Extra Time April 3

FRI 03 APR 2015 Issue 05 PROUDLY INDEPENDENT

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PANTHERS V COWBOYS

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Stop Thurston, stop the Cowboys

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Friday 3 April 2015 « the western weekender • extra time

32

MATCH PREVIEW Brought to you by…

PANTHERS 1

Matthew Moylan

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Josh Mansour Dean Whare Jamal Idris Dallin Watene-Zelezniak Isaac John Peter Wallace (c) Sam McKendry James Segeyaro Jeremy Latimore Sika Manu Issah Yeo Elijah Taylor Tyrone Peachey Nigel Plum Reagan Campbell-Gillard Bryce Cartwright

COWBOYS

FACT CHECK Ê Nigel Plum plays his first game for season 2015 on Monday night Ê Lachlan Coote returns to Penrith Stadium for the first time since leaving the Panthers in 2013 Ê Penrith and North Qld have never played out a draw, despite several golden point battles Dallin Watene-Zelezniak playing against the Cowboys last year

1

Lachlan Coote

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Matthew Wright Tautau Moga Kane Linnett Antonio Winterstein Michael Morgan Johnathan Thurston (c) Matt Scott (c) Jake Glanville James Tamou Gavin Cooper Ethan Lowe Jason Taumalolo Rory Kostjasyn Kelepi Tanginoa Scott Bolton Ben Hannant

Faith rattled by two losses TROY DODDS @troydodds

A

re you nervous, Penrith fans?

After two straight losses, you probably have a right to be.

But as they say, competitions aren’t won in March and there is a long, long way to go as far as season 2015 is concerned.

Take away the first 20 minutes against Newcastle last weekend, and the Penrith performance wasn’t all that bad. In fact, had controversial no-try rulings against Peter Wallace and Jamal Idris gone the other way, who knows what the final result might have been, The Panthers are struggling significantly without playmaking five-eighth Jamie Soward. The slick backline movements that were part of Penrith’s campaign last year and the opening two games of 2015 aren’t anywhere near as effective without Soward.

Soward has an incredible ability to sniff out the scent of even the smallest opportunity; without him, the Panthers look like they’re waiting for an opportunity that sometimes never comes.

The Panthers were also rattled last weekend by the withdrawals of James Segeyaro and Isaac John – the fact that Penrith used their third choice five-eighth in the match has been overlooked by some of the critics, including those from within the fan base.

Monday night’s game against North Queensland is an important one. Three straight losses would be far from ideal, not in the context of competition points (there’s enough of those up for grabs over the next five months) but rather ensuring confidence remains high within the squad.

The Cowboys found themselves in a similar position last weekend after losing their opening three matches, and there is no doubt that their golden point victory over Melbourne on Monday night was worth a whole lot more than two competition points.

Johnathan Thurston proved just what a

PENRITH PANTHERS V NORTH QLD COWBOYS MONDAY, APRIL 6 • 7PM PEPPER STADIUM REFEREES: MATT CECCHIN AND GRANT ATKINS TV: FOX SPORTS LIVE 7PM sensational playmaker he is – calmly slotting a sideline conversion and then two field goals to give the Cowboys a muchneeded and unlikely win.

It’s obvious that Thurston is public enemy number one on Monday night.

The Cowboys are far less imposing when Thurston is shut down, as Newcastle showed a few weeks ago. The Knights implemented a similar game plan against Penrith on Saturday and essentially put Peter Wallace out of the game.

Shutting Thurston down, however, is not as easy as it sounds. He is a commanding figure on the field, and he’ll be keen to see if Penrith have fixed some of their flaws from recent matches. If anything, Penrith appeared lazy in defence in the opening 20 minutes last weekend. If anyone can sense laziness in a defensive line, it’s Thurston.

For Penrith to win on Monday night, they need to announce their intentions in the opening minutes. Big, tough tackles.

Powerful hit-ups. They need to let North Queensland know that they’re here to play.

To that end, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has moved to strengthen his starting side.

The hard working Jeremy Latimore starts the game in the front row while Issah Yeo is in the second row.

Isaac John and James Segeyaro both return from injury, but the Panthers will be without Brent Kite and Lewis Brown.

The Cowboys named the same side that beat Melbourne on Monday, adding Kelepi Tanginoa to an extended bench.

TIP: PANTHERS BY 10

33 the western weekender • extra time » Friday 3 April 2015

FEATURE STORY

Meet Penrith’s Mr Reliable A star in the making, Apisai Koroisau says he’s happy biding his time, filling in when needed, as he finds his feet at the Panthers

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

A

pisai Koroisau has made a name for himself in recent times as being the ultimate fill-in.

Last October he famously filled in for suspended South Sydney hooker Issac Luke in the 2014 Grand Final, while last weekend Koroisau made his Panthers debut filling in for injured dummy half James Segeyaro.

Speaking with Extra Time on Tuesday morning, the 22-year-old admitted that he doesn’t mind being called upon at the last minute and always keeps his phone off ‘silent’ awaiting that next call.

“I just shape my mentality to do what I need to do for the team. The team comes first and I really don’t mind filling in, to be honest,” Koroisau said.

“When Ivan called me up last week saying I needed to play because James hurt his lip, my emotions started running pretty high. I was really excited and ready to get out there.

“I’m really enjoying myself at Penrith at the moment which helps with not playing first grade each week. I’m happy.”

After 14 first grade games with South

Sydney, including one Grand Final, Koroisau left the Rabbitohs a premiership winner and joined the Panthers on a twoyear deal this season.

Koroisau said he often reflects on his time at the famous Redfern club but will never regret leaving for an opportunity out west.

“To an extent I do miss the place, there’s only so many times you’re going to win a Grand Final with your team and I was fortunate enough to do that,” he said.

“I really do miss the boys and what we went through that year but, at the same time, I’m moving on and really enjoying myself.”

Koroisau said both clubs have their similarities and differences but one thing he loves most about his time at Penrith is, oddly, the training.

“It’s fun,” he admitted.

“They throw in a lot of games, you get a lot of days off to rest and they look after me well here, I really appreciate that.

“I’ve only been here five or six months but it’s been amazing. I’ve already had one opportunity so far and I’m still looking to learn and progress my skills. Hopefully I can do that here.”

Barring injury or poor form to James Segeyaro, Koroisau will most likely play

Apisai Koroisau Photo: Melinda Jane most of his first season at Penrith biding his time in the NSW Cup, but one thing’s certain, when his number is called, he’ll be ready.

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PANTHER RUMBLINGS

SEND YOUR PANTHERS GOSSIP AT NEWS@WESTERNWEEKENDER.COM.AU

with the

Masked Panther

PANTHERS HAVE BAD MONDAY BLUES Penrith fullback Matt Moylan with a copy of the Weekender at Southlands

» A worrying statistic has emerged about Penrith’s ability to back up from Monday night games. The last 10 times the Panthers have played on a Monday, they haven’t backed up and won the following weekend. It continued last weekend with the side unable to produce a victory against the Knights after playing the Roosters the Monday prior. “The game we had on Monday night was easily the toughest game we’ve had. Today was a 3pm game so it’s almost a four and a half day turnaround with travel as well so it’s a fairly big ask,” Coach Ivan Cleary said after the loss last Saturday. Penrith play the Cowboys on Monday, which makes for a worrying match against Manly the following weekend.

» Penrith fullback Matt Moylan is a

fantastic player, and he’s also got great taste in newspapers. We spotted the NSW Blues prospect at Southlands Shopping

Centre last Thursday, where he was catching up on some light reading. Moylan was at Southlands to meet with fans and sign autographs.

» Trent Merrin has ruled out a mid-

season switch to the Panthers, despite rumours suggesting it was being considered. Rumours about Merrin coming to the Panthers earlier than expected were swirling around rugby league circles after the Dragons lost their opening two matches of the season. Since then things have settled down and Merrin has categorically ruled out a mid-season switch.

» Panthers playmaker Jamie Soward has

joined the wacky world of Twitter. He started his tweeting career with extensive praise of Australia’s World Cup victory in the cricket last Sunday. You can follow him by searching for @sowwowofficial on Twitter.

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» Happy Birthday to big Nigel Plum, who turned 32 on Tuesday. As a birthday present, Ivan Cleary named him to make his return to first grade this Monday.

» Yesterday (April 2) marked a very

special day in Panthers history. It was on April 2, 1967 when Penrith played their first ever premiership match. The game was against the Canterbury Bulldogs and Penrith lost 15-12 at Belmore Sports Ground.

» Monday will mark the first time

Lachlan Coote has returned to Penrith Stadium since leaving the club at the end of the 2013 season. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets from Penrith fans on Monday night.

» I can assure you that Adam Docker

will not be at the Panthers next season.

Expect an announcement soon.

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Future looks bright, says Kite Penrith’s front row will look very different next season but the retiring Brent Kite believes the future is in good hands

number of key positions but Kite strongly believes that the 25-year-old was poached by the Panthers to fill one of the two vacant prop spots.

“Oh for sure [he’ll play prop] especially after losing a couple of older props like Plummy and I,” he said.

“It’s probably a position that they’re looking to bolster and they’ll do that with Trent and some of the kids coming through.”

The former Manly forward joined the Panthers on a two-year deal last season after winning a number of premierships on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Kite always envisioned that these two years in Penrith would be the last of his long and illustrious playing career.

“I’d like to get into coaching next, I sort of want to start that part of my career off as soon as I can,” he revealed.

“The old body and joints are starting to feel it now. Recovery takes longer and I don’t feel 100 per cent ready to go until about half an hour before kick off.”

Penrith will most likely go into 2016 with Merrin and Sam McKendry as the starting props, with a new deal likely for off-contract workhorse Jeremy Latimore.

Sam Anderson will also be pushing for a place in the squad.

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

P

enrith Panthers prop Brent Kite believes the club will be in good hands heading into the future despite he and fellow prop Nigel Plum calling it quits at the end of the 2015 season.

The Panthers will not only lose plenty of size and power with the loss of Kite and Plum next season but they’ll also lose nearly 500 games of experience in their front line.

Kite is an NRL veteran who played his 300th first grade game last year.

Speaking with Extra Time, Kite said he was confident that the Panthers would be just fine leading into the 2016 season and beyond.

“They’ve got a big buy in Trent Merrin coming with rep experience, which is what we need here,” he said.

“As well as that, the mixture of youth and home grown talent coming through will develop which is part of the plan.”

Merrin, who is currently serving his final year at the St George Illawarra Dragons, signed with the Panthers early last month.

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday 3 April 2015

FEATURE STORY

PANTHERS POSTER

Friday 3 April 2015 « the western weekender • extra time

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Friday 3 April 2015 « the western weekender • extra time

38

KEV’S KORNER

WITH KEVIN KINGSTON

T TAYLOR IS PENRITH’S X-FACTOR

here are two kinds of rugby league players out there.

There’s the guys you see on the back page of the paper and all over the TV, and they’re usually the guys scoring spectacular tries or slotting last minute field goals to win games.

And then there are the understated heroes who run out onto that footy field week in, week out, giving everything they have to an 80 minute game, without the glamorous write-ups the next day.

I am a massive fan of the latter.

They may not get the headlines or the media deals or the big dollars, but you can’t win a football match without them.

For every Cameron Smith, there’s a Ryan Hinchcliffe toiling away in the background, waiting in the wings to make sure his playmaker has whatever he needs to get the job done.

Cronulla’s Jeff Robson is the steadying influence in his team, and he rarely lets anyone down.

While Matt Ballin is a coach’s dream at Manly – you know exactly what you’re going to get with him.

At the Panthers, it’s Elijah Taylor, and he is one of the best I’ve seen.

He is at the top of the list when it comes to behind-the-scenes statistics that the average punter doesn’t get to see.

He is a vital cog in the Penrith wheel, but because he isn’t scoring acrobatic tries or kicking sideline conversions, a lot of the work he does goes unnoticed.

You only have to look at his tackling rate to see how hard he works.

Elijah Taylor is an understated hero for the Panthers These understated players line up alongside some of the most talked about rugby league stars going around and they are the counter-balance that makes a team work on, and off the field.

You can’t have 17 superstars in a side – it just won’t work.

You always need someone to steady the ship and players like these are what drive a team to success.

Every successful team of course has a star player there somewhere, but the real key to success is having balance and understated heroes.

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CLUB

PD

W

D

L

B

F

A

+/-

PTS

4

4

0

0

0

86

60

+26

8

2 Roosters

4

3

0

1

0

108

56

+52

6

3 Rabbitohs

4

3

0

1

0

106

67

+39

6

4 Bulldogs

4

3

0

1

0

91

72

+19

6

5 Broncos

4

3

0

1

0

84

76

+8

6

6 Panthers

4

2

0

2

0

90

64

+26

4

7 Storm

4

2

0

2

0

87

64

+23

4

8 Eels

4

2

0

2

0

99

89

+10

4

9 Warriors

4

2

0

2

0

77

70

+7

4

10 W. Tigers

4

2

0

2

0

71

67

+4

4

11 Dragons

4

2

0

2

0

42

58

-16

4

12 Raiders

4

1

0

3

0

56

94

-38

2

13 Sea Eagles

4

1

0

3

0

52

92

-40

2

14 Titans

4

1

0

3

0

60

101

-41

2

15 Cowboys

4

1

0

3

0

58

105

-47

2

16 Sharks

4

0

0

4

0

62

94

-32

0

1

Knights

Extra Time Issue Number 005 PRINTED BY Spotpress Pty Ltd / PRODUCED BY The Western Weekender EDITOR Troy Dodds / 4722 2998 / troy.dodds@westernweekender.com.au SALES MANAGER Simon Gould / 4722 2998 simon.gould@westernweekender.com.au

ROUND 5 Bulldogs v Rabbitohs Friday, April 3, 4pm ANZ Stadium Titans v Broncos Friday, April 3, 8.30pm Cbus Super Stadium Sea Eagles v Raiders Saturday, April 4, 5.30pm Albury Knights v Dragons Saturday, April 4, 7.30pm Hunter Stadium Roosters v Sharks Sunday, April 5, 4pm Allianz Stadium Eels v Tigers Monday, April 6, 3pm ANZ Stadium Storm v Warriors Monday, April 6, 5pm AAMI Park Panthers v Cowboys Monday, April 6, 7pm Pepper Stadium

COVER SHOT: Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston. Photo: NRL Photos.

‘

FAN OF THE WEEK Years supporting the Panthers: 25 years Favourite current Panther and exPanther? Nigel Plum and Tony Puletua Maitland Why do you support the Panthers?

I support the Panthers because when I began to get re-interested in league in the early 90’s it was an area that I had lived in for some time. I like that it is a community based team, with strong links to the Blue Mountains, Penrith and the greater west of Sydney.

What’s your best Panthers memory?

The 2003 Grand Final and last year’s semi final win over the Sydney Roosters.

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday 3 April 2015

NRL LADDER & FIXTURES

Friday 3 April 2015 « the western weekender • extra time

40

HOLDEN CUP

BY NATHAN TAYLOR

NSW CUP

@natetaylor87

BY STEW MOSES

@TheRiffMarn

NEWCASTLE TOO GOOD AS PANTHERS LOOK TO RETURN TO THE WINNERS LIST AGAINST COWBOYS

AGONISING LOSS AFTER THE SIREN LEAVES PENRITH SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

It was an unhappy road trip to Newcastle for Penrith’s Holden Cup side after they were blown off the park by the Knights 34-8.

The Panthers were never in the match from the get-go with the Knights blowing out to an 18-0 lead early in the first half.

With just over 11 minutes to go before the break, Penrith finally got on the board through winger Joshua Jay, who received a great cut out pass to score in the corner.

Penrith missed the conversion and went into half-time down by 14.

When both sides entered the field for the second half, there was a hope among Penrith fans around the ground that they could perhaps claw themselves back into the match. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be with the Knights adding to their try tally seven minutes in.

Down 22-4 and seemingly done and dusted for the game, the Panthers showed they had some fight still left in them.

After getting the ball up to the 10m line, Panthers centre Christian Crichton drove hard towards the in-goal before being met by several Newcastle defenders. Crichton managed to offload the ball to Jay on the wing to score his second of the game.

But the morning belonged to the home side who ran in two more tries before the

Newcastle avenged their grand final loss to Penrith in perhaps the most unusual of circumstances after a Chad Redman penalty goal after the siren gifted the Knights an 18-16 win. Newcastle no doubt breathed a sigh of relief given they were nearly made to pay for their failure to put Penrith to the sword in the opening half such was the ineptness of the Panthers’ performance.

While Penrith made several changes to the side named mid-week, most noticeably the late inclusion of George Jennings and David Simmons, their inclusion failed to spark the Panthers and they trailed 16-0 at half-time. Penrith’s statistics in the first half told the story; errors 9-5, line breaks conceded 3-1 and penalties conceded 5-1, meaning the Panthers only completed 8 of 16 sets.

Whatever Garth Brennan said to his team at half-time seemed to work as Penrith held the Knights scoreless for all but the full-time siren and showed much better respect for possession.

By the 76th minute, scores were level thanks to tries to Nu’u Akeripa and Rodney Coates, who did fantastically well to finish off a well worked try from halfway, and Sam Scarlett.

However a play the ball error shortly

The Panthers in action last week full-time siren to well and truly seal the deal.

Tryscorers for Newcastle included Brock Lamb, Dylan Phythian, Jack Cogger, Josh Birch and Daniel Levi.

This Easter Monday afternoon the eighth-placed Panthers will return to Pepper Stadium to take on the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 5 of the Holden Cup. Last week the Cowboys thrashed the Melbourne Storm 50-6 and currently sit in second position on the Holden Cup premiership ladder.

If Penrith are going to beat North Queensland at home this Monday, then coach Cameron Ciraldo and his assistant Kevin Kingston better get their side’s defence in order, otherwise they could be punished for the second straight week.

after the kick-off gave the Knights vital possession inside Penrith’s half with just a minute remaining. Having seen off one field-goal attempt, the Panthers then defused Carlos Tuimavave’s effort on the siren only for referee Daniel Olford to rule the Panthers were accidentally offside in retrieving the ball and gifted Redman the winning penalty goal from 15 metres out.

With that loss, Penrith go into this Saturday’s game against the Wests Tigers looking to avoid three losses in a row for the first time since playing in the NSW Cup under the Panthers brand. The Tigers themselves will be smarting from their first loss of the season against the undefeated Mounties and will be tough opponents for Penrith especially out in the backs with the likes of David Nofoaluma, Delouise Hoeter, Keith Lulia, Tim Moltzen and Josh Drinkwater.

In team news, Penrith welcomes back from injury James Fisher-Harris, while Brendan Attwood starts the game at lock. Chris Smith and Andy Saunders both revert back to the bench.

Provided the Panthers can replicate their second half form against Newcastle for the entire game they will be confident of getting the job done.

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o I said to big Wests Tigers prop Keith Galloway the other day, “Hey Keefy, mate, what do you think of this idea of reducing the interchange and maybe going back to playing 80 minutes?” and he says with a dead pan face, “I’ve never played 80 minutes, mate, I don’t know what that’d be like”.

Can you believe it? Big Keefy has never played a full 80 minutes of footy!

I guess when you think about it it’s not that hard to believe in the modern era.

It did make me think though that so many players today have never experienced that ‘out on your feet’ feeling when you’ve literally got nothing more to give at full-time.

I admit I’m a bit of a dinosaur from the 80’s but, boy, do I miss that gladiatorial aspect of the game.

It brings back images of the great Ray Price looking like he’d been to war by the end of a contest.

Hero is a word often over used in sport but, boy, old Pricey sure was one to me for his courage and effort.

When was the last time we saw that?

S

State of Origin, sometimes, comes close.

These days players look as fresh in the last five minutes as they did in the first.

So hip hip hooray to the NRL for proposing a reduction of the interchange from 10 to eight or even six. Yes, go all the way to six and even further I say!

Why is it a good idea? We will get defences breaking down with fatigue and with that we will get more broken play footy which is the best footy.

Smaller skilful players will show more of their flair. It’s when the great tries are scored and when heroics both in defence and attack occur.

You’ll get more amazing moments like Scott Sattler’s tackle in the 2003 Grand Final. He just wasn’t supposed to be there and pulled off a classic Grand Final moment.

So, yes, get the interchange down for next season and with it we will get the game as it’s meant to be – exciting, unpredictable and in an arena where dare I say it, heroes and legends can again be born.

41

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Peter Anderson Harvey Norman 4737 5111

EELS

34

STORM PANTHERS

RABBITOHS

RABBITOHS

RABBITOHS

RABBITOHS

RABBITOHS

BRONCOS

BRONCOS

BRONCOS

BRONCOS

TITANS

SEA EAGLES

SEA EAGLES

RAIDERS

SEA EAGLES

RAIDERS

KNIGHTS

KNIGHTS

KNIGHTS

KNIGHTS

DRAGONS

ROOSTERS

ABL Tile & Bathroom EELS Centre 9623 0499

26

30

Stanton & Taylor 0414 993 777

ROOSTERS

BRONCOS

WARRIORS

Rhys and Aiden

PANTHERS

EELS

KNIGHTS

Michael Taylor

RABBITOHS

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Redback Auto 4731 1110

STORM

Auto Masters 4731 5888

ROOSTERS

BRONCOS

STORM

David Landrigan

EELS

DRAGONS

Norm Hardy

RABBITOHS

KNIGHTS

Darren Latty

ROOSTERS

WARRIORS PANTHERS

Kaiden, Brodie, Nikki Dickies Towing 4736 4400

38

ROOSTERS EELS WARRIORS PANTHERS

John Todd Penrith BEC 4721 5011

32

ROOSTERS EELS STORM PANTHERS

Vic Shipley Power Smart 0415 982 093

30

ROOSTERS EELS STORM PANTHERS

NRL Footy Show Channel Nine

EELS

32

STORM PANTHERS

EE FR Y

ER

LIV

DE

SMITH PRODUCE

ROOSTERS

Erin Molan

• 6 types of wood • 7 Days Credit Cards accepted

2073 Castlereagh Rd, Penrith (behind Action Autos) MOB: 0437 262 143

PH: 4730

6000

WW16840

the western weekender • extra time » Friday 3 April 2015

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