Saturday’s NRL 2018 Round 2 match is between Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs. The opening kick is set to commence at 17:30 local time with the game to be played at Panthers Stadium. The away team South Sydney Rabbitohs are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
When: 17:30 | Saturday 17/03/2018
Where: Panthers Stadium
Preview:
To say Robbie Farah is out of favour at Redfern is a massive understatement.
Overlooked for the hooking role which has gone to Damien Cook, Farah has again been overlooked in the wake of halfback Adam Reynold’s knee injury.
The former Australian and NSW no.9 might have thought he’d earn a recall following Reynolds’ injury, but coach Anthony Seibold has instead opted for Lebanese international Adam Doeihi.
Souths lead the head-to-head against the Panthers 8-4 since 2010 and have won 3 of the last 4.
The Panthers though, are always strong at the foot of the mountains and are 9-4-0 at Penrith since 2017.
The Rabbitohs’ defence continues to be their Achilles heel and the Panthers on the back of star halves James Maloney and Nathan Cleary will look to exploit a Bunnies defence allowing 23.8 points per game since 2017.
The Verdict
Highly unlikely the Rabbitohs would win both halves with Souths 2-12 (14.3 percent) as an underdog from 2017 in the “yes” (To win Both Halves)” market.
As a home favourite, the Panthers have a 12-6 (66.7 percent) record after a win since 2014.
Unibet Odds: Penrith Panthers 1.37 South Sydney Rabbitohs 3.15
Odds:
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Tip: South Sydney Rabbitohs at $3.15
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Waqa Blake at $12.00
More Info:
Teams:
Panthers:
1 Dylan Edwards, 2 Josh Mansour, 3 Waqa Blake, 4 Tyrone Peachey, 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 6 James Maloney, 7 Nathan Cleary, 8 James Tamou, 9 Peter Wallace (c), 10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11 Viliame Kikau, 12 Isaah Yeo, 13 Trent Merrin Interchange: 14 Corey Harawira-Naera, 15 Sam McKendry, 16 Moses Leota, 17 James Fisher-Harris Reserves: 18 Sione Katoa, 19 Tim Browne, 20 Dean Whare, 21 Christian Crichton
Rabbitohs:
1 Alex Johnston, 2 Richie Kennar, 3 Dane Gagai, 4 Greg Inglis (c), 5 Robert Jennings, 6 Cody Walker, 7 Adam Doueihi, 8 Thomas Burgess, 9 Damien Cook, 10 Sam Burgess, 11 John Sutton, 12 Angus Crichton, 13 Cameron Murray
Interchange: 14 Tyrell Fuimaono, 15 Mark Nicholls, 16 George Burgess, 17 Tevita Tatola
Reserves: 18 Robbie Farah, Jason Clark, 20 Hymel Hunt, Vincent Leuluai.
NRL News:
South Sydney’s NRL campaign has been dealt an early blow after halfback Adam Reynolds was ruled out for up to a month following knee surgery.
Reynolds suffered the injury in the first half of the Rabbitohs’ season-opening loss to the Warriors in Perth.
It was later revealed he would need an arthroscopy.
Teammate Dane Gagai praised Reynolds for finishing out the match under duress.
“He mentioned he had a bit of a problem but I didn’t know it was as serious as it was,” Gagai said on Tuesday.
“He’s an outstanding player and plays above his weight. He toughed it out.
“He pushed through the game and I thought he done a great job there.
“It’s disappointing but we’ve got to move forward and whoever plays that role I know is going to do a good job.”
The injury is a bitter blow for the Rabbitohs, who had just celebrated the return of skipper Greg Inglis from a knee reconstruction which limited him to just one game last year.
Reynolds’ absence could open the door for the return of veteran Robbie Farah, who played a trial game at halfback and was omitted from their defeat to the Warriors.
Another option for rookie coach Anthony Seibold is youngster Adam Doueihi, who was Farah’s halves partner for Lebanon during the World Cup and was in Souths’ 19-man squad last week.
Five-eighth Cody Walker said he is ready to shoulder the playmaking duties in the absence of Reynolds.
“Reyno’s the chief playmaker in our side and it’s my turn to step up,” he said.
“I played halfback when (Reynolds) was out a couple of games there (last year); I think the Brisbane game I played half with (John Sutton).
“It’s something I need to do this weekend.”
Walker insisted Farah could handle a shift to halfback.
“He’d be raring to go. He’s an experienced campaigner and he could definitely do that,” he said.
