Expert
Penrith were victorious by 23 points against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.
Final score
Penrith Panthers 35
Gold Coast Titans 12
The Penrith Panthers will look to continue their impressive start to the season and keep pace with the top of the ladder when they take on the inconsistent Gold Coast Titans. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2pm (AEST).
The Panthers have been playing some very good footy to start the new season. The first five weeks have seen them win four games, only dropping their Round 4 clash to the Canterbury Bulldogs by just two points.
Sitting third spot on the ladder, they can leapfrog the Warriors and jump into second spot with a victory today after the Auckland-based club lost to the Broncos at home yesterday.
Penrith certainly aren’t completely without issue at this point of the season. They spent the first few weeks starting slowly and having to recover, but a win in Townsville over the Cowboys seemed to spark them to life, the club not looking back since.
Their win last Sunday against a poor Parramatta side saw lots of gritty and determined defence, as well as patience and willingness to get into the scrap. While it wasn’t pretty, and they may well need more points today than last week, their defence is where they need to build from.
The Titans sit just outside the top eight after five games. They have won three, but it includes two on the trot, with the club starting to get into their work.
A 54-8 thumping from the St George Illawarra Dragons in Toowoomba during Round 3 seemed to wake up the Gold Coast, who have since caused back-to-back upset wins over the Brisbane Broncos and Manly Sea Eagles. Running 32 points up on Manly was particularly unexpected.
The catalyst of their attack is having a set halves combination in Ashley Taylor and Kane Elgey. The pair have dominated the last two games played by the Gold Coast, and it will be interesting to see if James Maloney can continue to stand up and lead the Panthers as senior half against the young duo.
Prediction
The Panthers both on paper and in terms of form should be the stronger team here. It’s hard to fathom why they are playing so well without Cleary, but they are, and should win this one at home to make it a five and one start to the season.
Panthers by 10.
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