Round 22: Panthers v Storm preview
The Panthers will hope to essentially secure the minor premiership with a win at BlueBet Stadium as they take on the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night.
Despite missing both Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary, the Panthers showed the class that they possess as they defeated the Canberra Raiders by 20-points on Saturday. New halves duo, Jaeman Salmon and Sean O'Sullivan did well to direct the team around the park despite their limited time in the top grade, showing the importance of spending time in a system like Penrith's. They'll be looking to do the same this Thursday albeit against a better side in the Melbourne Storm. A big thing for Penrith, is the fact that much of their team remains intact so the Storm will still have the likes of Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o, Apisai Koroisau and Isaah Yeo to contend with.
Those four and the rest of the senior playing group stepped up in Luai and Cleary's absence, making sure that the club continues their good form before they begin their title defence in September. They may only need one win to secure the minor premiership for the second time under Ivan Cleary and what better way to do it than a win over Craig Bellamy and the Melbourne Storm. Yeo, Koroisau and Edwards will be pivotal for the Panthers this weekend, and they'll look to dismantle an injury-ravaged Storm side. Yeo in particular, will be a key weapon for Penrith and his trademark digging into the line before passing will play a role in opening the Storm up out wide for their dynamite backline to attack.
The Storm have some holes in their defence, conceding the most points out of the top four sides and Penrith exposed that earlier in the season during their 32-6 win over Bellamy's side. Penrith have scored 20 points or more in all but three games this season and if they get the ball moving on Thursday night, you could expect them to continue that excellent record. They've also only conceded 20 points or more on three occasions this season, so it may take a Munster masterclass to break open the Panthers defence. Their defence way be a touch weaker with James Fisher-Harris serving a suspension. He's replaced by Matthew Eisenhuth in the starting line up and their may be a return for Viliame Kikau who is named in the reserves.
The Melbourne Storm have won multiple games in a row for the first time since June although in somewhat unconvincing fashion. They defeated the Gold Coast Titans 32-14 but after a fast start the Titans were able to get back into the game and for a 20-minute period in the second half, were only eight points behind the Storm, before they put the game to bed late in the second half. Cameron Munster was pivotal in the Storm's victory and will be their go-to man again this Thursday. They'll be without Jahrome Hughes this week, who suffered a shoulder injury against the Titans which adds to the long list of injuries that the Storm have suffered throughout the second half of the season.
Hughes was absent in the second half against the Titans on Friday night, although this didn't stop the Storm from coming away with the victory. They were easily able to move down the field as they opened up the second worst defence in the competition with relative ease. 10 of the Storm's 17 player eclipsed 100 run metres for the night, highlighted by Munster's massive 252 run metres in his first outing at fullback in years.
The Storm welcome back Nick Meaney and Justin Olam as they return from concussion and COVID respectively. They'll add some chemistry to the Storm's backline and the combination of Olam and Xavier Coates will be something the Storm halves will look to utilise in attack. It'll be a tough matchup lining up against the Penrith back five, but possessing excellent finishers in Coates and David Nofoaluma may help the Storm capitalise on their chances.
Selection wise, Young Tonumaipe'a drops out of the 17 at the expense of Olam, Munster moves back to five-eighth to accommodate Meaney and Tom Eisenhuth will start with Felise Kaufusi missing the game after the devastating news of his father passing earlier in the week. Chris Lewis is named on the bench.
Last meeting: Round 10 2022 - Storm 6 Panthers 32
Who to watch: Cameron Munster was exceptional on Friday night's win over the Titans. The makeshift fullback finished the night with three tries, two line breaks, nine tackle breaks and 252 run metres in an electric performance. The Queensland Origin star has been exceptional in 2022, playing arguably his best footy of his career, highlighted by his man of the match performance in State of Origin Game I. This season, Munster has 10 tries to his name, 13 try assists, 14 line breaks and 137.9 run metres per game. He's going to be the main weapon for the Storm as they aim for revenge against the Panthers.
In the Panthers number one jersey, Dylan Edwards has continually improved ever since his debut in 2016. Edwards is now one of the most consistent fullbacks in the competition and is having a stellar season. In 20 appearances this season, Edwards has scored a career-high seven tries, assisted a further six, broken 87 tackles and run for a career-high 222.6 run metres per game. Edwards was great against the Raiders on Saturday, running for 191 metres, breaking nine tackles and scoring a try to round out his night.
The favourite: The Panthers are the favourite for this match even without Luai and Cleary. However, the Storm aren't without their injuries, most notably Papenhuzyen and Hughes. Penrith showed they can still do it without their star halves duo and they've got the earlier victory over the Storm to give them extra confidence.
My tip: With all the injuries and omissions. It's hard to say who will come out on top, however, I expect the Panthers to be too solid all round for the Storm unless Munster can pull something out of his hat. Panthers by 10.
