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2018 NRL – Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview

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AT A GLANCE

When? Saturday 17th March, 06:30 (UK)

Where? Panthers Stadium

What channel is it on? Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs will not be televised live in the UK

Foxtel, LIVE PASS

Where can I stream the match?

https://www.foxtel.com.au/outa...

https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-movies-music/sports-offer

Are tickets still available? http://premier.ticketek.com.au...

THE STATISTICS

THE LOWDOWN

PANTHERS

Head Coach: Anthony Griffin

Starting 13: Edwards, Mansour, Blake, Peachey, Watene-Zelezniak, Maloney, Cleary, Tamou, Wallace, Campbell-Gillard, Kikau, Yeo, Merrin – Interchanges: Harawira-Naera, McKendry, Leota, Fisher-Harris – Reserves: Katoa, Browne, Whare, Crichton

Unavailable: Tyrone Phillips, Tyrone May, Wayde Egan

  • Penrith Panthers overcame a slow start in which they found themselves 0-14 down after 26 minutes to Parramatta Eels before scoring 24 unanswered points to claim an opening round 24-14 win.
  • Head coach Anthony Griffin has named Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Viliame Kikau in the starting side but they could again revert to the bench as they did on Sunday.
  • Nathan Cleary is just six successful kicks away from equalling Hasem El Masri’s NRL record of 35 consecutive goals. Cleary has kicked 29 consecutive goals in his last seven games and will hope to edge closer to the record in this encounter.

RABBITOHS

Head Coach: Anthony Seibold

Starting 13: Johnston, Kennar, Gagai, Inglis, Jennings, Walker, Doueihi, T. Burgess, Cook, S. Burgess, Sutton, Crichton, Murray – Interchanges: Fuimaono, Nicholls, G. Burgess, Tatola – Reserves: Farah, Clark, Hunt, Leuluai

Unavailable: Adam Reynolds, Kyle Turner, Zane Musgrove, Jesse Arthars, Campbell Graham, Lucky Ta’avale

  • South Sydney Rabbitohs were disappointing in their opening round game against New Zealand Warriors last week, falling to a 20-32 defeat with two tries in the final 20 minutes giving the scoreline a more even look.
  • Head coach Anthony Seibold must do without key halfback Adam Reynolds after he picked up a knee injury. Rookie Adam Doueihi replaces him whilst Tyrell Fuimaono replaces Hymel Hunt in the 17.
  • Souths need to improve many aspects of their game from Round 1 but one crucial thing they will be looking to sort out from last week’s effort will be their completion rate. The Rabbitohs completed just 23 of their 35 sets for a completion rate of 66%.

THE PREDICTION

Penrith play host to South Sydney with both sides heading into this game with contrasting levels of confidence after their opening round fixtures. The Panthers overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Eels last week whilst the Rabbitohs were poor against the Warriors. Penrith will be looking to start the season with back-to-back wins whilst the Rabbitohs will be hoping to avoid back-to-back defeats but without Adam Reynolds, their task looks extremely difficult.

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