In an ideal world, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary would send his players off for four or five days, get them to recharge the batteries and try to start the season all over again when they return.
But this year’s schedule doesn’t offer that opportunity. While the players would have been given a few days off following last Thursday’s loss to the Dolphins, they face consecutive Saturday night matches over the holiday period before a trip to Brisbane for Magic Round the following Sunday. Then it’s straight to Townsville before they finally get a Round 11 bye.
That bye probably can’t come quick enough.
By then however we’ll have a pretty fair idea of how this season is going to pan out.
While the prospect of raising the trophy on the first Sunday of October isn’t completely written off just yet, just making the Finals now would appear to be the mission.
The Panthers must recover from one of their worst starts in a long time if they are to be playing football deep into September. Get there and you’d be very brave to suggest they couldn’t string quality performances together to get to the big dance. But let’s just focus on finding a win first.
Penrith’s performance against the Dolphins last Thursday night was comical at times, though not all that different to the way the side has played for the bulk of this season so far.
Passes going to ground that in previous years would have stuck. Quality experienced players with poor defensive reads. Rising stars without that Penrith headspace. The list goes on.
The Roosters have already beaten Penrith this year and are coming off a terrific win over the Broncos that has been overshadowed by the spat between Johnathan Thurston and Spencer Leniu.
Trent Robinson’s side was tipped to struggle this year and while they’re unlikely to be there when the whips are cracking, there’s no question they have the firepower to score points and stay with sides for the full 80 minutes.
Penrith’s terrible defence at the moment leaves them vulnerable no matter who they are playing. In fact I doubt any side would have lost to the Panthers last Thursday, which says something about where they are at presently.
Often when sides lose five matches in a row you start to get the feeling the tide will turn and a win is just around the corner. It doesn’t feel like that for the Panthers at the moment.
There’s real question marks over exactly what Cleary should do with the five-eighth role moving forward, especially after Blaize Talagi’s less than impressive run in the six jumper last Thursday. Talagi has retained the spot for this Saturday, but needs a far better performance than what we saw last week.
The return of Mitch Kenny on Saturday night will be a welcome boost. Not only is he one of the toughest hookers in the game, but we saw on the recent Fox Sports ‘mic’d up’ special from Las Vegas just how much talking he does and the leadership he brings to the team.
The major surprise this week was the dropping of Izack Tago to the interchange bench, with Luke Garner coming into the centres.
Exactly what role Tago ends up playing, if any at all, probably won’t be known until an hour before kick-off, but it was an interesting move by Cleary to show reputation doesn’t make you safe.
I have no idea how this one is going to unfold. Penrith have let me down every week after I’d argued that they couldn’t possibly be as bad as the week before. I do get the feeling there will be an improved effort this week, but defence will be critical against a Roosters side surprising many at the moment. Tighten that up and the Panthers may just get a crucial two points.
Tip: Panthers by 4.
The Panthers and Roosters play on Saturday, April 19 at Allianz Stadium from 7.35pm. The game is live on Kayo and Fox Sports.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.