Round 14: Warriors v Panthers preview
Resilient Warriors take on red-hot Panthers.
The Warriors and Panthers are both sides coming off Round 13 wins, against the Sea Eagles and Raiders respectively.
After so much has gone wrong this season, the men from the land of the long white cloud played their first game without Blake Green and were somehow able to overcome such adversity to beat Manly at Brookvale.
Penrith really solidified their premiership credentials in the game against the Raiders. They hadn't faced a top side in a while and to come out and put a score on Canberra was outstanding.
The Warriors' resilience against a high-flying Penrith side makes for an interesting contest set up for a Friday night on the Central Coast.
Interim coach Todd Payten has named his side that will face the Panthers, with prop Jack Hetherington out following a four-game suspension for his high shot on Martin Tapau in their win last Friday night. Lachlan Burr replaces him in that starting role. In the only other change to the side, Isaiah Papali'I comes onto the bench to fill Burr's spot.
Ivan Cleary has named an unchanged line-up for the Panthers to face the Warriors on Saturday night. This means that players such as last week's debutant Daine Laurie maintains his spot in the 17. Dylan Edwards has been added to the reserves as he works his way back from injury.
Last meeting: Round 4 2020 - Panthers 26 Warriors 0
Who to watch: The obvious answer for the Warriors is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. He loves the challenge of coming up against the big sides and is the real leader of this side. He'll have to inspire his team greatly to get them over the line in this one, so look for him to try to do just that.
Look for Api Koroisau to take advantage of the relatively inexperienced Warriors forwards with his clever work out of dummy-half. He has been doing it all season against sides and really picking some defences apart. His speed out of hooker may be tough for the Warriors to handle if they start to get on the back foot, so look forward to seeing Koroisau put in a big performance.
The favourite: The favourite for this game is without a doubt Penrith, the competition leaders.
My tip: The Warriors will bring a good attitude into this contest and the opening exchanges probably won't give an indication that Penrith will run away with the game. Gut feel says the 'home' team in this game probably just can't go with them for the full eighty. Panthers by 16.
