eagles have had a shocker of a season so far, winning just one from their first seven.
However, in Round 8 they played and beat the Melbourne Storm before beating the Newcastle Knights last weekend 30 points to 10. They still sit in last place but have the potential to start moving up a very close ladder in the next couple of weeks.
Penrith have had an injury crisis that mirrors what they had to deal with last year. The only difference is that this year, it is affecting their results. They might be sitting in ninth place but are only one victory ahead of the Sea Eagles. However with Jamie Soward back last week they looked like a much better team in a narrow loss to the Broncos.
In team news for the Sea Eagles, Tom Symonds has been named to partner Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves doing a switch with Blake Leary. Steve Matai returns from suspension in the centres and Peta Hiku will shift to the wing, pushing David Williams out of the side. James Hasson and Tony Satini have been added to the bench.
In a massive boost for the Panthers, James Segeyaro returns. This sees Isaac John drop out, with Apisai Koroisau playing in the halves. Tyrone Peachey, who is out with suspension, will be replaced by Sika Manu.
The key battle in this game is the kicking games and creativity of Daly Cherry-Evans for the Sea Eagles versus that of Jamie Soward for the Panthers.
Cherry-Evans will again be without Kieran Foran to partner him in the halves, which will put pressure on Cherry-Evans to perform – although this was the case last week and he turned in a man of the match performance against the Knights.
What an impact Soward made for the Panthers last week in his return from injury, keeping them right in the contest against the Broncos and almost delivering them a win. His kicking game is one of the best in the competition and it will be pivotal.
Prediction
The Sea Eagles have been brilliant of late and hold all the running at Brookvale but Soward and Matt Moylan will guide the Panthers to a very close win in a thriller.
Panthers by 1.
Join The Roar from 6:45pm (AEST) for live coverage of what is shaping up to be a cracker of a game and don’t forget to leave your comments below.