Round 8, 2017: Parramatta 18 Penrith 12

NRL.com

Schick Hydro Preview: Parramatta Eels v Penrith Panthers
ANZ Stadium
Saturday, 3pm

The battle of the west is on again as the Eels host old rivals Penrith at ANZ Stadium on Saturday. This one will be high in the desperation stakes with Penrith hoping to snap a three-game losing run with just two wins from seven games and the Eels just a solitary win ahead of them having ending their own four-game losing run in less-than-convincing fashion against Wests Tigers on Easter Monday.

The good news for Parra is the much-improved form of stand-in five-eighth Brad Takairangi and fullback Clint Gutherson compared to the previous week's loss to the Warriors with those two – along with centres Michael Jennings and Kirisome Auva'a – among the team's best.

Coach Brad Arthur has named an almost identical team to the one that won on Monday (despite plenty of speculation that Mitch Moses may soon be inbound from the Tigers). A pec injury to Peni Terepo and the return from suspension of Kenny Edwards means the latter is a straight swap in on the bench in the only change.

Panthers coach Anthony Griffin has named an unchanged team despite fears back-rower James Fisher-Harris may have suffered a shoulder injury last week. Bryce Cartwright is again named in the reserves as he edges closer to a return.

‌Why the Eels can win: In recent weeks the Eels have been coming up with errors when they try and shift it wide but against the Tigers far more of those passes were sticking – especially in the second half. Auva'a slotted in beautifully and showed he'd lost none of his pace on his way to two tries and six tackle busts while Jennings was in vintage form as he busted a whopping eight tackles and scorched his way to 217 metres despite not registering a line break. Provided the Eels remember they need to do the hard yards in the middle first, some late wide shifts could well target Penrith's outside men on Saturday.

Why the Panthers can win: Penrith still look far too good a team to be where they are on the ladder, last week's struggles notwithstanding. They could easily be four from seven had things gone their way against the Roosters and Rabbitohs and their wins over the Knights and Tigers were commanding. They certainly got too side-to-side last week when Cronulla's ferocious defence shut them down but in their last win four weeks ago Nathan Cleary managed a try and six tackle busts while Te Maire Martin had a try, a line break assist and two tackle busts so if the young halves can back themselves to take the line on a bit more there's no telling what they could create for their ball-playing back-rowers against an Eels defensive line that has been fairly worryingly easy to crack over the past month.
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The history: Played 93; Eels 55; Panthers 37; Drawn 1. Penrith have a slight edge of late, winning six of the past 10 meetings including the past two. These teams have only met once at ANZ and that was back in 2001 but Penrith's recent record there against other sides is poor, with just two wins from their past 12 visits including four straight losses, while the Eels have four wins from their past six at the venue.

What are the odds: The most even of the markets this round sees Parramatta with 55 per cent of the punter support. Sportsbet reports both sides have been backed to win 1-12 with very little interest in the 13+ option. Latest odds at sportsbet.com.au.

Match officials: Referee: Gavin Badger; Assistant Referee: Jon Stone; Touch judges: Nick Beashel and Belinda Sleeman; Review Official: Bryan Norrie; Senior RO: Bernard Sutton.

Televised: Fox Sports – Live from 3pm.

NRL.com predicts: This is one of the toughest tips of the round and much will depend on to what extent Penrith can recapture their mojo against one of their traditional rivals. The Eels looked to have possibly turned the corner last week but will it be enough against a desperate Panthers outfit? We'll back the mountain men to avoid a fourth straight loss with a hard-fought six-point win.

NRL.com

Sat, Apr 22, 2017 - 04:49PM
By Chris Kennedy‌‌

Parramatta have made it back-to-back wins while consigning Penrith to a horror two-from-six start to the season after edging an 18-12 win at ANZ Stadium on Saturday afternoon on the back of a Corey Norman masterclass.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Eels who lost stand-in five-eighth Brad Takairangi to a suspected PCL injury just before half time, but Norman was in sublime form, scoring two tries and showing off his kicking, passing and running games to great effect as the Eels racked up an 18-0 lead after 45 minutes.

The Eels were poor over the final half hour of the match however, coming up with a mountain of errors to help a completely lost-looking Penrith side back into a game they shouldn’t have been a chance of taking out.

‌The rot started for Penrith from the opening kick-off when the returning Bryce Cartwright and James Tamou allowed the ball to roll over the dead-ball for a drop-out. It got worse shortly after when Cartwright made a meal of a Brad Takairangi grubber in the in-goal allowing Corey Norman to open the scoring before Penrith had touched the ball.

A Clint Gutherson penalty goal made it 8-0 after 15 minutes and it was getting out of hand for Penrith when Michael Jennings crossed in the 25th minute but the try was overruled by the bunker for a knock on by Gutherson in the lead-up.

Penrith failed to capitalise on a few attacking sets through the half before a precision Norman cross-field kick landed in the lap of a flying Semi Radradra to score and take the Eels to half-time by 12 points in front.

Things didn't get much better for the Panthers after the resumption with Kaysa Pritchard bursting into space from dummy half to lay if back for a supporting Gutherson whose skilful grubber sat up for Norman to score his second try of the game.

At 18-0 up it was all Eels but the blue and golds took their foot right off the gas with a string of errors that helped Penrith back into the game. The struggling outfit had countless plays inside the Eels 20 without looking like scoring until the weight of possession finally told when Peta Hiku crossed in the corner off a regulation overlap.

Some uninspired play from both teams saw Penrith continue to have the better of field position without being able to cash in, largely by virtue of some poor last-tackle options.

A mountain of possession late in the game and a couple of line drop outs forced eventually saw impressive rookie Corey Harawira-Naera stroll through some tired defence to make it 18-12 with just over two minutes to play.

When Isaah Yeo spilled a Cartwright pass in the set after points it took the wind out of the sails and last rites were delivered when the Eels collected a desperate Tyrone Peachey offload seconds before the final siren.

Parramatta Eels 18 (Norman 2, Radradra tries; Gutherson 3 goals) defeated Penrith Panthers 12 (Hiku, Harawira-Naera tries; Cleary 2 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Half time: Eels 12-0. Crowd: 14,070.