Penrith lost their Friday night battle, but the Panthers might just win the war

I feel sorry for king Gutho , he looked like he was having so much fun at Parra and was doing so well but the honeymoon is over for the time being.

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Would be negligent of Flanno to not have a chat with Luia’s management,Townsend’s the new Jeff Robson..at least Jeff could tackle..

TB, You're not trying to stir Mary into writing another Brad Arthur "trust the process" article are you? I'm happy for him to keep coaching the Eels but I'm sure fans who care about Parra a lot more than I must be having serious doubts.

Well I think Moylan is a match winner , one of the very few in the NRL. He showed it again last night, burying Penrith in the second half. Sure he missed a tackle on Harawirra -Nairea, but he also pulled off a couple of try saving tackles in that game, and made 3 tries for the Sharks to win the match. Easily the man of the match performance and it won't be his last this year for the Sharks. Why he wanted out of Penrith who knows , but he is big loss to them. May is no solution as a number 6 for Penrith , he is a handy utility player at his best. Maloney is the current 6 but offers rocks and diamonds regularly with his play as we saw in SOO and some club games recently. Talk about Moylan missing a tackle ? Luia has two and a bit games for Penrith . He has been showing promise in the lower grades for a while. Hopefully he keeps improving , but the question still remains for the Club management do they take the punt on a big money contract he will now be demanding , as they did with Moylan and Cartwright ,or do they save it all for a tilt at Cleary and Cleary ??? And what about the demands to retain Kikau, Fisher-Harris and Co ? And what about their current lack of decent outside backs, surely some money needs to be spent there ? It will be interesting times ahead.

With the form he's currently in, Holmes would have to stay at fullback, wouldn't he?

Firstly, I don't think Moylan is any world beater. Bad miss on Harawira to let in a soft try. Maloney has proved to be a much better option. Secondly I don't think May is the same player who ran riot at the end of 2017. Most players struggle after such an horrific knee injury. Thirdly, Penrith's management of the salary cap comes down to retaining Cleary. Looking at 2021, Hook's contract will be up; Maloney may retire; both Ivan and Nathan's contracts will be up. Why doesn't Gus swallow his pride, and bring Ivan back, retain Nathan and in the meantime groom Jahrome Luai as the future 5/8 ?

Well balanced article Stuart, except that I don't agree Hook should be congratulating players. He should be tearing strips off some of those players who gave away far too many penalties in the play the ball. It's not lack of experience when players fail to get off the tackled player, especially Leota who was pinged 3 times in the space of ten minutes, Holding down players means you have no trust in your team mates. Penrith had more than enough opportunities to win by 20 and not only the spilled balls. There were too many dumb options in attack - players heading into traffic instead of getting the ball out wide, failing to build pressure with repeat sets, or simply dying with the ball. And then there's panic, panic, panic. I can't see Penrith getting back into the top 4 if they keep serving up that rubbish. Maloney and Cleary might bring some calm but the other players are in 1st grade so they should know the right way to play.. Get stuck into them, Hook.

Hi Stuart, That was a big swing last night, effectively 4 points in favour of the Sharks, which will now make it difficult for the Panthers to make the 4. Kikau has been a star for over 4 years when he set all sorts of records in the u20s comp. The Cowboys are still hurting over losing him and I was very suprised how he was "under played" last year for the Panthers.

The Panthers usual main management problem is the prioritisation of its players for their roster. It is probably a more difficult task than most Clubs ( maybe apart from the Broncos) have as they have such vast range of young talent always coming through their system. They need a crystal ball I suspect to guess which young talent has the potential to make it all the way to the top grade of the NRL ? Like making Moylan & Cartwright the priorities with big money contracts just 2 years ago. Now both are gone. One will be a huge loss , the other not so for different reasons. Take young Luai, who I have been watching since his Holden Cup days of 2015 , through to his matches for Samoa in last years World Cup, and he has always shown talent developing. But he has also put in some ordinary performances across that time as well. Now he has exploded in two weeks playing in a good first grade team. So what does Penrith do ? Pay him the big dollars as the market over inflates his early promise, or risk the loss of a potential next JT heading off somewhere else ? In the end last night, the Panthers main priority player just two years ago , sunk the Panthers and looks set to provide a heap of class to the Sharks premiership tilt this year. As for the Knights v Eels game , I just can't understand how far the Eels have dropped in ability in the past 12 months ? They were absolutely pathetic last night. They had a team on paper that should have wiped the Knights off the park. But dumb, lazy, uncommitted and talentless play, ensured they came up short yet again . Only Hayne seemed intent on trying to do his best ( must still want a contract ? ) . What is going on with the form of Nathan Brown and Norman & Moses ? And leave me out of all the hype around Gutherson ,who is now just an over enthusiastic mistake-a-thon. Eels fans deserve so much more than what this team is serving up this year.

Peachy has signed elsewhere for '19 but Mansour was recently renewed..you'd think there wouldnt be many forwards prioritized in front of Hetherington either..

Agree with this piece on the Panthers. Their young players were brilliant. I have however doubts of them holding on to Luai and possibly even Kikau. After the big money contract they would have laid out for Cleary, Peachey, Edwards unless Maloney retires next year I think there will be some big plays for Luai. As you said he is better than a lot of 7s running around right now and I would say would be on Cleary level or better in the coming years with added polish. He definitely is wasted in reserve grade. I also think Kikau is going to be thrown a huge money contract in the next year. Considering how inexperienced he is I think within the next 12 months he will become the best 2nd rower in the competition...he is already pretty close. He has got everything...size, speed, strength and skills. So far I have not seen any team manage to shut him down this year and I was expecting the Sharks forwards to do a job on him but he was still one of the Panthers best. I know the Sharks are missing a few as well but this Penrith team once the Origin players return will be scary come finals time. I expect both of these teams to go far this year.

Excellent read from Stuart and posts to date.

I wouldn’t change Val for any other winger in the game...but he has a one significant / potential game losing error per game quota that he usually fills... Sure,Penrith were down a few, but the reality is right now it’s definitely not the replacements fault they lost last night,Luai and May are going just as well,if not better than Jimmy and Cleary...right now...they won all the stats,just couldn’t finish.. Sharks still to get Lewie back,Gal only played limited minutes...and then there’s Doogs and Jessie R...the coach is timing their run very well..

Luai has the potential to be the next superstar of the NRL. I know it's early days, and there should be a degree of caution, but he does look a little classy in his ability. In the end, Cronulla's experience got them over the line. The Sharks definitely have the forward pack to challenge once again. But who plays fullback, Holmes or Dugan?

Some of the things Luai did last night made me think he might be a better number 7 prospect than Cleary. He never stopped for the full game and his legs tackling was outstanding. He has a heap of energy and with some polish, could be a great leader for the Panthers, assuming they don't let him go. Your comparison with Kikau and players of the past was spot on Stuart. Who knows what he'll do in the game, assuming he remains uninjured and the big money offers he'll be made, don't go to his head. Fair enough the Parra/Knights game was not one for the purists, but it was great to see Mitchell Pearce back in action. People seem to think Cleary has a lock on the NSW SOO half back spot but Pearce is still a very good player and will keep Cleary honest.

Good return from injury for Pearce, it may have been against Parramatta but he was in everything. Once again the Mose's myth is exposed.

I feel much the same. Case in point, Corey Harawira Naera pushing Bryce Cartwright out of a starting spot last year. There was also all the BS about Moylans exit freeing up money to secure Dylan Edwards and Tyrone May long term. IMO theyre stronger holding onto Moylan and Peachey

Great effort from Holmes who scored two tries in Origin then another two last night to make it four tries in 48 hours. Kikau has the potential to become the best forward in the game, he's a beast.

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve written about Penrith or their players but isn’t it a bit same old, same old with the Panthers? “The NRL better look out when this next crop of youngsters gets some experience under their belts” It was Jennings, Graham, Coote, Wallace Then it’s was Moylan, Martin and Cartwright. They keep developing all of these players to a point and then let them go so they can keep the next generation. Rinse and repeat. Sooner or later the sleeping giant needs to wake up. Sooner or later it needs to be about this season, not next season or five years time. Agree about Kikau...he’s an amazing physical specimen but he’s still relatively inexperienced and still takes a few wrong options at times. He could be anything. Love watching him play. Love watching the Panthers in general, they’ve got a great mix between tough and attacking footy. James Fisher-Harris is one of my favourite players at the moment. A great mix of silky skills and unchained brutality. He’s also a shy, humble lad. I thought that game last night was an absolute howler. Newcastle were bad, the Eels were atrocious. They looked like the Harlem Globetrotters in the first 10 minutes. They are a lazy, loose side. They were appalling for the rest of the first half. A lot of people have been raving about Brad Arthur from the minute he came into first grade...I had no idea why and I still don’t. Parra look like a poorly coached ill disciplined rabble. Arthur has had the reins for a few years now, has had the chance to assemble his roster, develop his culture and foster his style. I think he’s running out of excuses and possibly time. Best part of last nights game was watching young Nick Meaney go around, who’s off to the Bulldogs next year. Looks like a natural player, very calm and skilful, good footwork. Too soon to start hoping for the best...? ?