Match Centre

Round 1: Panthers v Broncos preview

It's an exciting time for Rugby League fans with the first round of the 2023 Premiership just around the corner. We're all more than excited to watch the return of competitive footy this weekend and for the lucky Penrith fans, they'll get to celebrate their 2022 Premiership as they watch the Panthers begin their quest for three consecutive premierships. 

It won't be the same 17 that came home with the trophy last season as the defending premiers waved goodbye to the likes of Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau during the off-season. However, the Panthers still look incredibly imposing led by Australian halfback and arguably the best player in the game, Nathan Cleary. Cleary and coach Ivan Cleary will be looking to get their season underway with a win for the fourth year running and what better place to do it than in front of their home fans at BlueBet Stadium. 

The home side is still expected to field 14 of the 17 that appeared in last year's Grand Final, with Sunia Turuva and Soni Luke promoted from within the squad and Luke Garner arriving from the Wests Tigers to round out the 17. Despite the loss of Kikau and Koroisau, the Panthers still feature a team that is expected to go deep this season and that journey starts this Friday night as they host the Brisbane Broncos. 

Soni Luke and Mitch Kenny will share the dummy-half role this season and that will be where the question marks lie for this club in 2023. The two hookers won't be able to replicate what Koroisau has brought to the Panthers over the past few seasons, so it'll be interesting to see what they bring to the side on Friday night. Quick service to Nathan Cleary will be key for both Luke and Kenny as they aim to give the number seven the time and space to work his magic against Brisbane's defence. His halves partner Jarome Luai has lost his left edge weapon in Kikau and this could leave the door open for Luai to explore the Broncos' defence line himself or to use his outside weapons in Luke Garner and Izack Tago in a less predictable way compared to having Kikau line up outside him.  

The aforementioned Turuva claims the vacant spot on the wing, created by a season ending injury to Taylan May, giving the young Fijian a great opportunity to lock down a spot in this side and gain some first-grade experience before Stephen Crichton departs at the end of the season.

The Panthers are going to be a difficult matchup for the Broncos who come into the season looking to go one better than their ninth placed finish last year. They'll be without star signing Reece Walsh this weekend, who is out with a fractured eye socket but fortunately for the Broncos, they've got a young star in Selwyn Cobbo who will wear the number one this Friday night.

Led by captain Adam Reynolds, the Broncos will be looking to bring the game to the Panthers and show the back-to-back premiers that one, going for that third straight title won't be an easy task and two, the Broncos are here to compete for the top eight. Whether or not the latter will come true, is hard to say at this stage, but a win against the Panthers would give this side the confidence to play great footy for the duration of the season.

The majority of their side returns from the 2022 season which will be beneficial for their combinations, in particular, the combination between Reynolds and Ezra Mam in the halves. They showed glimpses last year of linking together well but with another pre-season under their belt, they should have an improved understanding of each other's games which can only help the Broncos for 2023. 

It'll be interesting to see how they compete with the Panthers considering they haven't beat Penrith since 2019. However, the Broncos still have some very good players at their disposal and the younger members of the squad should hypothetically have improved. The addition of Martin Taupau to the bench should add some experience to this young forward pack, although it's worth watching how he performs after turning 33 in February.  
A member of the Samoan World Cup side, the 33-year-old Taupau will make his debut for the Broncos with Jesse Arthars returning to the side after spending his 2022 season on loan at the Warriors. 

Last meeting: Round 6 2022 - Panthers 40 Broncos 12

Who to watch: World Cup and Premiership winner Nathan Cleary will be looking to add to his list of honours in 2023 as he hopes to guide his Panthers' to a third successive premiership. At just only 25-years of age, Cleary has almost accomplished everything the game has to offer and that 2023 Dally M Medal would look very nice amongst the rest of his team and individual accolades. The halfback had another excellent season in 2022. Cleary assisted 18 tries in his 17 appearances, helping his side win 15 of those 17 outings. Astonishingly, Cleary has only lost five NRL matches in the past three seasons, whilst winning an incredible 53. Arguably the best player in the competition and I'm sure he'll look to make this case again this Friday. 

His opposite number in Adam Reynolds had a fine first season with the Broncos as he helped get the side from Red Hill back towards the top eight. They won half of the 20 games he appeared in and assisted 19 tries and scored six to go with it. He is one of the best kickers in the game and will look to kick to the corners as the Broncos try and start their defensive sets strongly. He's got weapons to utilise in the backline, most notably, Origin representatives in Selwyn Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs. His ability to get them involved in the game will go a long way to determining whether the Broncos can get past that strong Panthers defence. 

The favourite: Penrith are the favourites entering this clash on Friday night and it's no surprise that they are. They've beaten the Broncos in their past four outings and haven't lost to their opponents for Friday at BlueBet Stadium since 2009.

My tip: I can't go past the Panthers for this Friday. After their loss to St. Helens in the World Club Challenge, they'll be looking to show everyone that they're still one of the dominant teams in the competition. The Broncos will be no pushover, but the Panthers are expecting to kick-off their quest for that third successive title with a win on Friday night. Panthers by 12.