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NRL 2017 season preview: Penrith Panthers

23rd February, 2017
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Trent Merrin leads a seriously impressive Penrith pack. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
Roar Guru
23rd February, 2017
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1717 Reads

The Panthers really were the ‘hot streak to the finals’ team of 2016. Despite a lacklustre start, they sorted things out at the back half of the season and charged into the finals in sixth place.

However, they were knocked out in the semi-finals by the Canberra Raiders.

Due to an impressive run near the end of the season, winning six of their last seven, and probably due to one particularly biased commentator *cough*Gus Gould*cough* they are premiership favourites.

But you know who were top rated last year? The Sydney Roosters – look how they turned out.

Strengths
Matt Moylan is a great attacking weapon – I know, to some of you that is like saying ‘you know what, fire is hot’ – but while the 25-year-old has silky smooth hands and a wonderful kicking game, I am not as high on him as others are (we’ll get to that).

Losing Josh Mansour for most of the season with injury hurts. However, even with him gone, their backline looks amazing. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Waqa Blake are wonderful wingers with power and speed at their disposal, and recent injuries may make people forget that Peta Hiku and Dean Whare are both New Zealand representatives. They are damn good.

Te Maire Martin and Nathan Cleary are up there with Kane Elgey and Ashley Taylor in terms of an amazing young halves combination. They both had limited chances in first grade and demonstrated buckets of class. As long as they avoid the dreaded ‘second-year syndrome’ they will create a lot of opportunities.

This team also has an elite second row. Isaah Yeo is probably the only underrated player in the damn squad, and Bryce Cartwright may have issues with forcing passes and making silly mistakes, but when calm he is great. Trent Merrin is a wonderful, workhorse lock while Tyrone Peachey and James Fisher-Harris will provide spark from the bench.

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I have mentioned depth a fair amount in my other previews, mostly spinning it in a negative light. However, this squad has amazing depth. Their NSW Cup and Under 20s sides dominate the competition, providing cover for injuries.

Penrith Panthers player Waqa Blake

Weaknesses
For all their depth, Penrith’s dummy-half situation is terrible. Peter Wallace isn’t awful but he doesn’t offer anything. As for Mitch Rein, their other option, he provides darts from dummy half since he can’t pass.

As for Moylan, he is the most overrated player in the game. He is not a very good fullback – his positioning, kick returns and general running ability are all severely lacking. He is probably the worst kick returner and defensive custodian in the game. And before someone says “they have Mansour to do the kick returns”, they don’t this year.

Honestly though, you could use the ‘overrated’ label for a fair chunk of this squad. Cartwright is overrated, Reagan Campbell-Gillard is criminally overrated (anyone that compares him to Jake Trbojevic or David Klemmer needs to get their head examined) and James Tamou has been overrated for years.

Now, overrated doesn’t mean bad. These are all good players, but their ability is blown way out of proportion. I would happily have them in my team, but some people want Penrith to make up half the NSW side. And most of this is due to Phil Gould. The fact that Channel Nine lets him commentate with such a clear conflict of interest is baffling.

Also, as far as coach Anthony Griffin goes, there is a reason that a ton of Broncos players who were struggling with form from 2012-14 suddenly started to play well again in 2015 when he left Brisbane.
Phil Gould and the Channel Nine team - is it really necessary to have a 50 minute lead-in before each Origin game?

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Summary
This team won’t win the comp. Their forward pack is fine and the rest of the squad is pretty darn good, but they’ve had more smoke blown up their arse than a chimney.

The Panthers just doesn’t have the ability to win a premiership under their current coach. Also, despite their amazing depth, they seem to always have massive injury concerns, so dealing with that might be tough.

Penrith will finish fifth in 2017 – they could squeeze their way into the top four, but I doubt they will miss the eight. As for their finals campaign, they might win a game, but they won’t make the grand final.

2016 finish: 6th

Predicted 2017 finish: fifth

Transfers
Gains: James Tamou, Tim Browne, Michael Oldfield, Darren Nicholls, Mitch Rein, Jed Cartwright

Losses: Ben Garcia, Chris Smith, George Jennings, Zak Hardaker, Jeremy Latimore, Suaia Matagi, Andrew Heffernan, Chris Grevsmuhl, Robert Jennings, Will Smith, Andy Saunders

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Full-strength team
1. Matt Moylan
2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3. Peta Hiku
4. Dean Whare
5. Waqa Blake
6. Te Maire Martin
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
9. Peter Wallace
10. James Tamou
11. Isaah Yeo
12. Bryce Cartwright
13. Trent Merrin
14. James Fisher-Harris
15. Leilani Latu
16. Tyrone Peachey
17. Viliame Kikau

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