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Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

PANTHER RUMBLINGS

with the Masked Panther

CAT SUIT SHELVED » This is your first look at the new outfits the Penrith Panthers cheerleaders will be wearing this season. The Pantherettes will debut the new look against the Roosters on Saturday night, moving away from the ‘catsuit’ concept that was introduced a few years ago. The rationale behind the change is the Pantherettes wanted to do more spectacular athletic and acrobatic routines. It couldn’t be done in the old outfits, which looked good, but weren’t practical in terms of throwing people in the air.

» Finally some good news for Panthers

forward Bryce Cartwright. After leaving the field with an ankle injury early in the clash against the Tigers last weekend, Cartwright had scans to confirm what had gone wrong and received a positive diagnosis from doctors. There’s no fracture in the ankle – just bone bruising. That means Cartwright won’t be out for long and could even play against the Roosters on Saturday night.

» A final word on the Cartwright drama

from earlier this month. I’m told that several media organisations strongly considered naming ‘Miss X’ last week once her identity became known throughout social media as well as the mainstream news media. However, the timing just wasn’t right with International Women’s Day creating a significant stumbling block given the topic at the core of the situation.

» Reporters with camera crews and wild-

life are not the only things the players have to dodge over at the Panthers Rugby League Academy. I’m told that Asian tourists are regular unannounced visitors to the facility. They tend to be staying in groups at the Mercure Hotel and stumble across the Academy as part of their morning walks. They also love taking photos – so keep an eye out for a scoop to come from the most surprising of places at some point in the future.

» Spotted: Viliame Kikau enjoying a

FIRST LOOK: The brand new Penrith Panthers cheerleader outfits pre-match feed at Nutrition Station last Sunday morning. Just hours later he would make his debut for the Panthers and score a great try. His dining partner for breakfast was none other than former Panther Suaia Matagi, who is now playing for the Eels.

» The Panthers are looking at ways to

reward Members who turn up to every home game over the course of a season. Only a few hundred people actually attended every match at Pepper Stadium last year and Panthers officials are hoping to increase that number in 2017. The Membership team was desperately trying to get a loyalty program up and running for this season, which would reward Members who attend a certain amount of games with things such as food and merchandise vouchers. Watch this space!

» The NRL produced a Twitter blunder last week – declaring that the Roosters

and Rabbitohs were set to play this weekend. That would have left the Panthers very lonely at Pepper Stadium on Saturday night.

» Blues legends Steve Roach, Tommy

Raudonikis and Steve Menzies will join NSW coach Laurie Delay for a major event at St Marys Leagues Club in May. The Sportsmans Dinner will also feature Alex Wilson as MC, comedian Marty Fields and singer Melanie Dyer. Tickets are $150 per person and include a three course meal, beer, wine and soft drink. Call the club on 9677 7777 to purchase tickets.

» I was saddened to hear last week that

Rugby League Week magazine would be closing down. I have many prized editions in my collection at home including Royce Simmons adorning the cover soon after the 1991 Grand Final. While its demise is perhaps understandable it’s still never good to see a part of rugby league

history disappear. And no, The Mole won’t be taking over my job!

» Mark Riddell certainly did the rounds

of the NRL during his playing days, enjoying stints at the Dragons, Eels and Roosters, as well as Wigan overseas. But it seems his sons aren’t impressed with Piggy’s feats at those clubs, and have chosen to support the mighty Panthers. Riddell is actually living in this part of the world at the moment, enjoying life and earning a few dollars as part of 2GB’s Continuous Call team.

» Fox League’s Andrew Voss could be

making a Daryl Somers-like comeback to free-to-air TV. There’s talk that Fox Sports is in negotiations with Channel Seven to simulcast the Rugby League World Cup, due to be held later this year. That would open the door for Voss, whose commentary was one of the highlights of the last World Cup, to be heard on Seven.

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MATCH PREVIEW

WATCH FEATHERS FLY PANTHERS V ROOSTERS | SATURDAY, MARCH 18 • 7.00PM | PEPPER STADIUM | REFEREES: GRANT ATKINS & CHRIS BUTLER

PANTHERS 1

Matt Moylan (c)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 19 21

Dean Whare Waqa Blake Tyrone Peachey Dylan Edwards Te Maire Martin Nathan Cleary James Tamou Peter Wallace Reagan Campbell-Gillard Bryce Cartwright Isaah Yeo Trent Merrin James Fisher-Harris Leilani Latu 16 Viliame Kikau Sitaleki Akauola 18 M Leota Tim Browne 20 Peta Hiku Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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ROOSTERS

Viliame Kikau scores a try against the Tigers last weekend. Photo: Megan Dunn

TROY DODDS @troydodds

he Penrith Panthers finally make their debut at Pepper Stadium on Saturday night as they prepare to settle in for a run that will see them only have to travel once between now and late April. After brushing aside their round one form to demolish the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium last Sunday, the Panthers would be feeling confident as they prepare to take on the undefeated competition heavyweights in the shape of the Sydney Roosters. It is a game that promises so much, with both sides considered legitimate Premiership hopes and both displaying in equal

measure their strengths and weaknesses over the first two weeks of the new season. And just to add a little something extra to the contest, the winner of this game will grab some bragging rights with the ledger split at 17 wins each out of the 34 games these sides have played against each other since the NRL was formed in 1998. Along that journey the Panthers have won the games that mattered – the 2003 Grand Final being the highlight, while the 2014 Finals win at Allianz Stadium is something every Penrith fan keeps in their memory bank. The past is just that, however, and both the Panthers and Roosters very much have squads that are all about the future. The Roosters obviously edge the Panthers on experience and certainly this Saturday’s clash will test Penrith’s youth against a side that can make you pay for defensive lapses, particularly up the

middle. With Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Dylan Napa up front, the Roosters are a formidable force. The loss of Blake Ferguson is significant for the Roosters but they still offer a potent backline with plenty of points in it, and a halves pairing that is proving more than capable of creating the opportunities that backline needs. Penrith improved all over the park against the Tigers but they will still need to improve. James Tamou showed glimpses of his Cowboys form last weekend but will need to lift again this week, as will Trent Merrin who was vastly improved in round 2 compared to his opening round effort against the Dragons. If you accept that the game is pretty evenly matched, then you have to ask where the flaws are in the Roosters to ensure Penrith can capitalise on them and sneak home.

Michael Gordon

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 18 20

Daniel Tupou Latrell Mitchell Joseph Manu Shaun Kenny-Dowall Luke Keary Mitchell Pearce Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Jake Friend (c) Dylan Napa Bryce Cordner (c) Mitchell Aubusson Aidan Guerra Isaac Liu 15 Zane Tetevano Ryan Matterson 17 C Watson Chris Smith 19 Paul Carter Lindsay Collins 22 M Cornish

While their opening wins against the Titans and the Bulldogs were no doubt impressive, I do have some question marks over their intensity for the full 80 minutes. In fact it’s important to note that the Roosters have actually lost the second half in both of their opening games and came close to getting run down by Canterbury last Thursday night. The Panthers on the other hand showed against the Tigers that they can maintain their ‘on switch’ for the full 80 – unfortunately they couldn’t find it against the Dragons the week before. The Panthers also boast the better bench, and the Roosters will be given very little reprieve from the forward onslaught with James Fisher-Harris, Leilani Latu and newcomer Viliame Kikau all ready to come on after the initial stages. This promises to be an absolute belter. Tip: Panthers by 2

Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

FEATURE

TOUGH UP FRONT NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

fter a lackluster performance in the opening round, Penrith’s forward pack showed the competition what they are truly made of against the Wests Tigers last Sunday afternoon. On the back of an impressive debut from Fijian monster Viliame Kikau and high energy minutes from James Fisher-Harris and Sitaleki Akauola, Penrith dominated the Tigers through the middle and defended like their life depended on it. New recruit James Tamou – who ran for 142 metres against the Tigers as opposed to 80 metres against the Dragons the week before – said he and his fellow forwards met with coaching staff prior to last weekend’s game to discuss how they

were going to turn things around after the opening round debacle. “We sat down and had a talk about it, but we didn’t see it as a crisis or anything like that,” he revealed to Extra Time. “We knew what the problem was, we knew what we had to do. It was just talking about it and putting it into action on the park, and I believe we did that.” Tamou wasn’t the only Panthers forward to improve on their opening round performance, with Trent Merrin and Reagan Campbell-Gillard also cracking the 100 metres run mark and looking their usual selves. For the Cowboys premiership winner though, he blamed nerves for his uninspiring debut with his new club. “My performance this week was a lot better than Round 1,” Tamou admitted. “I’d have to put it down to nerves in that first game, I hadn’t felt like that for a while.” One player who didn’t show any signs of

Journalist Nathan Taylor speaks with James Tamou on Monday. Photo: Melinda Jane nerves in his debut NRL game was 21-yearold Fijian prop Viliame Kikau. Scoring a try and running for 70 metres, the former North Queensland youngster was the star attraction in Penrith’s 36-2 flogging of the Tigers. Tamou, who once mentored Kikau at the Cowboys, labelled it one of the most impressive first grade debuts he’s ever seen. “It was an impressive debut alright, I haven’t seen one like that in a while,” he said. “We all know what he is capable of… he’s

a big boy, he’s got good footwork, he can offload and hit hard. “He had a few injuries last year and hadn’t enjoyed a full pre-season with Penrith yet, so that would’ve done him good.” The Panthers will look for back to back wins when they take on the Sydney Roosters this Saturday night at Pepper Stadium. With the Roosters undefeated to start the year, Tamou said Penrith are going to have their hands full. “They are a good side, a really good side,” he said.

WW24699

Drug testing is strong in rugby league

JAMIE SOWARD

he Tim Simona story has blown up this week but I can’t stress enough that it only blew up after someone was caught betting against their own team. Tim’s story rocked the rugby league world on Sunday when he openly admitted to using illicit drugs during his playing career. The thing we need to remember is that Tim’s case is an isolated one, because he decided to tell his story. Plenty of people deal with private issues in their own way but Tim’s decided to come clean to the public, and that’s how he’s coping with it. But to create a rugby league issue by saying players are taking illicit drugs on weekends and looking for that long turnaround to get away with it is absolute rubbish. I can personally say I’ve never been involved with a club or known players that go out and do illicit drugs. Yes, players are entitled to downtime and it’s up to them how they represent themselves and their brand, but we’ve got to remember that one person’s reputation is on the line and there’s a lot of influential

kids reading these articles. Tim was dealing with his issues of gambling and his drug use only became public on the back of that. Tim’s dealing with this situation in his own way, and this is how he’s getting through it. The NRL has strict drug testing in place and, if you decide to run that risk and get caught, then that’s your career down the gurgler. There are a number of drug testing scenarios that take place at clubs. One of the big tests is with WADA – the World Anti Doping Agency – where six blokes show up, get you to pull down your pants and watch you urinate into a cup from start to finish. The NRL also run their own drug tests every year as do the clubs themselves. The club will randomly pick out 10 names and someone at the club is trusted to watch the process take place (similar to the WADA drug test). Players could get tested 10 weeks in a row – there’s no limit to how many times you get tested – so if you’re going out on a Friday night, do illicit drugs and get caught on a Monday then you’re an idiot.

I’m happy with the drugs policy in place by the NRL, but I think we need to deal with each case as it comes. Thankfully, we are not getting 10 players caught every year.

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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I don’t want to come across as hypocritical but we’ve got to be very careful that we don’t brush aside other issues of the game by suggesting the NRL has a drug problem now.

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Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

TAKING UP THE FIGHT NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

very day 12 Australian women will be diagnosed with cervical or ovarian cancer, and four of those women will sadly die. To help combat this terribly sad statistic, the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation (AGCF) works very hard to raise awareness of, and fund research for, the prevention, detection and treatment of gynaecological cancers in Australia. On Wednesday morning, the Panthers Women in League donated $41,000 to assist the AGCF in their mission to reduce the mortality rates and other impacts of these diseases on Australian women, their partners, families and the wider community. The significant funds were raised by the club during a special race day at Randwick Racecourse last year. Well-known philanthropist and AGCF ambassador Marie Sutton, who is best known for bringing the late Princess Diana to Australia back in 1996, explained why

the Foundation was so close to her heart. “I had two close friends that had Ovarian cancer and both died at a young age,” she told Extra Time. “I was really happy to get involved with the AGCF because I’ve helped out so many other causes in the past and this is one I hadn’t touched on yet. “There are so many young people dying from so many different female cancers that it’s important to do all that we can to help prevent it.” Funds were raised through various auctions during the race day, with Panthers coach Anthony Griffin even getting involved by bidding and winning a breakfast with 2GB host Alan Jones. “It was fantastic to have Panthers involved – it was a joyful and happy day, and everyone had a good time,” Ms Sutton said. “We need as much exposure as we can for the AGCF, and I’d like to do another event this year and raise even more money.” FOX League presenter Yvonne Sampson hosted Wednesday’s function at the Panthers Academy while her former colleague and Panthers boss Phil Gould is also an official AGCF ambassador.

the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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Yvonne Sampson, Leilani Latu, Marie Sutton, Di Langmack and Isaah Yeo. Photo: Melinda Jane

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Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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Friday, March 17, 2017 « the western weekender • extra time

Brought to you by

If I was tipping for my life, I’d be dead

ANDREW VOSS

have made this statement before in relation to attempting to consistently forecast the result of rugby league matches. If I were tipping for my life, I would have died many times over. There is just no such thing as a certainty in the NRL. Just the mere fact that for the last seven years we’ve had seven different premiers should set off the alarm bells that we have a bloody close competition. And week to week the old adage of any team being able to beat any other on a given day rings true. We are just two weeks into a new season and I have to admit, I’m a mess. I wrote before round one I could not remember an opening to a year where I was so uncertain about every game. I joked I should probably go the opposite of what I locked in as expert tips. I wasn’t laughing when I was 0/5 after the first handful of games. More broadly, there used to be a time when early in a season you could fall back to the system of going for the home team when in doubt. Fat lot of good that would have done you

in 2017 as the host team has only won five of the 16 games. Had the Raiders come through in golden point in week one and the Knights held on to beat the Warriors, that figure would read three of 16. And then there are the form turnarounds that can drive a tipster to despair. Look no further than the Panthers winning by 34 points last Sunday after being thrashed by 32 points just eight days earlier. My cold sweats about the thought of tipping the next round in the NRL start every Monday. I am now considering asking the editor of this fine publication to make an alteration to the tipping lists to read my tips as actually being that of my six-year-old son, Harry. He’d pick them by nickname and colours. Right now, that comes across as true expert logic to me! Follow me on Twitter @andrewvossy. Every game of every round of the 2017 NRL Telstra Premiership, plus every final in September is LIVE, ad-break free during play and in HD on FOX LEAGUE on Channel 502.

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SEASON FROM HELL

NRL PANTHERS 36 TIGERS 2

HOLDEN CUP Chris Hicks in action in 2001 TROY DODDS @troydodds

ome years, it’s easy to predict what the season ahead is going to bring. There’s a feel around the place; an indication of sorts on whether there will be smiles or tears come September. In 2001, off the back of a successful 2000 season, everyone expected the Panthers to do well. Nobody could have predicted that Penrith would finish with the wooden spoon – but that’s exactly what happened, and it would set off a chain of events that would eventually rock the club. Showing just how high expectations were in 2001, club legend Steve Carter

had knocked back big money in England because he believed the club was a realistic hope of winning the title. Things started to look shaky in the trials when Melbourne thumped Penrith 40-18 and an emerging Tony Puletua suffered a serious knee injury. In round one, Penrith were totally outplayed by arch rivals Parramatta, going down 40-4. To make matters worse, star centre Ryan Girdler was injured in the capitulation. A 38-22 loss to Brisbane followed, then a 42-34 defeat to the Northern Eagles at Penrith Stadium. It wasn’t until round four that Penrith finally put a win on the board, downing North Queensland 32-18. Two straight home loses followed – to the Bulldogs and Sharks – and with just one win from the opening six rounds, it was obvious that pre-season expectations were unlikely to be met.

With the side struggling, club officials were becoming aware of growing angst in the playing group, and with a host of stars off contract at the end of the season, they moved to offer stability by re-signing coach Royce Simmons for two years. On the field, occasional wins were overshadowed by horrific losses, including a 52-8 defeat to the Warriors at Ericsson Stadium in round nine and a 58-14 thrashing at the hands of Melbourne in round 11 at Penrith Stadium. The year then descended into a farce in August when two members of the Panthers Board met with the players without Simmons, and asked them to air their grievances. It was the beginning of the end for Simmons’ coaching career at the Panthers. After a 60-18 defeat to Newcastle in the final round, the final nail was placed in the coffin.

PANTHERS 36 TIGERS 4

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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CHRIS LAWLER

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S&L CONCRETE 0411 704 302

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MICHAEL TAYLOR

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RAINE & HORNE COMMERCIAL 4722 8500

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tr ivia 1. How many tries were scored in the 2003 Grand Final? 2. Which Panther made his NRL debut last weekend? (pictured) 3. Which former Panther is playing fullback for the Roosters this weekend at Pepper Stadium? 4. Which year did Brad Fittler make his first grade debut? 5. Who is the current Chairman of the Panthers?

ANSWERS: 1. Four 2.Viliame Kikau 3. Michael Gordon 4. 1989 5. David O’Neill

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the western weekender • extra time » Friday, March 17, 2017

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