Battle for thewooden spoon

PANTHERS V KNIGHTS

NSW CUP FINALS BEGIN

NATHAN SMITH

2015’S BIGMOMENTS

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Title defence getsserious as Pantherstake on Wyong

We look back on the highs and lows

The forgotten man of Penrith to hang his boots up this weekend

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Tyrone Peachey in action. Photo: Andrew Farrell / 77 Media

MATCH PREVIEW PANTHERS

1 Will Smith

2 Josh Mansour

3 Waqa Blake

4 Lewis Brown

5 David Simmons

6 Apisai Koroisau

7 Jamie Soward

8 Sam McKendry

9 James Segeyaro

10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard

11 Bryce Cartwright

12 Tyrone Peachey

13 Isaah Yeo

14 Tupou Sopoaga

15 Jeremy Latimore

16 Leilani Latu

17 Sika Manu

KNIGHTS1 Jake Mamo

2 Nathan Ross

3 Sione Mata’utia

4 Dane Gagai

5 Akuila Uate

6 Kurt Gidley

7 Tyrone Roberts

8 Kade Snowden

9 Adam Clydsdale

10 Korbin Sims

11 Beau Scott

12 Tariq Sims

13 Chris Houston

14 Tyler Randall

15 Joseph Tapine

16 Clint Newton

17 Sam Mataora

A lot has been made of Penrith’s injury crisis in season 2015. Many believe it is the sole reason the club could finish with their fifth wooden spoon in history should they lose to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon at Pepper Stadium.

But while it is true that injuries put the Panthers in a corner, they cannot be an excuse for the team’s inability to fight itself out of it.

Two moments in Penrith’s 34-18 loss to Canberra on Monday stuck out for me.

The first was an extremely poor pass from James Segeyaro at dummy half to Bryce Cartwright when the Panthers were attacking Canberra’s line, resulting in a dropped ball and a missed opportunity for points.

The second came just minutes later when Josh Mansour fumbled a play-the-ball and

surrendered possession, again taking away a point-scoring opportunity.

Two of Penrith’s most experienced play-ers, two schoolboy errors.

It is a reflection of not just an injury list that has ravaged the club, but a level of confidence and enthusiasm that is about as low as it can get at the moment.

The Panthers looked asleep for the first 20 minutes of the game. The lack of commit-ment in defence, soft tries conceded and a wayward attack spoke of a football team that simply didn’t want to be there.

No professional sporting team wants to lose, obviously, but at times it looked like Penrith didn’t want to win, either.

So, what will change in the five days between the disappointment of the performance against Canberra and the wooden spoon battle against the Knights on Saturday?

Obviously, the Panthers are back in comfortable surroundings at Pepper Stadium and know that there’s no second chances – they must win to avoid being part of a dreaded statistic that will never leave rugby league’s history books. Ivan

Cleary and his team do not want to spend the next six months being remembered as wooden spooners.

Cleary has never won the wooden spoon as a coach or a player and does not want to start now.

The Knights have a similar desire, however, and are in much better form than Penrith. They did the impossible by beat-ing Melbourne at AAMI Park a fortnight ago and came within a whisker of getting over the Bulldogs last weekend – all in the

midst of their own problems surrounding the coaching structure for next season.

Penrith will certainly have to lift a gear to match the Knights’ current form and enthusiasm, and the job will be made tougher with Jamie Soward and Bryce Cartwright unlikely to play.

Saturday’s game will be a farewell-a-thon with the Knights saying goodbye to NRL veterans Kurt Gidley and Clint Newton, and a host of players taking part in their last game for the Panthers including Lewis Brown, Apisai Koroisau, Sika Manu and David Simmons, who will play his 200th NRL game.

So it all comes down to this: the final 80 minutes of the season.

Six months ago, we couldn’t have imag-ined that Penrith would be in the position they find themselves in now. The rugby league gods have been very unkind.

Forget the injuries, forget the excuses. Play with some heart, and the Panthers may just give their long-suffering fans something to smile about on Saturday.

TIP: PANTHERS BY 4

TROY DODDS @troydodds

Desperate to avoid the spoon

FACT CHECK Ivan Cleary has never

been involved with a wooden spoon side, either as a player or a coach

David Simmons plays his 200th NRL game

Newcastle have a good record at Penrith Stadium, winning nine from 13 games since 1998

PANTHERS V KNIGHTS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 • 3PM

PEPPER STADIUM

REFEREES: GAVIN REYNOLDS

AND ADAM GEE

TV: FOX SPORTS LIVE 3PM

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PANTHER RUMBLINGS with the Masked Panther

SEND YOUR PANTHERS GOSSIP ATNEWS@WESTERNWEEKENDER.COM.AU

» The end has arrived for Panthers winger David Simmons, who confirmed this week that Saturday’s clash against Newcastle will be his final NRL game. Ironically, it also falls on what is his 200th first grade match. Simmons has been a great servant for the Panthers and in the last couple of years has been a sensational influence on the club’s young talent that is coming through. The 30-year-old made his first grade debut in 2003 at Cronulla, and went on to notch up more than 100 appearances for the club, before joining Penrith in 2010.

» Rumours about Ivan Cleary’s future at Penrith being in doubt are way off the mark. Cleary is contracted to the Panthers for next year but some have suggested that he could be headed back to the New Zealand Warriors. It would be rugby league’s most unlikely story, but still, the rumours persist. I can tell you that it simply won’t be happening. As tough as 2015 has been on Cleary, he is determined to complete the job at hand and in fact, is likely to be given a contract extension.

» The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday that Panthers Head of Rugby League Justin Pascoe could be bound for the Wests Tigers in what would be a huge blow for Penrith. However, I’m told the story is not accurate and Pascoe will be staying put. Whether I’ve been told the truth or not is yet to be seen.

» Jamie Soward and Bryce Cartwright have been added to Penrith’s ever-growing injury list after an awful night in Canberra on Monday. Soward suffered concussion following a heavy collision with Jack Wighton in the 39th minute and was admitted to Canberra Hospital as a precautionary measure. Cartwright suf-fered a small laceration to his kidney, that was only discovered when he started uri-nating blood after the match. It will not require surgery however Cartwright was hospitalised for several days this week.

» If you needed any further proof that the NRL referees are in crisis, it came at 11.30am on Tuesday when the NRL charged Jack Wighton with a grade two careless high tackle for his hit on Jamie Soward. Incredibly, the incident was not even penalised on Monday night, with the referees allowing play to resume once a clearly sick Soward was assisted from the field. The referees and video referees

had several minutes to view replays, but deemed there was no need to penalise Wighton or put him on report. It shows NRL officials are nowhere near on the same page if the incident is not even pe-nalised with the benefit of clear replays, yet the player is charged the very next morning. What is going on?

» The Panthers have announced that Piazza D’Oro has signed on as the club’s membership partner through to the end of the 2016 NRL season. Piazza D’Oro was launched in Australia in 1998 and has be-come a leading espresso brand through-out the country.

» There’s plenty of people who think journalists should be locked up but it almost happened for real last week-end, when a reporter covering the NSW Cup was locked in Pepper Stadium and needed to make an urgent call to be let out. The reporter in question had found his way back into the media area some time after the game, and was the sole person left in the stadium when everyone else, including the players, went home. We hear he was scoping out Ivan Cleary’s office as a possible spot to sleep for the night, but thankfully help arrived.

» That’s it for me. See you next year.

SIMMO PULLS THE PIN ON LONG CAREER

David Simmons will play his final NRL game on Saturday

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He hasn’t played in the NRL since 2013 but Penrith’s longest serving player will officially hang up the boots this weekend after 128 first grade games.

Joining the club in 2007, Nathan Smith has been a Panther longer than any other current player, with the next longest serv-ing member being Sam McKendry, who started his NRL career back in 2008.

Unable to get any first grade time for a number of years, the 32-year-old has been a valuable member of Penrith’s reserve grade team in the NSW Cup.

However, after tearing his bicep twice already this season and not playing since the early rounds, the former Raider has finally decided to call it a day.

“I tore my bicep in the Parramatta trial and then I returned for two games before tearing it again… that was my season pretty much done,” Smith told Extra Time.

“I always told myself I’d play as long as I could because once I give it up, I know I’ll miss it.

“It’s the best job in the world but my body told me enough was enough.”

Smith, one of the nice guys of rugby league, has seen a lot of change at Penrith during his nine year tenure including three different first grade coaches, a raft of new faces and even a brand new logo.

But one of the moments Smith looks back fondly on was in 2010 when the Panthers shocked the rugby league world to finish second on the ladder.

“2010 was an unbelievable year. We had the best bunch of guys playing like Gavin

Cooper, Luke Lewis, Trent Waterhouse and Michael Gordon, and that’s why we went so well,” he said.

“I’d also have to say the NSW Cup premiership last year was great too. We had a very good run and that was a really fun year as well.”

After debuting for Canberra in 2004, Smith joined the Panthers in 2007 after being thrown a lifeline by then coach Matt Elliott, who also joined the club from the Raiders that very same year.

“Matty was moving up here and he asked if I wanted to come up too, so I moved as well,” Smith said.

“There ended up being a few injuries at Penrith and one thing lead to another and I ended up getting a few games. I can’t thank the club enough for giving me a start.”

Smith hasn’t quite decided what he’ll do post football.

In December he’ll finish his four year electrical apprenticeship with the HIX Group, but also hasn’t ruled out sticking around rugby league for a little while longer.

“I’m keeping my options open. I’ve got the electrical work to fall back on but I’d love to stay in footy, maybe doing some-thing with the Panthers,” Smith said.

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

FEATURE STORY

Forgotten Panther to retire

Nathan Smith has confirmed he’s retiring. Photo: Melinda Jane

After 128 first grade games, injury and a new direction forced Nathan Smith to the NSW Cup. Now, his rugby league career has come to its conclusion...

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KEV’S KORNER

LET’S GO OUT WITH A BANG!

Clearly our injury-ravaged season hasn’t gone to plan but that doesn’t mean we can’t go out with a bang on

Saturday. There is no shortage of motivation

for our patched-up Panthers. The boys want to put on a good show for the loyal members and fans who have stuck with us on this rollercoaster ride of a year. They also want to farewell our departing players with a win because blokes like David Simmons, Nigel Plum, Brent Kite and Nathan Smith deserve nothing less.

For the last time this season I call on all you Penrith fans to get to the game and show your Panther Pride. It’s going to be a huge day with all three grades in action, including our NSW Cup side play-ing week one of their finals campaign against Wyong Roos. All the departing Panthers will be at the Big Aussie Barbie in West Bar after full-time – one last chance to get a photo and say goodbye.

If you’re a member, there’s even more to look forward to. Enjoy a free BBQ at TC’s Sports Bar before the game before joining the ‘Wild Panther’ Mark Geyer and Nigel Plum on MG’s Members March to Pepper Stadium. Don’t forget all

members can bring a mate to the game for free – you just have to register on the club website.

And just in case you needed any more incentive, someone in the crowd on Saturday will be driving away in a brand new 2015 Ford Fiesta. How good is that!

We are a proud club with a determined playing group and we will put everything on the line to avoid that dreaded wooden spoon on Saturday.

Help us finish our season in style, in front of a big home crowd, and we prom-ise to give you plenty to cheer about.

Go the Mighty Panthers!

WITH KEVIN KINGSTON

The retiring David Simmons

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In about a month’s time Josh Mansour will be sitting poolside at a resort in Fiji relaxing and hopefully forgetting about everything that occurred over the last six months.

Not only has the 25-year-old winger endured a horror run with injuries, result-ing in just 11 games played all year, but his team are on the cusp of receiving their first wooden spoon since 2007.

“Thank God for that,” a relieved Mansour said of this Saturday’s final game of the year.

“Personally it’s the toughest year I’ve ever had to endure and also from the team’s perspective as well.

“No one predicted for us to have a season like this, we’ve got to learn from this year and hopefully get one last win for our fans and also for ourselves because it’s certainly been frustrating.”

12 months ago the Panthers were locked into the NRL’s top four preparing for the finals, now they can only dream of what could have been.

“It was disappointing we didn’t succeed in our ambitions… we just weren’t good

enough and the table reflects that,” Mansour said.

“The injuries we sustained were just terrible luck and it took a heavy toll

mentally and physically on us. It’s like someone was poking a voodoo doll. We’re cursed.”

This Saturday afternoon’s final game of the year will be a battle for the wooden spoon with the last-placed Newcastle Knights also in contention. A Penrith win will see them avoid the unwanted honour but a loss would be the salt in an already ugly wound.

“No one wants that dreaded spoon but we’ve got to come out with a positive mindset,” Mansour said.

“We owe it to our fans and members who stuck by us through thick and thin this year. We also owe it to ourselves because it’s been a tough season.”

But as the old saying goes, “the only way is up”, and once Mansour returns from his long-awaited trip to the South Pacific, he’ll be refreshed and ready to give it another crack next season.

“I can’t wait to get out of Sydney, forget footy and refresh my mind,” he said.

“I owe my partner a trip to Fiji because last year we had to cancel after I was selected in the Four Nations.

“I just need to get away, rejuvenate the body and relax.”

No doubt many Panthers fans would be wishing they could join him on that trip.

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

FEATURE STORY

Mansour’s “toughest year”

Josh Mansour

After Penrith’s season from hell, winger Josh Mansour admits he needs to get away from football and refresh over the summer break

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Waqa Blake made his NRL debut Matt Moylan suffered a season-ending leg injury against the Eels. Photo: Melinda Jane Jess Gilarte won the Cheerl

PANTHERS IN PICTURES

Highs and lows

It’s been a year of mixed fortunes at the Penrith Panthers. Our photographers have captured the big moments...

@wwpenrith

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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.

THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR

The long and winding road to the NRL finals is almost complete and for those that remain the real excite-

ment begins. For the rest? Well there’s always next year.

Sadly this season’s biggest disappoint-ment for me is Penrith. So much reason to hope coming into 2015.

They had us all believing they were ready to deliver on an exciting brand of footy with a roster that had the right mix of talent, youth and experience.

So what happened? “INJURIES” I hear you shout back. OK fair enough and maybe that’s true,

but I for one am still left disillusioned. The Panthers, just like the Wests Tigers,

are the type of team that give you hope that predictable structured footy could be combatted with a more cavalier style.

Sadly for both the Tigers and the Panthers they have been battling to avoid the wooden spoon.

As it turns out Saturday’s game at Pepper Stadium will be the wooden spoon grand final against Newcastle

with the loser being this year’s winner! But let’s look at the positive for next

season and beyond, the Panthers still have some of the most exciting young talent on the rise with the likes of Matt Moylan and Bryce Cartwright. Hopefully they can be injury-free and fulfil their potential as superstars of the game.

So how did my top eight crystal ball predictions recently stand up?

Yes the Roosters are still the team to beat, despite their injuries to key big names. The Broncos keep surprising me but must now be taken seriously.

The Dragons were the only team not in my predicted top eight but surely they’ll be the first team out if recent form is anything to go by.

The Bulldogs look to be the team ready to upset many in September. While Souths, Melbourne and the Cowboys all look on the slide.

The Sharks will be everybody’s senti-mental favourite but I’m not sure they can go far.

Bring on the finals!

WITH STEVE HART

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Years supporting the Panthers?19 years.Favourite current Panther and ex-Panther? Sam McKendry and Nathan Smith/Sandor Earl.Why do you support the Panthers? I love the game of rugby league and they are my local team.What’s your best Panthers memo-ry? The 2003 Grand Final.What’s your prized piece of Pan-thers memorabilia that you’d never sell? My signed 2003 Panthers jersey.Would you ever get a Panthers tat-too and where would you get it? No.

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

1 Roosters 23 17 0 6 2 561 300 +261 38

2 Broncos 23 17 0 6 2 566 364 +202 38

3 Cowboys 23 16 0 7 2 545 442 +103 36

4 Sharks 23 14 0 9 2 457 462 -5 32

5 Storm 23 13 0 10 2 452 340 +112 30

6 Bulldogs 23 13 0 10 2 496 458 +38 30

7 Rabbitohs 23 13 0 10 2 465 437 +28 30

8 Dragons 23 11 0 12 2 403 378 +25 26

9 Sea Eagles 23 10 0 13 2 444 480 -36 24

10 Raiders 23 9 0 14 2 549 545 +4 22

11 Eels 23 9 0 14 2 424 545 -121 22

12 Warriors 23 9 0 14 2 423 562 -139 22

13 Titans 23 9 0 14 2 427 594 -167 22

14 W. Tigers 23 8 0 15 2 457 530 -73 20

15 Panthers 23 8 0 15 2 369 465 -96 20

16 Knights 23 8 0 15 2 446 582 -136 20

ROUND 26

Broncos v StormThursday, Sept 3, 7.45pm

Suncorp Stadium

Roosters v RabbitohsFriday, Sept 4, 7.45pm

Allianz Stadium

Panthers v KnightsSaturday, Sept 5, 3pm

Pepper Stadium

Dragons v TigersSaturday, Sept 5, 5.30pm

ANZ Stadium

Cowboys v TitansSaturday, Sept 5, 7.30pm

1300 Smiles Stadium

Eels v RaidersSunday, Sept 6, 2pm

Pirtek Stadium

Sharks v Sea EaglesSunday, Sept 6, 4pmRemondis Stadium

Bulldogs v WarriorsSunday, Sept 6, 6.30pm

ANZ Stadium

Extra Time Issue Number 027

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

EMILY LANGESpringwood

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Penrith’s Ray Lesoa made his NSW Cup debut one to remember, scoring three tries and setting up the match winner for Tom Eisenhuth that enabled Penrith to record a thrilling come-from-behind 34-28 win over a gallant Illawarra side at Pepper Stadium.

Illawarra, through a powerhouse perfor-mance from ex-Panther Eto Nabuli, led 28-22 with seven minutes remaining be-fore Lesoa scored his and set up another to allow Penrith to record their fourth win in a row and finishing level on 36 points with Wyong and Mounties but third on for and against.

Apart from Lesoa, Penrith’s Atonio Pela-sasa also made his NSW Cup debut while Sam Hollis and Tom Eisenhuth made long overdue returns to the side after lengthy spells in the Ron Massey Cup.

Penrith dominated the early exchanges to lead 12-0 through tries to Chris Smith and Lesoa and a long afternoon loomed for the Cutters but Illawarra had other ideas, dominating the rest of the half, scoring four unanswered tries to lead 24-12 at the break.

Again Penrith crossed twice early in the second half, this time through Lesoa and Matt Eisenhuth, to reduce the gap to two points.

But when Nabuli scored with 15 minutes an upset was on the cards until a Foster kick to the left corner was brilliantly bat-ted back by Tom Eisenhuth for that man Lesoa to secure his hat-trick and level the scores.

Lesoa’s final pass to Tom Eisenhuth to score sealed the win and gives the Panthers plenty of momentum going into this Saturday’s finals clash with Wyong at Pepper Stadium.

Wyong, who missed out on the minor premiership by the barest of margins will nonetheless be confident going into this clash despite having to meet Penrith at home, having come home strong late in the game to defeat Wentworthville 44-12.

Their confidence against Penrith stems from their two late come-from-behind wins over the Panthers earlier this year and they have named a strong side with the likes of Omar Slaimankhel, Nathan Stapleton, Abraham Papalii, Lopina Paea and ex-Panthers Yileen Gordon and Leivaha Pulu.

In team news, Penrith has named the same 17 that defeated the Cutters but have welcomed back from injury Brendan Attwood who is part of a five man bench.

However the Panthers are in danger of losing Adam Docker to suspension.

HOLDEN CUP NSW CUP

NOW IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS: NSW CUP FINALS KICK OFF WITH PANTHERS TAKING ON WYONG

The Penrith Panthers have secured a top two finish heading into the final round of the Holden Cup competition following a 38-8 belting of the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium on Monday night.

Penrith kept their minor premiership hopes alive with the 30 point win but will need to overcome the Knights on Saturday and have the Titans upset the competition-leading Cowboys later that afternoon for that to happen.

It was a spectacular first half perfor-mance for the Panthers against the eighth-placed Raiders on Monday night, jumping out to a 32-0 lead at half-time.

Penrith completely dominated the home side in all aspects of the opening 40 with Moses Leota, Oliver Clark, Brent Naden, Tyrone May, Corey Harawira and Christian Chrichton all crossing over for tries.

Halfback Nathan Cleary was solid with the boot in the first half, kicking four from six.

When players hit the field for the sec-ond half, it was the Panthers who once again kept the scoreboard ticking over.

52 minutes in, James Fisher-Harris found Maliko Filino with a suspect pass which saw the speedy centre break the

line. Drawing the Raiders’ fullback per-fectly, Filino hit Chrichton on his inside for the four-pointer.

Cleary once again knocked over the two points to increase Penrith’s lead to 38-0.

However, that’s where the scoring ended for the visitors with Canberra finally getting their defence in order.

Canberra’s improved defence resulted in two tries for the home side, scoring in the 57th minute and then again in the 75th.

Penrith will return to Pepper Sta-dium this Saturday morning for their final home game of the season when they battle the Newcastle Knights at 10.40am.

Sitting in 10th, the Knights still remain a mathematical hope of scraping into the top eight.

PANTHERS THRASH RAIDERS AND CONFIRM TOP TWO FINISH AHEAD OF FINAL ROUND BATTLE

Photo: Jeff Lambert

BY NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

BY STEW MOSES @TheRiffMarn

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