Western Sydney rivals head north

PANTHERS V EELS

KEVINKINGSTON STEVE HART

CELEBRITY TIPPINGFAN OF THE WEEKLOWER GRADES

FULL NRL TABLE

LATU ADDS SOME GRUNT

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Former Panthers captain speaks about managing the long trip to Darwin

Newcomer boosts Penrith’s pack

Race to the finals heats up: Who will make it and who will miss out?

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A match between arch rivals Penrith and Parramatta is often billed as the ‘battle of the west’ but in this week-end’s case, it is anything but.

Not only is the game being played some 4,000 kilo-metres away from western

Sydney, but it sees teams 12 and 13 on the ladder come up against each other – hardly a match with any great expectations attached to it.

A bizarre scheduling mishap sees this Parramatta home game being played in Darwin and for the Eels, it will mark the end of three tough weeks on the road that has included two visits to Queensland.

The Eels do return to Sydney next week but in what is shaping as an incredibly tough month, face the Roosters and Sea Eagles away before finally returning to Pirtek Stadium in round 25.

Parramatta come into this match on the back of Monday night’s 24-14 loss to the Gold Coast. It was a game that never reached any great heights and showed that apart from the menacing Semi Radradra, the Eels pose very little threat in attack if your defence is switched on and alert.

While the Eels got plenty of metres out of their backline on Monday night, their forward pack struggled to make ground – apart from Tim Mannah who ran 162 metres in 52 minutes, made 32 tackles and never stopped trying.

The Panthers made every fan proud last weekend, producing one of their better performances of the past month against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium. The Rabbi-tohs got the chocolates in the end but the Panthers could hold their heads high after an effort that was far superior to what they’ve produced in recent games.

It was only inexperience that defeated Penrith in the end – throw a few more cool heads into that team and they would have prevailed.

As Ivan Cleary deals with yet another backline reshuffle following the season-

ending hamstring injury to Robert Jennings, the Panthers now look at the final few weeks of the competition as an opportunity to restore pride, develop new combinations and introduce new players to first grade – such as Leilani Latu who made his debut last weekend.

While the Panthers may not be playing in the finals this year (unless a minor miracle occurs), a lot can be achieved over the last month of the competition and it is important that the Panthers don’t

drop their heads. The entire rugby league community has acknowledged Penrith’s significant injury list, but the Panthers have an opportunity to prove that they can rise above adversity and sound a warning bell to the competition next season.

Against Parramatta, the Panthers need to play calm, collected football.

The Eels will crack eventually and the longer the game goes on, the more Penrith will have an opportunity to pile on the points. But silly offloads and foolish errors will only invite Parramatta into the game and give them a sniff of claiming an unlikely win.

The Panthers must contain Parramatta’s backline with a smart kicking game that slows the game down and offers very little space to the back three. That needs to come on the back of Isaac John and Jamie Soward, who combined well last weekend against the Rabbitohs.

Penrith should win, but if they are to lose, my guess is it will be because of the quality of their own game, not the opposition.

TIP: PANTHERS BY 16

TROY DODDS @troy_dodds

Sam McKendry works his way through the Parramatta defence earlier this season.

Photo: Melinda Jane

MATCH PREVIEW PANTHERS

1 Will Smith

2 Josh Mansour

3 Lewis Brown

4 Isaah Yeo

5 Waqa Blake

6 Isaac John

7 Jamie Soward

8 Sam McKendry

9 James Segeyaro

10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard

11 Sika Manu

12 Bryce Cartwright

13 Elijah Taylor

14 Tyrone Peachey

15 Jeremy Latimore

16 Leilani Latu

17 Apisai Koroisau

EELS1 Reece Robinson

2 Semi Radradra

3 Will Hopoate

4 Brad Takairangi

5 Ryan Morgan

6 Corey Norman

7 Luke Kelly

8 Junior Paulo

9 Nathan Peats

10 Tim Mannah

11 Manu Ma’u

12 Tepai Moeroa

13 David Gower

14 Pauli Pauli

15 Darcy Lussick

16 Daniel Alvaro

17 Isaac De Gois

Battle without the hype

FACT CHECK Parramatta defeated

Penrith 26-20 earlier this season

Penrith’s last trip to Darwin resulted in a win over the Gold Coast

Since 1998, Penrith and Parramatta have met 32 times with the Eels holding a slight edge, 17 wins to 15

PANTHERS V EELS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 • 7.30PM

TIO STADIUM, DARWIN

REFEREES: ADAM DEVCICH

AND MATT NOYEN

TV: FOX SPORTS LIVE 7.30PM

RADIO: 2GB LIVE 7.30PM

Brought to you by…

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» Scans have revealed the full extent of the hamstring injury suffered by Panthers outside back Robert Jennings during the loss to the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium last Sunday. Bent awkwardly in a tackle during the first half, Jennings suffered a grade three hamstring tear. The 19-year-old will not require surgery but will unfortunately be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

» The NRL has conceded that Penrith could have been awarded an eight point try after a controversial moment in the second half against the Rabbitohs, where Lewis Brown was hit by Aaron Gray, who slid across in defence leading with his knees. Had an eight point try been awarded, Penrith would have had an opportunity to level the game with two conversions, including one in front of the posts. “The situation was Jared Max-well on-field gave a try live, they went back and in the circumstances of taking a conversion, there were some replays which came up that the video refer-ees saw,” said NRL referees boss, Tony Archer. “The conversion was taken before the last replay came into view, the video referee couldn’t stop play at that stage, but initially they should’ve stopped play, checked it, because he led with the knees and made contact with the head. That was a potential eight point try.”

» It would appear a major overhaul of rugby league’s schedule is ahead, with The Daily Telegraph reporting on Tuesday that Thursday night football will become a permanent fixture from 2018, with Monday night football to be scrapped. While Monday night matches are a winner for Fox Sports, they are played in front of small crowds and do nothing for rugby league’s image. The theory is obviously that Thursday nights will still attract big TV ratings while people are more willing to head out to the footy on a Thursday rather than a Monday. Under the new agreement, it is likely that one game would be played on Thursdays, one on Fridays, three on Saturdays and three on Sundays.

» There is a rumour doing the rounds in Penrith at the moment that simply won’t go away. It suggests that the Panthers have had conversations with Todd Car-ney about a possible return to the NRL.

» Dallin Watene-Zelezniak definitely won’t be back this season after he was hospitalised again last week due to a lung problem. There had been suggestions that Watene-Zelezniak would return against the Rabbitohs last weekend but that was quickly ruled out when he suf-fered further complications of his lung issue last Friday.

» A lot has been made of the NRL’s crowd averages this season, with questions be-ing raised about “150,000 missing fans”. But those being critical are looking at short-sighted statistics that suit a particu-lar argument. NRL crowds in 2015 are far superior to those in the 1990s and 1980s, eras we often look back at through rose coloured glasses. When you consider that crowds are better today than in the 1990s despite pay television and live free-to-air footy being a part of the landscape these days, the NRL is actually travelling pretty well. Fans often cry out for the old days of “three grades in one day” and cheaper tickets, but truth is more people are go-ing to the game today than when those things existed.

» Leilani Latu made his first grade debut for the Panthers last weekend but is currently off-contract at the end of the season. As I understand it, the Panthers are currently working on a deal that will ensure he’s at the club next season.

» Panthers boss Phil Gould had a very slight jab at Channel Nine on Twitter this week, when asked why he doesn’t com-mentate Penrith games and yet Darren Lockyer and Wally Lewis often commen-tate Brisbane matches. “Because I’m ap-parently biased and they are not,” Gould said in response.

PANTHER RUMBLINGS with the Masked Panther

SEND YOUR PANTHERS GOSSIP ATNEWS@WESTERNWEEKENDER.COM.AU

ANOTHER INJURY BLOW FOR PENRITH

Robert Jennings will miss the rest of the NRL season

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He’s the Panthers player that fans have been craving for years – someone with a bit size, a bit of grunt, a bit of attitude. Someone that opposition players are afraid

to play. Whether 22-year-old front-rower Leilani

Latu can live up to those expectations long term remains to be seen, but his first grade debut against South Sydney last Sunday certainly gave fans a lot to be hopeful for.

In Latu’s first 31 minutes of NRL action, he ran 10 times for 93 metres whilst making 15 tackles – a solid debut for someone who’s walked the dreaded rugby league path of uncertainty.

Before joining Penrith last season, Latu was a member of Canterbury’s Holden Cup side where he suffered a number of serious injuries that almost ended his fledgling career.

“I had some bad luck at the Dogs with injuries. I had to deal with a broken bone in my foot, a shoulder reconstruction and a lot of cartilage had to be taken out of my knee,” Latu revealed to Extra Time.

“It’s been a long journey, at first I thought

I’d never play again after I left the Dogs but I’m blessed that Gus Gould gave me a life-line. These past two years I’ve been trying to give back to him what he gave me.”

While Latu admits it’s been a long, hard road of uncertain moments and recovery, he believes it’s made him a stronger, more well-rounded player in the process.

“It’s been a long journey but also a pleas-ant one. I’ve made lifelong friends and I’ve felt as though I’ve improved a lot over the past two years with various mentors,” he said.

One of those mentors in Latu’s corner is injured Panthers prop and two-time premiership winner Brent Kite, who’s stood by the 120kg forward ever since he arrived at the club last year.

“Kitey has been a great support and leader for myself. He’s taken me aside a lot of times and given me a lot of knowledge from his standpoint,” Latu said.

“It’s always great to take advice from some of the well-known forwards that this game has to offer and there’s none better than Kitey. I’ll take any advice I can get to help my game.”

Latu is currently contracted with the Panthers until the end of this season but if his debut is anything to go by, Penrith fans will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

“My main goal this year was to get a full season under my belt for the first time with no injuries, I’ve managed to do that so far,” Latu said.

“My second goal was to make first grade, now that I’ve tasted that – I’d certainly like to remain there.”

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

FEATURE STORY

How Gus gave Latu a lifeline

Leilani Latu. Photo: Megan Dunn

He made his first grade debut last weekend and is on the verge of a big future in the NRL, but Leilani Latu has faced his fair share of issues in getting to this point...

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KEV’S KORNER

PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING

When you have effort and attitude like our boys had on the weekend against the Rabbitohs, the wins are

not far away. The reality is the club has an above

average injury toll. Unfortunately we can’t control that.

What the boys can control is the effort and attitude they exhibit in training and in games. Rest assured when you have those two things, inevitably you will achieve the victories.

We are looking forward to this week’s game against Parramatta in Darwin but it does pose a few challenges.

Preparation is vitally important in getting a win in an unfamiliar environ-ment.

The first thing is the Darwin heat. The players’ bodies have adapted to the cold of winter here in Penrith so it will be a shock to their system – but one we’ve been training for this week.

The second thing is travel time. It’s a longer flight than the rest of our away trips through the season, which has the potential to throw out our regular routines. However this is when the professionalism of our players really

has a chance to shine through. Have no doubt the staff have worked their butts off to ensure the players have the best chance of performing well, despite the logistical challenges.

To be fair, our opposition have also faced their share of hurdles. The Eels have travelled to the Gold Coast and Townsville in the last two weeks – and now they’re on another long flight.

Having been beaten in their last three games, and coming off a Monday night clash, there will certainly be some sore bodies in the Parramatta camp.

Last time the Panthers made the trip to Darwin, we were victorious against the Titans. If the boys can replicate the effort and attitude from last weekend, I know we will be flying back to Penrith with another two points in the bag.

WITH KEVIN KINGSTON

Dedicated Panthers fans

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MEETPANTHERS LEGENDS

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FEATURE STORY

A lot has changed in the life of 19-year-old Stanton Albert over the past 12 months.

Not only did he pack his bags and move away from his native Papua

New Guinea to pursue his rugby league dream, but the bulking front-rower even went back to school.

Albert landed in Australia earlier this year after signing a two-year deal with the Penrith Panthers as a member of their Holden Cup squad.

Before arriving in the country, Albert was considered one of the best young talents to come out the rugby league-mad nation following several standout performances with the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup.

With Albert’s older brother, Wellington, already signed with Penrith, it was a virtual no-brainer for the club to also snap up his 108kg sibling.

Speaking exclusively with Extra Time, Albert said his life was turned upside down when he got the call to join the Panthers.

“It was always my dream to come to Australia and play with an NRL club, I was very happy to join the Panthers,” he said.

“When I got the call to come over I was really excited because I got to join my brother, Wellington, who was already here. I love being part of the Penrith community.”

As per Holden Cup rules, U20’s players must also be studying or working whilst playing football. With Albert forced to drop out of school early to keep up with the demands of playing rugby league in his home country, it was decided that he’d return to school to finish his education.

Albert is currently in Year 11 at McCarthy Catholic College in Emu Plains and, with his 20th birthday fast approaching, is very much the oldest kid at school.

“I came to the school midway through Term 1. It’s been a little hard to get used to but I’ve made a few friends that help me with my school work,” Albert said.

“I’m currently studying Finance, Maths, English and Carpentry. I have to say Carpentry is my favourite subject because my father is also a carpenter.”

While it’s clear Albert is missing home, he does have a lot of support from the Panthers club and in particular Shane Elford, Penrith’s rehabilitation coordi-

nator, to make his transition to life in Australia a little easier.

“My wife Alanah and I live not far from here in the club’s house parenting system. We have 12 boys living with us including Stanton and his brother Wellington,” Elford said.

“We’ve got Stanton in school to learn a trade so he can best utilise his skills if things don’t work out with footy. He’s at school three days a week and does work placement on Fridays.

“McCarthy’s been very helpful with Stanton and his footy schedule, so it’s a really good mix.”

While Albert’s NRL dream may still be a few years off becoming a reality, he’s most thankful for having the opportunity to not only showcase and develop his rugby league talents but also get an education and a better chance at life.

“I miss my parents and family but Spud (Elford) is like a parent to me, which is good,” Albert said.

“Everyone back home is happy for my brother and I, and like to keep up with how we’re progressing.”

For now, it’s all about working hard.“I really hope to achieve my goal of play-

ing first grade one day. Fingers crossed,” he said.

NATHAN TAYLOR @nate_taylor87

Building a star of the futureThe story of youngsterStanton Albert is one that will bring a smile...

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PANTHERS IN PICTURES

Our little champion

He’s suffered numerous injury setbacks this year, but hooker James Segeyaro remains a crowd favourite and is looking forward to a strong finish to the season...

@wwpenrith

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James Segeyaro scored a great try last weekend against Souths and has continued to emerge as a crowd favourite at the Panthers this season. Photos: Melinda Jane / Andrew Farrell.

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You wouldn’t keep your pet like this. But hidden away in sheds across Australia, hens who are just as smart and sensitive as the family pet spend every waking moment in a cage — all for the sake of a cheap egg. She cannot sit comfortably or stretch her wings. Without the ability to exercise, her body is weak. Chances are that she, or one of her cage mates, is living

with an untreated broken bone. But trapped in a cage, in a shed with thousands of cages, no-one is ever likely to notice. Here she will spend 30 long hours to produce just one cage egg. The first time she will see the outside world — the world she was meant to live in — will be on the last day of her life, as she is trucked to the slaughterhouse.

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HART TO HARTLOVERS OF RUGBY LEAGUE WILL BE TREATED TO UNPARALLELED COVERAGE WITH FOX SPORTS SHOWCASING EVERY MATCH, INCLUDING UP TO FIVE LIVE GAMES EACH ROUND PLUS A NEW EXTENDED LINE-UP OF ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS FROM MONDAY TO THURSDAY.

WHO WILL BE THE FINAL TWO?

Last week we dusted off the crystal ball and came up with the eight teams that will contest this year’s

finals series. Well, didn’t the weekend’s footy games

put a cat among the pigeons? Now don’t get me wrong I’m going to

stick solid with my prediction which, in no particular order, was the Broncos, Cowboys, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Storm, Sharks, Bulldogs and the Raiders. However, last weekend certainly made me sit up and take notice of Manly after their totally dominant performance over competition heavyweights, Brisbane.

They seem to have rolled up their sleeves and said “right, all the drama is behind us now, so lets play footy!”

The Dragons showed when they get their act together they can play some exciting footy as well but they’ll have to do it against better quality opposition than Newcastle before anyone takes them too seriously.

So, yes, I’ll stick with my final eight prediction but certainly that battle for

eighth spot looks like being a real dog fight.

While I’ve got the ball out, let’s have a look at who is going to contest the Grand Final and who will ultimately win it.

Wow! It says the Cowboys WON’T be there on Grand Final day in October. Yes JT is the world’s greatest player and, of course, he deserves to win a comp but, for me, the Cowboys simply rely on him too much. If anything goes wrong with Thurston, be it injury or an off day, then the Cowboys will struggle. On a personal note I hope he proves me wrong.

The only team in the bottom half of the eight we see possibly getting there is Melbourne but the crystal ball says they will run out of steam.

Yes it’s clear the grand finalists will come from the top four. It’s also clear the team with the best balance and healthi-est roster will win it. But what’s not clear is which two teams will be, so lets leave it as the Roosters, Broncos and Souths to fight it out. The winner, however, is very clear this year. It’s... THE ROOSTERS!

WITH STEVE HART

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Years supporting the Panthers: 36 years.Favourite current Panther and ex-Panther? Matt Moylan and Royce Simmons.Why do you support the Panthers? I switched to following the Panthers as a kid, because they were a team that never seemed to give up, even when they were out-classed.What’s your best Panthers memo-ry? The 1991 Grand Final where I sat in the front row with my face painted at halfway. I also hugged Phil Gould at full-time.What’s your prized piece of Pan-thers memorabilia that you’d never sell? My brown jersey. If the Panthers won the 2015 Grand Final, how would you react? Much the same as I did in 1991 and 2003. Lots of screaming and hugging.

NRL LADDER & FIXTURESCLUB PD W D L B F A +/- PTS

1 Broncos 19 15 0 4 2 461 316 +145 34

2 Cowboys 19 15 0 4 2 453 351 +102 34

3 Roosters 19 13 0 6 2 437 240 +197 30

4 Rabbitohs 19 12 0 7 2 396 312 +84 28

5 Sharks 19 11 0 8 2 350 368 -18 26

6 Storm 19 10 0 9 2 366 298 +68 24

7 Dragons 19 9 0 10 2 316 306 +10 22

8 Bulldogs 19 9 0 10 2 390 392 -2 22

9 Warriors 19 9 0 10 2 381 402 -21 22

10 Raiders 19 8 0 11 2 461 453 +8 20

11 Sea Eagles 19 8 0 11 2 364 382 -18 20

12 Panthers 19 7 0 12 2 311 392 -81 18

13 Eels 19 7 0 12 2 348 462 -114 18

14 Titans 19 7 0 12 2 343 484 -141 18

15 W. Tigers 19 6 0 13 2 351 432 -81 16

16 Knights 19 6 0 13 2 362 500 -138 16

ROUND 22

Sea Eagles v RabbitohsFriday, August 7, 7.45pm

Brookvale Oval

Broncos v BulldogsFriday, August 7, 7.45pm

Suncorp Stadium

Warriors v DragonsSaturday, August 8, 3pm

Westpac Stadium

Sharks v CowboysSaturday, August 8, 5.30pm

Remondis Stadium

Eels v PanthersSaturday, August 8, 7.30pm

TIO Stadium

Storm v TitansSunday, August 9, 2pm

AAMI Park

Knights v RoostersSunday, August 9, 4pm

Hunter Stadium

Raiders v TigersMonday, August 10, 7pm

GIO Stadium

Extra Time Issue Number 023

PRINTED BY Spotpress Pty Ltd / PRODUCED BY The Western Weekender

EDITOR Troy Dodds / 4722 2998 / troy.dodds@westernweekender.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS Nathan Taylor / Kevin Kingston / Steve Hart / Stew Moses

SALES MANAGER Simon Gould / 4722 2998 simon.gould@westernweekender.com.au

GREG ECCLESTONTerrigal

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Penrith have slipped back to fourth place after Illawarra recorded a nail-biting 22-18 win over the defending premiers at WIN Stadium.

The loss is Penrith’s fourth from their last five games and the Panthers now trail Mounties, Wyong and the New Zealand Warriors by two points with just four rounds remaining.

Illawarra came out strong to lead 10-0 midway through the first half before Pen-rith reduced the gap to 10-6 by half-time courtesy of a try to Sam Scarlett from a miracle offload from Sione Katoa.

The Cutters re-established their 10 point lead early in the second half when Nathan Green scored the first of his two tries.

But the Panthers hit back with back-to-back tries to Chris Smith and Kieran Moss to snatch the lead for the first time only to concede that lead back to the Cutters just minutes later when Nathan Green scored the final try of the game, giving the Cut-ters a much needed 22-18 win.

Penrith looked to have paid a heavy price for the loss after losing Stanley Waqa (knee – six to eight weeks) but in some good news, Adrian Davis who was placed on report during the first half for dangerous contact on the Cutters kicker, Blake Wallace, was not charged by the

review committee. This Saturday, the Panthers return

home to take on league leaders Mounties at Pepper Stadium. Mounties who come into this game fresh off the bye, have yet to defeat Penrith in their past three encounters but their last clash at St Marys Stadium was one of the games of the season with Penrith prevailing 16-10.

This Round 22 clash is part of the #Wish-League Round with the NSWRL encour-aging all clubs and fans including Penrith to support its main charity, the Starlight Foundation. Look for more details as they come to hand on the Panthers and NSWRL websites and social media ac-counts as to how you can help make a wish for sick children come true.

Some familiar ex-Panthers will line-up for Mounties including Kyle O’Donnell, Josh McCrone and Jarrod Brackenhof-fer while the likes of Stewart Mills, Jeremy Hawkins, Mitch Cornish, and Mark Nicholls will ensure the Panthers will have a tough task ahead of them in getting back into the minor premiership race.

In team news, Andy Saunders returns from injury to start at lock, while Rodney Coates goes back to the bench for Stanley Waqa.

HOLDEN CUP NSW CUP

MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB FOR MINOR PREMIERSHIP AFTER ILLAWARRA CUT DOWN PENRITH

A strong second half performance has seen the Penrith Panthers clinch their fifth win in a row with a 34-10 win over South Sydney last Sunday afternoon.

Penrith only lead 12-6 at half-time before storming home in the second stanza with a four tries to one blitz.

Played in beautiful conditions at ANZ Stadium, the Rabbitohs opened the scoring in the 13th minute through winger Devon Makoare-Boyce to lead 6-0.

Penrith hit back 10 minutes later when fullback Dylan Edwards sprinted through to dive on a deft grubber kick by Nathan Cleary. The promising half missed the conversion which kept the score at 6-4.

Penrith hit the lead just minutes later after Kade Ellis caught a beautiful short ball by Tyrone May to crash his way over. However, once again, Cleary missed the conversion.

Leading 8-6, the Panthers scored one more before half-time with centre Corey Harawira strolling over after a nice short-side play from the scrum.

Cleary, for the third time already in the game, missed the extras, which saw the Panthers lead by just six at the break.

When teams hit the field for the sec-

ond half, it was the Panthers who kept things going, scoring after just three minutes.

Dylan Fuad took the ball to the line before firing off a short pass to Thomson Tuigmala for the try. Cleary finally got the monkey off his back, converting the try to put Penrith up 18-6.

Souths were next to score through Josh Ellison to inch a little bit closer at 18-10, but the afternoon well and truly belonged to the competition-leading Panthers with Dylan Edwards, Fuimanu Enese and Jerome Luai all scoring within a 10 minute period to put the result well beyond doubt.

This Sunday afternoon the Panthers will travel up the road to Ringrose Park in Wentworthville to take on the 13th-placed Parramatta Eels from 1pm.

PANTHERS MAKE IT FIVE IN A ROW WITH BIG WIN OVER SOUTH SYDNEY AT ANZ STADIUM

The Panthers celebrate a try

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