Match Centre

Round 18: Panthers v Eels preview

Eels look to do the double against Western Sydney rivals

The less-than-convincing Eels may not be in the same tier as the Storm or Roosters but this is the closest the Panthers are going to get to either. With the Cowboys and Bulldogs in the next fortnight and an uninspiring performance against the Broncos behind them, Penrith will get their only taste of genuine finals football this week. For all we know, they may have already been looking one week ahead last Thursday night when the uncharacteristic dropped balls came against Brisbane. This is the one game that the Panthers would circle with a red felt pen any year. This season though the Western Sydney derby takes on even greater importance. You see, for all their dominance this year there is still one mark against Penrith's name in 2020. Sure, there was the 14-all draw with Newcastle but the one loss, the one time that they fell short was against Parramatta. The last team they would want to have those bragging rights, especially when you consider it was a former Panther in Waqa Blake who single-handedly dragged the Eels out of a 10-0 deficit. Penrith are full strength, well-rested and almost have the minor premiership locked in. There are no excuses. If this is their preparation for the finals, they need to make it count. 

Parramatta, on the other hand, have plenty of reasons to roll over. They are taking on the hottest side in the competition and coming off an underwhelming month which saw them thumped by South Sydney and scrape past a plucky Warriors side in a game overshadowed by a contentious sin-binning. There's no Dylan Brown again and Reed Mahoney is under an injury cloud. Then there's also a five-day turnaround to contend with. Parramatta will need all their energy to match it with Penrith's ferocious forward pack. They have to take it personally. There's no doubt they will with former Panther Reagan Campbell-Gillard returning to his old stomping ground and you don't have to ask Nathan Brown to fire up. The pack is never going to be the problem though. It's their vulnerable edge defence which is a concern. The form of Mitchell Moses is also a worry. Nathan Cleary, even in an ordinary outing last week, still had two try assists and importantly came up with the right plays late as Brisbane surged home. How will Moses stand up under pressure without his regular halves partner? He'll have to do it in the finals if Brown can't make a comeback so he might as well get some practice now.

Last meeting: Round 5 2020 - Eels 16 Panthers 10

Who to watch: Stephen Crichton was relatively quiet for his standards against Brisbane last week. A lack of early ball contributed to that but you can be made sure it won't be the case this week. Parramatta's edges have a habit of rushing out in defence and that is especially true for his opposite man Waqa Blake. The former Panther taught Crichton a lesson the last time they met but the youngster has lifted dramatically since then and will be looking to get one-up on Blake this time around.

Coming off a five-day turnaround, the key for the Eels will be energy and aggression. If they fail to match the Panthers for intent early they could be blown away like they were against Souths. That comes back to lock forward Nathan Brown. He troubled the Panthers the last time they met with his speed and change of direction when hitting the ball up. Some of Penrith's middles tired last week before Spencer Leniu and Zane Tetevano came on to provide a much-needed boost. Brown needs to set the tone early with his aggressive style in defence. If he can get under Penrith's skin he could unsettle their usually consistent pack and gain Parramatta an early advantage.

The favourite: Penrith are well-backed to make it 13 in a row.

My tip: This is a big game for the Panthers. Sure, they've won 12-straight games but this is against their biggest rivals and the same team that handed them their only loss of the year. It will be a tight tussle up until the 60th minute before the five-day turnaround will leave Parramatta without enough in the tank. Panthers by 12.