Panthers
2
54
Storm
20
| 54 |  | C. Smith | ||
| 52 |  | J. Addo-Carr | ||
| 45 | | C. Smith | ||
| 43 | | B. Croft | ||
| 35 |  | C. Smith | ||
| 10 | | C. Smith | ||
| 9 | | C. Munster | ||
| J. Maloney | | 5 |
| 0 | Tries | 3 | ||
| 0 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 1 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Two teams coming off a win in the previous round face off in Round 3, with the western warriors the Penrith Panthers playing host to the charging Melbourne Storm, at Carrington Park, Bathurst. Join The Roar from 7:30pm (AEDT) for live scores and blog of the game.
Penrith looked good for their win up in Newcastle last weekend.
Hitting the line hard in attack, holding the line and rushing up in defence, the Panthers played like a team with that enthusiasm and drive that you need to win NRL games.
Of course, and no disrespect to the mighty Knights of Newcastle, but a team fighting for finals relevance is a whole other story when compared to the behemoth that is Melbourne.
And, if not for one video ref intervention and another James Maloney try-saver, it is possible the Panthers are coming into this match up winless.
So for the Panthers to repeat their success, they must remain true to what worked so well for them last week: control and intensity.
The Panthers are a team that historically know how to cause pressure when defending.
It is a rare ability to almost be able to gain metres when you are without the ball, and yet the Panthers are a team that can achieve that, and in this instance, it is something they will want to very much do against the Storm.
The Storm are just purring along, aren’t they?
Solid and occasionally spectacular in the opener, solid and professional against the Raiders, the Storm are that age-old performer that you know and love, because you know what to expect.
Cameron Smith, that ageless warhorse in the middle of the park, has not for one moment lost his vigour, and the absence of Cooper Cronk, short of not winning a grand final, has been seamlessly filled with new personnel.
Oh, and replacing Billy Slater was no issue as well.
So well is Jerome Hughes going, it is actually easy to under-estimate his value, given that he was replacing the greatest fullback to play the game, and the Storm do not appear to have missed a beat.
It is an interesting match up for the Panthers to take rural, given they are playing a title contender. You have to wonder if they would have preferred the confines of home, for that extra advantage.
History, equally, is on the side of the visitors, having won four of the last five encounters.
Of course, Penrith can take some comfort going into the match: they won the last game between these two sides.
Prediction
Melbourne for me here. Penrith will shake up the Storm, but a 2-point win over Newcastle is just not as convincing as a near flawless win over the Raiders, in terms of form.
Storm by 8.
Join The Roar from 7:30pm (AEDT) for live scores and update of the game, and don’t forget to leave a comment in the comments section below.
When: Saturday, 30 March 2019, at 7:30 PM (AEDT)
Where: Carrington Park, Bathurst
TV: Fox Sports 502, live streaming NRL app
Betting: Panthers $2.54, Storm $1.55, Draw $23.00
Penrith Panthers
1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Dean Whare, 4. Waqa Blake, 5. Dallin Watane-Zelezniak, 6. James Maloney, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. James Tamou, 9. Sione Katoa, 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11. Jamess Fisher-Harris, 12. Frank Tinterstein, 13. Hame Sele, 14. Wayde Egan, 15. Tyrell Fuimaono, 16. Moses Leota, 17. Jack Hetherington.
Reserves: 18. Jarome Luai, 19. Tim Grant
Melbourne Storm
1. Jerome Hughes, 2. Suliasi Vunivalu, 3. Will Chambers, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Josh Addo-Carr, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Brodie Croft, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Cameron Smith, 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 11. Felise Kaufusi, 12. Keenneath Bromwich, 13. Dale Finucane, 14. Brandon Smith, 15. Christian Welch, 16. Tui KamiKamica, 17. Marion Seve.
Reserves: Ryan Papenhuyzen, 19. Patrick Kaufusi.
perry cox
Roar Guru
If you read my commentary from last night, I point out what an amazing outfit they are, so I'm no hater. But is Smith a player who profited from a salary cap cheating team that has indirectly padded out his career? Absolutely he is.
CTSTORM
Guest
why do you think he doesn't deserve it? Are you one of those haters who hate the Mighty Storms. Smith will be the GOAT when he retires whether you like it or not.
Rambo Freeman
Guest
Hope Gould reads your comment,he's the biggest dreamer of them all.lmffo.
Panthers fan
Guest
How does coach Cleary figure the panthers never fired up until 2nd half. Hahahardly considering the half time score of which the only points they had was a penalty, then they might as well gone to the pub, for what the rest was worth.
Big Daddy
Guest
That makes 2. 8 last week 2 so far this week. Get the razor out.
perry cox
Roar Guru
Hope so FG. Smith doesn't deserve to hold the record if you ask me.
farkurnell
Guest
panthers - the most overrated team in NRL 6 coaches in 6 years says it all
Farmer Geddon
Guest
Jarrod Croker is appearing on the horizon, approaching 1 800 points, with probably another 5 - 6 seasons to go, will likely hit 3 000.
Doug Graves
Guest
Absolute debacle of a start for coach Ivan "47% win percentage" Cleary and it's only gonna get harder from here as he has to face a pumped up Wests Tigers next Friday. Here's hoping the Tigers can show him up again for the bog-standard coach his record proves he really is.
Rob
Guest
Attention to detail and execution. They pass, kick and work hard in defence than the others. They are trained to do the hard yards and not make stupid errors. Forget about the wrestling BS. because others are doing it worse. Forget about the salary cap because everyone plays better under the Storms systems and they continue to produce diamonds from rocks.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Ironically, he will do it against Hazem's old club. I hope Haz will go down to hand over the trophy.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Edwards had a shocker tonight. I think with Mansour back its time to put DWZ into fullback. He just provides a bigger threat than Edwards in attack. Kikau back will help them big time too. They need a strike weapon who can give go forward. Tonight they were made to look second rate. They had so much attacking ball in the first half and couldn't break the line.
Val
Guest
Makes Anthony Griffin look good,eh Phil? Go the Storm!!
Cugel
Roar Rookie
So probably next week for Smith to break the record, never thought I'd see that one fall. 10 years ago, you would consider that such-and-such would have to score heaps of points year in, year out to do it, it all seemed rather unlikely.
perry cox
Roar Guru
Full time Melbourne have maintained their perfect start to the season, with a near perfect defensive effort in a 32-2 win over the Penrith Panthers at Carrington Park. Panthers took a 2-point lead in the first ten minutes, and that was as good as it got for the men from Western Sydney. Melbourne took charge through first half tries to Cameron Munster and Brodie Croft, taking a tightly held ten point lead into the break. The lead was all the more extraordinary though given the weight of possession hugely in favour of Penrith, who could not break the white wall in front of them. Far from being worn out in defence, Melbourne ran away in the second half with tries to Josh Addo-Carr, Marion Seve, and Jesse Bromwich. Smith was perfect on the boot in his march to the personal pointscoring tally. Penrith will need to spend the week discovering what went wrong. They had little in attack, and the errors continued to pile up. Penrith can have no complaints about chances, as they had plenty. One other highlight for the night was held by Cameron Munster, who finished the night with three personal one on one strips to give his team with momentum where needed. but it was the defence that won this game for Melbourne, with over 30 tackles made by the Storm inside their own 20m zone, a truly tremendous effort from the men south of the border. As for Melbourne, they remain as ever the standard, no matter the player, they simply get the job done. Melbourne sit comfortably atop the table heading into round 4, after a powerful win over the mountain men. Penrith Panthers - 2 Melbourne Storm - 32
Dogs Boddy
Roar Rookie
Absolute shellacking. Well played Melbourne, I tipped them to lose on the road this week. All class in that second half though, they are a tough team to beat.
perry cox
Roar Guru
80 - Penrith kick in goal, it's through a Storm player's legs, but another 17 Storm players converge to clean up and kick dead. That should do it. Penrith Panthers - 2 Melbourne Storm - 32
perry cox
Roar Guru
79 - Storm with a rare error in finishing the set, as Croft is strangled for room and kicks over the sideline on the full. Penrith will look to break their tryscoring duck for the evening in the final minute of play. Penrith Panthers - 2 Melbourne Storm - 32
76
perry cox
Roar Guru
78 - And Croft shows he's no Smith, he MISSES the conversion. Penrith Panthers - 2 Melbourne Storm - 32