MOUNTAIN MEN PREPARE TO SCALE SUMMIT AGAIN
NEVER write off a champion team and the benchmark of the competition for the past two years will again be a force to be reckoned with. Yes, they have lost several key figures and 2023 shapes as their toughest season for some time, but they still have so many elite-level footballers who can hurt you.
BACK
One of the best backlines in the competition and it’s proven. Stephen Crichton and Izack Tago in the centres and then Brian To’o on the wing. That’s serious strike power, although Taylan May’s seasonending knee injury dilutes that arsenal. At the back, Penrith has a player that just continues to inspire his teammates with effort in Dylan Edwards. I rate this backline highly.
FORWARD
Up front, Penrith has two powerful props in James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota, who are not only in the prime of their careers but boast genuine fear factor. Isaah Yeo is the best 13 in the game, the way he takes pressure off his halves. But I do have a concern for Penrith without Viliame Kikau’s presence. We saw it in the World Club Challenge. Penrith looked completely different without Kikau. It will be big shoes to fill for Luke Garner.
SPINE
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai have done it all, but they don’t strike me, particularly Cleary, as a player who will ever be complacent. I saw how genuinely hurt he was to lose the World Club Challenge. All eyes will be on what Mitch Kenny can do. I’m a massive fan of Api Koroisau and Kenny is different. He’s a tough kid who works really hard and players would love to play with him. But in terms of the way the Panthers play and what has been the backbone of their success, they’re going to need more than toughness, they’re going to need creativity out of dummy-half.