Round 16, 2021: Penrith 13 Parramatta 12

NRL.com

Panthers v Eels: Shoulder rules Cleary out; Paulo to bench

The Panthers snapped back into the winners’ circle last round after two straight losses with a convincing 28-point win over the Roosters.

But it’s how their Origin platoon return from NSW-Queensland duties that will have a say in their fortunes against the Eels. Coach Ivan Cleary rested his halves, lock Isaah Yeo, and utility Kurt Capewell against the Sharks and lost a close one 19-18.

The Sharks were not in the top eight back then but the Eels are – sitting in third spot, or one win and one position below the Panthers.

Firmly in the Panthers' favour is the fact Friday night’s game is at BlueBet Stadium, where they have not lost so far this season – an impressive 8-0 home record and counting.

This is the first meeting in 2021 for these two western Sydney powerhouses.

The Eels also arrive in round 16 with a certain amount of confidence – they are chasing four wins in a row after scoring 116 points in their past three and conceding just 26. Then again the competition were bottom-eight dwellers Knights, Wests Tigers and Bulldogs.

The rundown
Team news
Panthers: Penrith will start 1-17 with Izack Tago the 18th man.

Nathan Cleary will miss the next month due to the shoulder injury he suffered in Origin II. Blues teammate Jarome Luai has been named at halfback with Matt Burton moving from centre to five-eighth and Tyrone May coming into the centres.

Fullback Dylan Edwards (foot) is out so Charlie Staines goes to fullback and Brent Naden comes onto the wing for his first game of 2021 with Paul Momirovski (hip) and Robert Jennings (hamstring) also unavailable.

Viliame Kikau returns from a hamstring strain in the back row so Liam Martin goes to the interchange and Spencer Leniu to the reserves.

Brian To'o, Isaah Yeo and Kurt Capewell have all been named to back up from Origin II along with Luai.

Jaeman Salmon and Taylan May were omitted from the extended bench 24 hours before kick-off.

The Panthers have won 16 consecutive games at BlueBet Stadium.

Eels: In a change announced an hour before kick-off, Junior Paulo moves back to the bench with Marata Niukore named to start at prop. Will Smith is the 18th man.

Maika Sivo's return from suspension means two-try debutant Sean Russell makes way.

The other changes are on the bench where Nathaniel Roache (knee) and Keegan Hipgrave make way for Oregon Kaufusi and Bryce Cartwright.

Sean Russell and Jake Arthur dropped off the extended bench on Thusday night.

Reed Mahoney (shoulder) is unlikely to be back before round 18.

Eels prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard will play his 150th NRL game.

Key match-up
Junior Paulo v James Fisher-Harris: If the Eels big man is able to back up from Origin, his tussle in the middle with Fisher-Harris will be a beauty. But, if not, former Panther Reagan Campbell-Gillard trying to contain former pack partners like Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin will mean a hectic evening for him.

Stat attack
Between them, Panthers duo Brian To'o (3166m) and James Fisher-Harris (2643m) have carried the ball for just over 5.8km. Stephen Crichton is also in the top 10 in the NRL in this category.

NRL.com

Moses misses match-winner as Burton boots Panthers to win

Mitchell Moses' audition for a NSW Origin call-up ended in heartbreak with the Eels halfback missing a penalty goal on the siren to hand the Panthers a 13-12 win in a thriller at BlueBet stadium.

A field goal to Matt Burton with less than two minutes left looked to have sealed the result for the Panthers until former Panther Waqa Blake was taken out by Liam Martin from the kick restart.

The Eels immediately opted for the two points and a chance to win the game with Moses stepping up for a 32-metre kick near the sideline.

The attempt had the distance but sailed wide, with the vocal Panthers bench erupting as one at the crowd-less venue.

It capped a brutal contest between the two top-four western Sydney clubs despite no crowd in attendance.

After being talked up as a replacement for Nathan Cleary in Origin III on July 14, Moses produced two kicks for Eels tries but the visitors struggled to find any in-roads into Penrith's gritty defence.

Life without Cleary proved an immediate struggle for the Panthers in attack with new halves combination Jarome Luai and Tyrone May taking time to combine.

May was a late switch from the centres with Matt Burton moving back to the left edge alongside Luai, who played through the game with a knee concern.

The NSW five-eighth was twisted awkwardly in a tackle shortly before Api Koroisau split the Eels defence with a solo effort to hand the Panthers a 12-10 lead in the second half.

He got his left knee strapped but looked in some discomfort on his way to finishing the match.

The Battle of the West failed to live up to the hype in the opening half as the empty venue echoed with players' frustrations after sloppy completions from both sides.

The Eels crossed first through Maika Sivo after Waqa Blake kept a Moses kick alive for Clint Gutherson to find the Fijian winger on the edge.

The Panthers hit back before half-time on the back of a Brent Naden intercept run with May getting past Isaiah Papali'i from close range to get the home side on the board.

Panthers fullback Charlie Staines had a mixed evening deputising in the No.1 jersey with an error in the air that led to an Eels try before he didn't contest a Moses kick to hand the visitors a second.

Papali'i took advantage of Staines' error to collect the ball and carry three defenders to the line.

A penalty goal to Moses levelled the scores with 24 minutes remaining as both sides went set-for-set in a high intensity second half.

A try-saving effort from Clint Gutherson and Marata Niukore on a charging Viliame Kikau proved crucial to set up the grandstand finish with the Panthers shelving field goal plans on three occasions.

Gutherson went from hero to villain with a forward pass to Bryce Cartwright with four minutes left enabling the Panthers to take their first attempt at field goal but Matt Burton's 20-metre strike hit the posts.

Moses was next to have a shot with two minutes remaining – the 43-metre strike sailing wide, before failing to boot home the match-winner on the siren.