The Penrith Panthers will be aiming to be the second side in Holden Cup history to win back-to-back premierships when they take on the Sydney Roosters this Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers, who finished the regular season as minor premiers, will contest their third ever National Youth Competition (NYC) Grand Final after defeating North Queensland 32-16 last Friday at Allianz Stadium.
Penrith led 22-10 at half-time and, despite the odd scare or two, were in control for most of the match. They’ll now take on arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters, who will be playing in their very first NYC decider.
The Roosters qualified for this Sunday’s showdown following a thrilling comeback that saw them overcome the St George Illawarra Dragons 26-20.
Penrith certainly have the wood over this weekend’s opponents in 2016, with the defending premiers defeating the Roosters on two occasions already – a 50-4 smashing in Round 7 and a 40-22 beating in Round 22.
Kick-off between the Panthers and Roosters is at 1.45pm this Sunday at ANZ Stadium.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.