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Match Preview

Panthers v Raiders: Premiers unchanged; Stuart shuffles backline

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The Raiders travel to Penrith's BlueBet Stadium looking to end the Panthers' incredible 20-game winning streak on home turf, a record that stretches back to 2019.

The Panthers' winning streak eclipses Manly's efforts, who won 19 straight games at their home ground between from 1967, the same year the western Sydney club entered the competition.

Ironically, it was the Raiders who last handed defeat to the Panthers at the foot of the mountains during their run to the 2019 grand final. 

Since then the Panthers have won the last two, in particular the spicy showdown in April last year which landed Stephen Crichton with a contrary conduct charge for starting a melee involving Joseph Tapine.

There's been plenty of rivalry between the two sides before that with tense and last-minute finishes ensuring there's no love lost between the two clubs.

The Raiders are reeling after going down to the Cowboys in Canberra last week for a 2-4 start to the year while the Panthers are flying high with six wins on the board.

Sportsbet Betting preview: Panthers v Raiders

The Rundown

Team news

Panthers: Ivan Cleary has named an unchanged line-up to the side that beat the Broncos last week. Nathan Cleary was charged for a grade one dangerous contact tackle on Billy Walters but is free to play after escaping with a fine. Dylan Edwards was given an early breather in last week's win and will play. 

No changes to the squad in Saturday's 24-hour update.

Raiders: The Raiders will be without skipper Elliott Whitehead after he suffered a deep cut to his mouth in a training collision with Ata Moriata during the week. Whitehead suffered damage to his upper gum and teeth and will need at least a week to recover. His place is taken by Hudson Young in the second row.

A couple of backline changes with Jordan Rapana replacing fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad who moves to the bench and Xavier Savage coming onto the wing. Harry Rushton is in line for an NRL debut after being included on the bench with Emre Guler dropping out.

Team Lists

Backs

  • Fullback for Panthers is number 1 Dylan Edwards
    Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Jordan Rapana
  • Winger for Panthers is number 2 Charlie Staines
    Winger for Raiders is number 2 Nick Cotric
  • Centre for Panthers is number 3 Izack Tago
    Centre for Raiders is number 3 Matthew Timoko
  • Centre for Panthers is number 4 Stephen Crichton
    Centre for Raiders is number 4 Semi Valemei
  • Winger for Panthers is number 5 Taylan May
    Winger for Raiders is number 5 Xavier Savage
  • Five-Eighth for Panthers is number 6 Jarome Luai
    Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Jack Wighton
  • Halfback for Panthers is number 7 Nathan Cleary
    Halfback for Raiders is number 7 Brad Schneider

Forwards

  • Prop for Panthers is number 8 Matthew Eisenhuth
    Prop for Raiders is number 8 Josh Papali'i
  • Hooker for Panthers is number 9 Apisai Koroisau
    Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Tom Starling
  • Prop for Panthers is number 10 James Fisher-Harris
    Prop for Raiders is number 10 Joseph Tapine
  • 2nd Row for Panthers is number 11 Viliame Kikau
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Corey  Harawira-Naera 
  • 2nd Row for Panthers is number 12 Liam Martin
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 18 Hudson Young
  • Lock for Panthers is number 13 Isaah Yeo
    Lock for Raiders is number 16 Adam Elliott

Interchange

  • Interchange for Panthers is number 15 Scott Sorensen
    Interchange for Raiders is number 13 Ryan Sutton
  • Interchange for Panthers is number 16 Spencer Leniu
    Interchange for Raiders is number 14 Charnze  Nicoll-Klokstad
  • Interchange for Panthers is number 17 Jaeman Salmon
    Interchange for Raiders is number 15 Harry Rushton
  • Interchange for Panthers is number 22 Soni Luke
    Interchange for Raiders is number 17 Corey Horsburgh

Reserves

  • Replacement for Panthers is number 18 Robert Jennings
    Replacement for Raiders is number 19 Matt Frawley

Match Officials

  • Referee: Grant Atkins
  • Touch Judge: Drew Oultram
  • Touch Judge: Kasey Badger
  • Senior Review Official: Chris Butler

Last updated:

Key match-up

Jarome Luai v Jack Wighton: Teammates at Origin last year, both playmakers are in charge of their respective left edges and bring the creative flare to their sides. Luai has started the season with two tries and five try assists while Wighton has set up one and scored two himself. The pair's short side kicking games are where they're often relieving their halves partners so look for more of the same on Sunday.

Stat attack

The Panthers are leading the competition in key basic areas with an 82% completion rate average earning them at least 55% possession per game. They're firing in the yardage with 11,093 metres, more than 700 more than next best Parramatta. On the other side of the ledger, the Raiders lead the competition in one of the worst areas - handling errors (68) - and won't be able to afford a poor completion rate on Sunday.

Related

Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.