Round 12: Panthers v Sea Eagles preview
Desperate Penrith looking for two in a row as Manly look to bounce back.
In what can only be described as a tumultuous season to date, Penrith somehow sit just two wins outside the top eight and will be desperate to notch back to back wins for the first time this year after snapping a six game losing streak with victory over the Eels last Thursday night in arguably the scrappiest game of the 2019 season.
That win came at a cost for Ivan Cleary's men, with centre duo Dean Whare (Hamstring) and Waqa Blake (Knee) both succumbing to injuries that will put them out for an extended period.
Cleary has called upon lower grade journeyman Brent Naden to make his top grade debut who returned home to the foot of the mountains this year after failing to get a start at the Raiders and Knights in previous seasons. Isaah Yeo will make an earlier than expected return from a shoulder injury to form a makeshift centre pairing with Naden.
In the only other change, James Maloney returns from suspension and will wear the number seven jersey in the absence of Nathan Cleary (Origin).
Enjoying a promising season thus far, Manly have been punching above their weight for some time in the absence of a number of troops, but turned in their worst performance of the season last weekend losing at the hands of the Titans on home turf.
The manner of the loss was most concerning, completing at just 69% and leaking 36 points - ten more than in any other game this year. Coach Des Hasler will be looking for one more big effort from his undermanned squad before hopefully welcoming back the services of Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic from Origin duty, as well as Tom Trbojevic who nears a return from injury.
Corey Waddell will start at Lock in the absence of Trbojevic, with the imposing frame of Taniela Paseka named on the bench to play his first game of the year. In another injury blow, centre Brad Parker suffered a broken jaw last week which sees rookie Reuben Garrick moving to centre. Abbas Miski will come in to take Garrick's place on the wing.
Last meeting: Round 20 2018 - Sea Eagles 24 Panthers 28
It was one of the many wins last year where the Panthers came from behind on the scoreboard to get out of jail late. Trailing 24-6 with less than 15 minutes to play, Penrith produced four tries to snatch another comeback victory.
Who to watch: At his very best, winger Josh Mansour would be in camp with the Blues this weekend. Instead the three time Origin rep will be looking to utilise his experience in an understrength Panthers team. Struggling to get back to his best after suffering a horrific facial injury last year, Mansour was dropped for the Panthers Round 10 loss, but returned last week to produce his best performance of the season. Running for 193 metres, the former Kangaroo was instrumental in providing the field position needed for his team. Look for that to be his new base as he strives to get back to his best.
After ten games playing from the interchange, rookie forward Corey Waddell will make his run-on debut this Thursday night in a just reward for his strong start to his career. A hard worker in both attack and defence, Waddell also has a touch of ball playing in his game, producing try assists in back to back games earlier this year. It will be both a proud and emotional moment for the son of former Penrith and Illawarra prop Steve, who tragically passed away from a heart attack when Corey was just 15 years old.
The favourite: Manly's loss last start and the absence of Trbojevic and Parker have evened things right up here and the bookies can't split the two teams.
My tip: Both teams are well down on troops and the Panthers win last week was anything but convincing. The Sea Eagles have more of a foundation to work off this year and if they can re-install the core values that have been working for them, expect them to bounce back here. Sea Eagles by 4.
