Friday has two NRL matches with the first game for Round 24 is between Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos with the opening kick to commence at 7:35PM local time. The game is to be played at Centrebet Stadium with the favourite for the match being Penrith Panthers. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos.

WHERE AND WHEN: Centrebet Stadium, Friday, 23/08, 7:35PM

Opening odds comparison:

Penrith Panthers	1.95	2.00	2.15	2.00	1.95	2.07
Brisbane Broncos	1.80	1.80	1.73	1.80	1.80	1.75

Preview:

Round 24 of the NRL kicks off this weekend, with the first match taking place between Penrith and Brisbane on Friday night, 7.35pm at Centrebet Stadium.

The Broncos continue to walk the finals tight rope, and need to win here – again – to stay in the game. While they will be slight favourites to take the points over the Panthers, it is far from a certainty.

Penrith managed to beat the Warriors at home last round after a three game losing streak, and will be tough opponents for a desperate Brisbane side.

Teams:

Penrith Panthers:
Lachlan Coote, Josh Mansour, Lewis Brown, Dean Whare, Dave Simmons, Isaac John, Luke Walsh, Sam McKendry, Kevin Kingston, Tim Grant, Clint Newton, Sika Manu, Ryan Simpkins. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Nathan Smith, Jeremy Latimore, Mose Masoe, Matt Moylan

Brisbane Broncos:
Josh Hoffman, Corey Oates, Jack Reed, David Stagg, Jordan Kahu, Scott Prince, Ben Hunt, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker. Interchange: Peter Wallace, Dunamis Lui, Lama Tasi, Jarrad Wallace, Scott Anderson, Nick Slyney

Penrith show sharp attack to beat Warriors

Penrith rediscovered their attacking bite as they came from behind to down the Warriors 28-24 in Auckland and keep their NRL play-off hopes alive.

The offensive edge was epitomised by the clinical finishing of wingers Dave Simmons and Josh Mansour.

The two men shared four of their side’s five tries, with Simmons’ double taking his tally for the season to 19.

The result snapped Penrith’s four-match losing streak and put them level with the Warriors on 22 points, two points outside the top eight with three rounds to go.

Coach Ivan Cleary says the Panthers were able to follow their game plan and he highlighted the performances of Simmons and centre Dean Whare on the right flank.

“We finished with a few good tries and we’ve been lacking that,” he said.

“Our attack has been average in the last weeks and I think that hurts our defence when our attack is not going well.

“They complemented each other today.”

Cleary admitted he was worried his team’s poor run was going to continue when they fell 12-0 behind after conceding tries to Thomas Leuluai and Penrith-bound Elijah Taylor in the first 10 minutes.

But he then saw his players hang on and take advantage when the momentum swung their way.

“We got a bit of possession and got a few points and all of a sudden the wind was taken out of their sails,” he said.

“That’s sort of how the game went, really.”

The Warriors, after their fine mid-season run of seven wins in eight matches, have now dropped their last three.

Skipper Simon Mannering rued the inability of the Warriors to be more resilient when things went against them after their fast start.

“The momentum is going to swing and, when it does, you have to go with it,” he said.

“You have to fight against it and we didn’t.

“They had a lot of ball at the back end of the first half and into the second and we weren’t doing ourselves any favours.”

Mannering remained optimistic of playing finals football.

But there was obvious disappointment that the Warriors had let another chance slip to consolidate their challenge.

“We just have to get back on the horse and finish the year as best as we can, and worry about what we can control, which is the next three performances.”

The loss was compounded by a lower leg injury to Dane Nielsen, who limped off early in the opening spell after a tackle on Whare.

Coach Matthew Elliott said Nielsen would go for scans, but described the injury as “reasonably serious”.

Simmons’ two tries included a superb one-handed diving put-down, while Mansour also produced an impressive effort in chasing down a Lachlan Coote kick into the in-goal.

Their quartet of touchdowns took Penrith out to a 22-12 lead midway through the second half.

The Warriors threatened their own comeback when bench prop Suaia Matagi scored from a charging 20-metre run, but Sika Manu’s reply restored the 10-point margin.

Warriors centre Konrad Hurrell’s try eight minutes from time set up a grandstand finish for the 11,596 fans, but Penrith were able to hold out.