Season goeson the line

PANTHERS V RAIDERS

PANTHERRUMBLINGS

KEVIN KINGSTONSTEVE HARTLOWER GRADESCELEBRITY TIPSTERS

JAMIE SOWARD

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All the latest news and gossip from Pantherland

Hang it on your wall, Tweet us and win tickets

The star five-eighth reveals hisincredible passion for Boston

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Sydney Funeral Director Doubles the Warmth this WinterWHEN winter comes around, we like to break out the hot chocolate, snuggle in front of the fi re or heater, pull our heavier jackets out of storage and put an extra blanket on our beds.

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has partnered with The Salvation Army to provide blankets for the local homeless population. Together, these two groups are working to inspire their local community and help show those faced with this disadvantage that their plight has not gone unnoticed.

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The finals hopes of both Penrith and Canberra go on the line this Sunday afternoon at Pepper Stadium with both sides suffer-ing crucial, albeit very different losses last weekend.

The Raiders slipped to 10th spot on the ladder after losing

21-20 to Cronulla in Golden Point, while the Panthers were totally outclassed by Melbourne 52-10 at AAMI Park.

Both sides sit on 18 competition points and a loss would almost certainly have only die hard fans believing that their team could make the top eight.

The Panthers will wear their old brown and white strip on Sunday and this game certainly has a heritage feeling about it with Penrith and Canberra both seemingly on the rise and on the verge of reigniting some of those great battles that took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Penrith’s most significant problem at the moment is its backline.

If injuries hadn’t played their part, the Panthers would have gone into last weekend’s clash against Melbourne with Matt Moylan, Josh Mansour, Dean Whare, Jamal Idris and David Simmons in the backline – a formidable line-up – but instead coach Ivan Cleary was forced to field a backline that read Will Smith, Waqa Blake, Dean Whare, Isaah Yeo and Robert Jennings.

No offence to any of those players who filled in under trying circumstances, but you’re never going to win football games against a quality opposition with that backline (maybe one day, but not now).

Most Penrith fans expected Melbourne to be too good last weekend, but it was the way the Panthers lost that is of most concern.

They missed 42 tackles compared to Melbourne’s 14, completed just 69 per cent of their sets compared to Melbourne’s 82 per cent and had 39 per cent of possession, which was largely their own doing.

The Panthers are playing without confi-

dence and without anyone willing to stand up and lead the side around the park.

Between them, Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace missed 11 tackles against Melbourne while Blake Green and Cooper Cronk missed just one between them. Green and Cronk ran for 108 and 54 metres respectively, made a line break each and had two try assists each. Soward and Wallace ran for 32 and 37 metres respec-tively, had zero line breaks and zero try assists.

The statistics are not surprising given the nature of the loss, but they’re somewhat damning.

The Panthers are fielding an extremely inexperienced backline, have halves that are not creating enough chances and forwards who aren’t making enough metres to lay the platform for points. It is a recipe for disaster.

This weekend’s clash is a real test of guts and pride for Penrith.

We’ll find out on Sunday afternoon whether the Panthers have simply put the cue in the rack and are desperately chas-ing a much-needed off-season, or if they believe that they can still do something in this competition and find the form that they discovered last year during a similar injury crisis.

I’m tipping Penrith, without much confidence, purely because I don’t think they could possibly be as bad as they were against Melbourne and at home, the Panthers tend to be a much better side.

Truth be told, anything could happen.

TIP: PANTHERS BY 4

TROY DODDS @troydodds

Peter Wallace. Photo: Andrew Farrell / 77 Media

MATCH PREVIEW PANTHERS

1 Will Smith

2 Waqa Blake

3 Dean Whare

4 Isaah Yeo

5 David Simmons

6 Jamie Soward

7 Peter Wallace

8 Nigel Plum

9 James Segeyaro

10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard

11 Lewis Brown

12 Sika Manu

13 Elijah Taylor

14 Tyrone Peachey

15 Jeremy Latimore

16 Sam McKendry

17 Bryce Cartwright

RAIDERS1 Jack Wighton

2 Edrick Lee

3 Jarrod Croker

4 Joseph Leilua

5 Jordan Rapana

6 Blake Austin

7 Josh McCrone

8 Paul Vaughan

9 Josh Hodgson

10 David Shillington

11 Josh Papalii

12 Sia Soliola

13 Shaun Fensom

14 Kurt Baptiste

15 Jarrad Kennedy

16 Frank-Paul Nuuausala

17 Shannon Boyd

Finals hopes go on the line

FACT CHECK Penrith and Canberra

have played 65 times, with Penrith winning 33, Canberra 31 and 1 draw.

The Panthers beat the Raiders twice last season, with a margin of six points in both matches

Penrith will wear their old brown and white her-itage strip in this game

PANTHERS V RAIDERS

SUNDAY, JULY 26 • 2PM

PEPPER STADIUM

REFEREES: BEN CUMMINS

AND CHRIS JAMES

TV: FOX SPORTS LIVE 2PM

RADIO: 2GB LIVE 2PM

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» The Rotary Club of Nepean has an-nounced that all ‘Footy Double’ money raised from this week’s game against Can-berra will go to the Nepean Family Room as part of the club’s massive community fundraising effort this Sunday. Well done to the team from Rotary!

» Rumours started swirling around last Friday night that international centre Dean Whare was on Manly’s radar for a possible return next season. Reporter Brent Read broke the news on Triple M but from what I understand, the Panthers won’t be letting Whare walk out the door.

» Penrith are unlikely to re-sign any of the remaining players they have off-contract at the end of the season. Sam Anderson, Adam Docker, Isaac John, Sika Manu, Ben Murdoch-Masila, David Simmons and Will Smith will all probably be looking for new clubs. Simmons may be a chance of securing a contract if he decides to play on while Murdoch-Masila is the other possibility – but injuries have

hurt his chances of proving his worth this season.

» Thankfully Dallin Watene-Zelezniak won’t require surgery on his punctured lung, but he remains out of Penrith’s first grade team indefinitely. The 19-year-old was released from hospital on Sunday and was at Panthers HQ on Monday.

» The Panthers may have ended up with 11 home games at Pepper Stadium this year but I’m told there will definitely only be 10 matches next year, with one game in Bathurst and the other likely to be in Christchurch. A deal to take this weekend’s clash between Penrith and Canberra to Christchurch fell over earlier this year. The Panthers have also fielded offers from other regional areas, including Mudgee, who are keen to see NRL football. However, the Panthers are keen to ensure that any regional match is not just a “fly in, fly out” affair and has adequate support, coaching clinics and a true partnership behind it.

» Spotted: Phil ‘Gus’ Gould dining at Hux Grill in Penrith last week.

» There’s some talk doing the rounds that the Panthers are speaking with Queens-land Cup player Josh Cleeland about a contract next year. The talented 24-year-old five-eighth would most likely be a back-up half if the Panthers did secure his services.

» We all know Panthers boss Phil Gould and Channel Nine’s legendary com-mentator Ray Warren share great banter in and out of the commentary box. On Twitter this week, a fan asked Gus if he believed Rabbits would one day join the social media network. “He is flat out mak-ing a phone call... no chance,” was the reply from Gus.

» Some sad news this week with Reg Hatton, who wore the Penrith jersey with pride in 1970 and 1971, passing away. Hat-ton played for Newtown prior to joining the Panthers.

PANTHER RUMBLINGS with the Masked Panther

SEND YOUR PANTHERS GOSSIP TONEWS@WESTERNWEEKENDER.COM.AU

EVERYONE IS SUPPORTING FAMILY ROOM INITIATIVE The team from the Rotary Club of Nepean will be working hard on Sunday

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When I told Jamie Soward on Monday morning that I didn’t want to speak about last Friday night’s game against the Melbourne Storm but instead

chat about his passion for all things Boston, his face instantly lit up.

After going from interview to interview reliving his side’s devastating 42-point loss, the Panthers five-eighth was chomp-ing at the bit to talk about something completely different – even if it was just for five measly minutes.

If you follow Soward on social media, you’ll know by his posts that he’s a lover of American sport and, in particular, teams residing out of Boston, Massachusetts.

Soward is so Boston-obsessed that he’ll often end his tweets or Instagram posts with the hashtags #33 (the jersey number of Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird) or #617 (Boston’s area code).

But how did this boy from country NSW become so passionate about a city they call ‘Beantown’?

“My stepdad is a massive Boston Celtics fan… and because I grew up as a lover of

basketball, they quickly became my main team too,” Soward told Extra Time.

“I reckon Boston would be a mad place to live and the Celtics are a massive passion of mine. I also don’t mind the Boston Red Sox (baseball) and watching the Boston Bruins in the ice hockey too.

“I just love escaping the NRL and immers-ing myself into something different.”

The 30-year-old is such an aficionado on the 17-time NBA champions, that he talks about the Celtics like Penrith supporters talk about the Panthers.

“I know what’s going on with our (Celt-ics) draft picks and that we’ve got a really young squad with a good young coach in Brad Stevens from Butler University – he’s going to be good for the franchise and that’s why we’ve signed him for so long,” Soward expertly said.

But perhaps Soward’s biggest connec-tion with the city of Boston is the one he has with NBA Hall of Famer and Celtics legend Larry Bird – whom in the 1980s, completely dominated the game.

“My stepdad taught me a lot about Larry Bird, he was this white guy in an African American league who came in and really changed the game,” Soward explained.

“His hustle, his aggressiveness, his refusing to lose was something I really

admired about him. Larry also had a simi-lar upbringing to me, he lost his dad at an early age, so I can relate to that.

“His jersey number, ‘33’, became my favourite number, which works out well because I get to wear ‘6’, so I always tell people that three plus three is six. I just love Larry and I think he’s a fantastic role model.”

While Soward is yet to visit his favourite American city, he says a trip to Boston is well and truly on the cards, and he may even stick around for more than just a holiday.

“They’ve got a small league team over there, the Boston Thirteens, so we’ll have to see what happens one day,” he laughed.

NATHAN TAYLOR natetaylor87

FEATURE STORY

Soward’s Boston connection

Photo: Instagram

Jamie Soward is one of rugby league’s big-gest names, but even he needs to escape the NRL sometimes...

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Years supporting the Panthers: 31 years.Favourite current Panther and ex-Panther? Josh Mansour and Matt Goodwin.Why do you support the Panthers? They are our local team and make you feel proud to be a supporter.What’s your best Panthers memo-ry? Being at the 2003 Grand Final and the emotion coming home on the train from the supporters.What’s your prized piece of Pan-thers memorabilia that you’d never sell? My signed Greg Alexander farewell t-shirt.If the Panthers won the 2015 Grand Final, how would you react? Speechless and proud.Would you ever get a Panthers tat-too and where would you get it? Definitely not!

NRL LADDER & FIXTURESCLUB PD W D L B F A +/- 1PTS

1 Broncos 17 14 0 3 2 413 272 +141 32

2 Cowboys 17 13 0 4 2 375 323 +52 30

3 Roosters 17 11 0 6 2 366 204 +162 26

4 Rabbitohs 17 10 0 7 2 324 290 +34 24

5 Storm 17 9 0 8 2 328 260 +68 22

6 Bulldogs 17 9 0 8 2 346 336 +10 22

7 Warriors 17 9 0 8 2 355 352 +3 22

8 Sharks 17 9 0 8 2 314 338 -24 22

9 Dragons 17 8 0 9 2 266 260 +6 20

10 Raiders 17 7 0 10 2 403 397 +6 18

11 Eels 17 7 0 10 2 330 392 -62 18

12 Panthers 17 7 0 10 2 271 338 -67 18

13 Sea Eagles 17 6 0 11 2 288 356 -68 16

14 Knights 17 6 0 11 2 332 402 -70 16

15 Titans 17 6 0 11 2 319 436 -117 16

16 W. Tigers 17 5 0 12 2 309 383 -74 14

ROUND 20

Wests Tigers v RoostersFriday, July 24, 7.35pm

ANZ Stadium

Broncos v TitansFriday, July 24, 7.35pm

Suncorp Stadium

Warriors v Sea EaglesSaturday, July 25, 3pm

Mt Smart Stadium

Storm v DragonsSaturday, July 25, 5.30pm

McLean Park

Rabbitohs v KnightsSaturday, July 25, 7.30pm

ANZ Stadium

Panthers v RaidersSunday, July 26, 2pm

Pepper Stadium

Bulldogs v SharksSunday, July 26, 4pm

Belmore Sports Ground

Cowboys v EelsMonday, July 27, 7pm1300 Smiles Stadium

Extra Time Issue Number 021

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

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Penrith’s 24-10 loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Belmore on Saturday has seen the defending premiers slump to third on for and against on the back of three successive losses, as their run into the finals continues to stutter on the back of a worsening club-wide injury crisis.

That injury crisis provided NSW Cup debuts for Brent Naden (fullback) and Oliver Clark (prop – bench) while Stanley Waqa and Daniel Foster were called up from Ron Massey Cup sides Blacktown and Windsor respectively for their first games of the season.

Penrith led 10-8 at half-time through tries to Malakai Watene-Zelezniak and Tupou Sopoaga, both resulting from sub-lime passes provided by Isaac John inside the Bulldogs 20m zone.

That lead was maintained deep into the second half despite running into a stiff wind as the Bulldogs bumbled and fumbled their way through much of the half with numerous errors.

But once their big forward pack started to execute their second phase play, the Bulldogs proved too much for a leg weary Panthers outfit that struggled for territo-rial advantage, scoring three unanswered tries late in the game to run out deserved

winners. The loss sees the New Zealand Warriors go to the top of the table while wins to Mounties and Wyong have seen them join Penrith on 26 points.

Penrith now turn their attention to this Saturday’s clash at Campbelltown Stadium against what will be a desperate Wests Tigers side who sit just outside the top eight in ninth place.

Having lost their past two games, the Tigers can ill-afford another loss but won’t find it easy against the Panthers, who have the advantage historically hav-ing won the past three clashes including a tight 12-10 win earlier this year.

The Tigers will be looking for their for-ward pack led by Joel Luani, Asipeli Fine and Brendan Santi to get the better of the Panthers upfront that will then allow their slick-looking backline with the likes of Tim Moltzen, Delouise Hoeter, Nathan Milone, Kurtis Rowe and Josh Drinkwater to make life tough for Penrith.

In team news, Kieran Moss (leg) returns from injury in a massive boost for Garth Brennan’s team. Brent Naden moves to the centres and Chris Smith goes back to a five man-bench that also includes Adrian Davis, replaced in the halves by Sam Scarlett.

It should be a cracker of a game!

HOLDEN CUP NSW CUP

DESPERATE BATTLE OF THE BIG CATS LOOMS AFTER PANTHERS LOSE THREE IN A ROW

The Penrith Panthers are back as sole leaders of the Holden Cup competi-tion after they defeated the Melbourne Storm 28-14 to record their third straight win.

The Panthers came into last Friday night’s clash at AAMI Park looking a little different than usual with coach Cameron Ciraldo handing Jake En-nis, Jarome Laui and Reed Izzard their Holden Cup debuts while centre Brent Naden and prop Oliver Clark received late call-ups to Penrith’s NSW Cup side. Thomson Tuigamala was also missing for the clash after picking up an ankle injury during the captain’s run.

Melbourne drew first blood to lead 4-0 after just four minutes before the Panthers levelled things up in the 12th, courtesy of a great try to debutant winger Jarome Laui.

Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary slotted over the extras to put the visitors ahead 6-4.

Nothing much happened for the ensuing 23 minutes before the Panthers finally found a way over through Dylan Fuad. Cleary once again converted the try to put the Panthers up 12-4 at the half-time break.

When the teams hit the field for the

second half, it was the Storm who capi-talised first, with John Filipo strolling over.

With the Panthers in front by just two, it was time for Tyrone May to get to work. The back-rower managed to burrow his way over the line to extend Penrith’s lead.

Once again, Cleary was too good with the boot, putting Penrith up 18-10.

The son of first grade coach Ivan Cleary got himself a try moments later after he put through a hopeful kick before perfectly positioning himself to capitalise after Melbourne’s winger spilt the ball. Cleary converted his own four-pointer to push Penrith’s lead to 24-10.

The Storm were the next to score, proving they had some fight left in them but the Panthers iced the win with five minutes to go after Christian Crichton powered his way over in the left-hand corner.

The 28-14 victory sees the Panthers one-point clear on the Holden Cup ladder with the Cowboys and Broncos chasing hard.

This Sunday morning the Panthers return to Pepper Stadium to take on the fourth-placed Canberra Raiders for the first time this season.

PANTHERS BACK ON TOP OF THE TABLE AHEAD OF TOP FOUR CLASH WITH CANBERRA ON SUNDAY

BY NATHAN TAYLOR @natetaylor87

BY STEW MOSES @TheRiffMarn

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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.

NO ISSUE IN TAKING GAMES OVERSEAS

Aloha!

How does warm sun, the beach and a Panthers v Broncos game in Hawaii

sound? Well if all goes to plan that’s exactly what

will be happening just two weeks after this year’s NRL grand final in October.

I’ve just returned from sunny Hawaii after calling a test match between Tonga and Samoa.

Last Saturday night, I called it work. To be honest it was just great fun.

Even without any current NRL players involved almost 10,000 mostly curious Hawaiians turned up and were treated to an exciting and at times brutal Test match.

Many went away raving about this crazy “blood sport” called rugby league.

For the record Samoa won 20-4 and while there was a lot of errors due to some heavy defence, there was also a real buzz after the game with the locals hungry for more.

Critics in Australia have suggested an end of season game between NRL teams

in Hawaii is a waste of time and that the players won’t take it seriously.

Event consultant Steven Johnson says, “you take the opportunity when you can and this is a chance for Penrith and Broncos fans and players to come over and have an all round great experience post-season while promoting the game in Hawaii , a stepping stone to the United States”.

Organisers are confident Penrith and Brisbane will put on a real spectacle and showcase all that’s great about rugby league to a new and interested audience.

Rugby league is the fastest growing sport in Hawaii with many locals seen as ideal athletes to play the game.

Johnson says, “The skills of Matt Moylan and Jamie Soward will light up Aloha Stadium inspiring young locals to pull on the boots. It may also well be the very last game for Brisbane’s Justin Hodges”.

Note: The game has not yet been confirmed and suggestions of the match are speculative at this stage.

WITH STEVE HART KEV’S KORNER

SUPER SUNDAY AT PEPPER STADIUM

The Panthers tackle the Canberra Raid-ers on Sunday afternoon at Pepper Stadium. The boys are hurting after

their last start loss in Melbourne and I know they want to put on a great perfor-mance for our members and fans at home.

It won’t be easy against a Canberra side that has Blake Austin, David Shillington and Josh Papalii.

The game carries extra significance for the Panthers. It is Elijah Taylor’s 100th NRL game. Elijah is a great footballer and person. He has endured his share of injuries and is looking ahead to playing many more games in the top grade.

The Panthers are also aiming to raise $100,000 for the Ronald McDonald Nepean Family Room with $10 from every adult ticket and $5 from kids ticket going to the facility. Some of our corpo-rate partners have also come on board. Thanks to Oak, Hertz and the Pepper Group for generous contributions so far.

It will be a great day with a FREE Members Sausage Sizzle at TCs Sports Bar as the Leagues Club and the chance to run on the field following the NRL game. Also there will be a post-game event in the West Bar starting at 4pm where the

players will mingle with members and fans. Ivan Cleary and Peter Wallace will give fans a synopsis of the game from their point of view.

I love Sunday footy and will be there early as the NYC Panthers take on the 4th placed Raiders in a big U20s clash to kick things off.

As always it’s better to get your tickets before the day and save from Ticketek or the Leagues Club.

WITH KEVIN KINGSTON

Our fans are pumped up

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4 DAY MUDGEE MELBOURNE CUP Departing 2 November 2015All Inclusive Including Melbourne Cup at Gooree Park Stud, under the Marquee.

$750.00ppts $165.00 Single Supplement Red carpet event promising an unparalleled day of entertainment – fashions on the fi eld, live music, fashion parades, thoroughbred parades, sweepstakes and of course the main race broadcast on the big screens. Three course luncheon perfectly paired with wines from the estate. Organic Wine Making Farm walk and Wine Tasting, Chocolate Making and Tasting, Holistic farming and shearing demonstration, alpaca stud visit and spinning demonstration, brewery tour and tasting, distillery immersion tour and Liquer tasting experience and experience the local cattle sale yard.

6 DAY ARMIDALE AND NEW ENGLAND COUNTRYDeparting 30 August 2015 All inclusive

$1,120.00ppts $225.00 Single SupplementHighlights: Armidale, Saumarez Homestead, McCrossins Mill, Thunderbolts Grave, Inverell, Pioneer Museum, Glen Innes, Land of the Beardies, Dorrigo Rainforest.

4 DAY CANBERRA FLORIADEDeparting 15 September 2015 All inclusive

$685.00ppts$240.00 Single SupplementDeparting from MerrylandsHighlights: Floriade, Black Mountain, National Museum, War Memorial, National Gallery, Parliament House, Cruise Lake Burley Griffi n, The Royal Australian Mint, Old Parliament House.

6 DAY MELBOURNE EDINBURGH TATTOO TOURDeparting 12 February 2016$1,295.00ppts $345.00 Single SupplementHighlights: Crisps Gallery, Queen Victoria Markets, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Eureka Skydeck 88, Melbourne Tramboat, Sale, Metung, Gippsland Lake Cruise, Lakes Entrance, Boydtown, Mollymook

2 DAY NEWCASTLE ANDPORT STEPHENSDeparting 19 October 2015 All inclusive

$300.00ppts$55.00 Single SupplementDeparting from Penrith areaHighlights: Fort Scratchley Tour, Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, Dolphin Cruise, Beach Dune Tour.

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