The Penrith Panthers win this one today, scoring 2 late tries to outdo the Eels.
REPORT: CARTWRIGHT WINS IT ON SIREN FOR PANTHERS
Both sides went back and forth at each other all day, in somewhat hot conditions. Both back lines saw plenty of ball and both forward packs ran hard all day.
The first half was slightly more dominated from the Eels. Possession was close, but they dominated field position. Going into half time 6-6 was really good for Penrith’s confidence and it showed in the second half.
The Eels and fans thought they had it won, having gone up 18-12 with less then 10 to go. 2 late tries from Mansour and Cartwright saw Penrith deserved winners today.
Isaac De Gois was great for Parramatta, so too were Michael Jennings and Brad Takairangi. The centres were very dangerous and caused problems all day.
In the end, Bryce Cartwright was the difference, he was dangerous in attack and provided much of the spark for the Panthers. Matt Moylan will be better for the run, his touch in attack, especially to set up Mansour’s try, was him at his best.
Final score
Eels 18
Panthers 20
The ‘battle of the west’ kicks off this Sunday, with the Parramatta Eels hosting the Penrith Panthers from Pirtek Stadium. This should be an absolute belter, so join The Roar from 4pm (AEDT).
Brad Arthur’s men were impressive last start, winning 8-0 and showing the steel in defence that has been lacking in previous Eels outfits.
Kieran Foran’s directional play and leadership has no doubt assisted Parra, and he needs another big outing if his side are to win today.
The Eels have one change from last week’s tight fixture, having added Peni Terepo to their side. Terepo was initially added as cover for Manu Ma’u’s possible suspension, but while Ma’u was cleared, Tim Mannah (shoulder blade) is now out injured.
The Panthers welcome back star fullback and captain Matt Moylan for this first game of 2016. Their spark in attack has been missing and Moylan’s inclusion comes at a crucial time, with Penrith sitting at 1-3 for the season. However all three losses combine for a total of 12 points, so they have competed well in all games.
Bryce Cartwright is in doubt with a thumb complaint, after dislocating it last weekend. Elijah Taylor and Jeremy Latimore have been named as cover, but I suspect Taylor will get the nod if Cartwright misses out.
The two sides played out a tight trial early in the year. The Eels won that one, with Michael Jennings scoring against his former club, expect the flyer to be on song today.
Prediction
It will be close, but the Eels should just scrape home in front of a near sell-out home-crowd.
Eels by 4.
This is the game of the round, both sides have been defending well and giving their all, so Join The Roar for all the action, and be sure to give your thoughts below as the match unfolds.
steveng
Roar Rookie
That was the decisive moment of the game and for the outcome and that is why the Panthers won, 2 sets of 6 with 1.5 minutes to go is a big advantage, the Eels were a better side and deserved to win.
The eye
Guest
Tom plays right,Mansour plays left..you can have both
Leichardt Mauler
Guest
Howd they choke? Lucky Hail Mary kick in the end was the difference. Go figure. Must be a Rooster fan. 0-5.
SpongeBob
Guest
The problem is there's no guidelines: they can intervene whenever they like, they can not intervene whenever they like. As someone in control of the game and helping determine it's outcome, like a referee, there must be guidelines for it! Imagine if the referee was just calling knock ons only when they felt like it :) Or on some sort of 'weird scale', if they thought it was a 'bad one' they'd call it, else they'd let it go. In my opinion no interference unless requested. Simple solution. I want the right calls, not at the cost of breaking the game into slow mode replays + dragging it out forever. The best solution - though you'd need to trial it first as theory doesn't always pan out - would be like a try a referee can make a call, then refer it to the bunker. However there is only a 10 second time limit, basically if the bunker can't decide in 1 or 2 replays it's a bad call, the decision sticks. The idea is howlers can be corrected, everything else including close calls will remain per on-field. For example: If Manly scored on the back of that wrong call, you could confidently say it was very questionable. You could legitimately question why the bunker would recognise the wrong call, yet refuse to correct it. After all, it's their job to correct it, why wouldn't they? That's the huge grey area by having "only if we want to". By having no bunker overturning, or on a 'per ref's referral' basis, there is at least no room for that risk in the game.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I'd have Mansour in a second...
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Do you have Trobjovic's stats for comparison?
bear54
That's right. They've clearly recognised when they should have intervened in the past and are beginning to do so moving forward. The Bunker is just like every other new initiative in sport, industry or business. There will be bugs to be ironed out over time.
SpongeBob
Guest
Why didn't they intervene for Souths? A very bad call and Souths really needed the right one. There's been half a dozen this year already where it was obviously wrong, plenty of time to change the call and nothing happens. Other times it's a close call and they'll overturn. Imagine if Manly scored and won the game because of them not overturning? How could anyone argue that's not suspect? "Yeah so the bunker saw it was blatantly wrong, but decided to not correct it. Yet when the Panthers play, oh no we can't have the wrong calls against them". You don't want to create situations like this where any form of bias or questionable activity can happen. It's different to "was that a forward pass or not" which is opinion based, this is "the wrong call is right there, but will you correct it or just let it go?". Considering games are being decided by their intervention, or lack of at times, it's a big problem. There needs to be set rules as to when they can & can't intervene.
bear54
Why? They correct decision was made. Play had not restarted. A scrum was set but not fed. Is this not what media and fans call for constantly?
E-Meter
Guest
Yes that was the difference. The basic rule seems to be - when we feel like it. That's not a rule obviously. The scrum was packed and the shot clock was on. You can't change the decision that far advanced.
The RiffMarn Stew Moses
Roar Guru
Josh Mansour in 2016: 3 tries 941m (avg 188m) 86 runs (avg 17) @ 10.94m per run 20 tackle breaks 6 line-breaks 3 offloads 87.5% tackle efficiency But alas everyone wants to name Trobjovic on their wing and yet again snub Penrith in SOO
SpongeBob
Guest
Interesting the bunker overturned a wrong call towards the end, and it was critical given Panthers scored off the back of it. Certainly a lottery as to when they chime in; pretty hard to believe there's no set parameters.
The eye
Guest
By any means possible,Takarangi and Semi have got to get back together...
Renegade
Roar Guru
Tell me about it, it gets better every year... How good is rugby league!
Jason Hosken
Roar Guru
Gee, Baz. Where do you find the time to play SuperCoach?????
Scott Pryde
Expert
Apart from when the Dragons play. Oh how every round is hurting more and more.
E-Meter
Guest
That's the Parra I remember. Old fashioned choke.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Mansour and Cartwright in my SuperCoach team makes it even better...
The Barry
Roar Guru
What a season this is shaping up as. Pretty much every game is a cracker.
Jarrod McGrouther
Roar Guru
Mate they will be great for years to come, and the fact they're defending like this speaks volumes!