NRL Round 19 Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers Preview

It's a traditional battle of the West this week as the Wests Tigers face the Penrith Panthers out at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Not much has been made of this game this week which is very surprising given all the talk about the battle between the AFL and NRL for supremacy in western Sydney. Will it be right to award the NRL a points victory if they get a crowd of over 12 000 given GWS poor crowd attendance this season at home? Probably so but in the big sceme of things and what money we can make, we are getting a little off track. So, back to the game. The Panthers have had a week to forget after a very quiet week with the bye. At the beginning of the week, it was annouced that club legend, Luke Lewis would be granted an early release from his contract and effectively leaving the Panthers at the end of this season. It came as a shock to some, even though it was reported by several media outlets on the morning of the annoucement. But it has caused a stir out in Panther land. Coach Ivan Cleary has already come under a lot of scrutiny when he temporarily stripped Lewis of the captaincy during SOO and their Football Operations Manager, Gus Gould has also copped plenty. It does seem like they are trying very hard to turn this club around and they've always said that it was going to be a very tough process. Over in Tiger land, they are also suffering a few setbacks. The loss to the Bulldogs last Friday meant that they slipped out of the Top 8 on points difference to the Warriors and they are now in very dangerous territory. They are a team that knows how to win when it counts but they really could've done with a win after leading the Bulldogs at halftime. They did suffer a setback losing Farrah before kickoff and there is no doubt the game would have been different (but perhaps not the outcome) had they had him at hooker. Each team is now focussing of very different things in their run home. The Tigers will be pushing to play in September, with as much momentum as possible. While the Panthers will still be rebuilding for 2013 and beyond, but also do not want to end up with the dreaded wooden spoon that they are currently only two points ahead of. This should be a very interesting clash.

Wests Tigers
The breaking news on Wednesday night was the suspension of Adam Blair for one week. As for a replacement for him, there was already an extended bench named but there could be another forward come into the lineup, just stay tuned to my twitter feed for more information. The team is basically the same team all but for Tom Humble who is dropped and is replaced by Junior Moors. The Tigers have lost Lote Tiquiri for the remainder of the season, but that can be a blessing in disguise as for most of the season when teams have attacked down his wing, he has been made to look slow and his defence poor. As a result, Beau Ryan has been moved from fullback to the wing and Tim Moltzen returns from injury to play at the back. The Tigers are also boosted by the return of Matt Utai who was a late withdrawal from Fridays loss to the Bulldogs. The player who replaced Utai was Joel Reddy and he shifts back to the bench. But the biggest boost of all, will be the return of hooker Robbie Farrah. He was arguably NSW's best player in SOO and he will look to boost his teams performance in this game and for the remainder of the NRL season. He is a class player who will lift those around him. 

Penrith Panthers

Apart from a week of turmoil, it is interesting to note that Luke Lewis has been stripped of the captaincy for this week and probably for the rest of the season. There are also a host of changes to the team that failed to score a second half point against the Rabbitohs in Round 17. Lewis is obviously named at lock and Ryan Simpkins drops back to the bench. Josh Mansour is welcomed back to the wing (he did play last game but was not named) and Etu Uaisele is dropped. Geoff Daniela is dropped from the centres to make way for Michael Jennings and the NSW prop Tim Grant resumes his duties in the front row. Making way for him is Nigel Plum who moves back to the second row and Clint Newton won't play this week. Sam Mckendry is back to the side from injury and Dayne Weston is moved to the extended bench. The halves are also different with Travis Burns and Luke Walsh to resume formalities. A completely different team for the Panthers so perhaps a different performance to what we have see this season. Fans will be searching for any sign of promise after a very poor season. Another loss will only disgruntle them more.

Recent History

Overall = Tigers 8 - Panthers 14

Last 5 games = Tigers 4 - Panthers 1

At Campbelltown Sports Stadium = Tigers 2 - Panthers 3

Odds
TAB Sportsbet = Tigers $1.26 Panthers $4.00
Centrebet = Tigers $1.24 Panthers $4.25
Sportsbet = Tigers $1.25 Panthers $3.75
Betfair = Tigers $1.29 Panthers $3.70

Verdict
It is the stage of the season where the Tigers normally stand up and announce themselves as genuine premiership contenders. They are yet to do that this season so perhaps this will be the start of that. Otherwise they could find themselves out of the Top 8, and not just on points difference. Not only that, the Tigers are now starting to get all their troops back on deck. They are shown as a stronger team all over the park and with a few disappointing results of late, they must stand up. If this is to be a big win for them, then they would look to build momentum moving into the final rounds of the competition.

Suggested Bet
Tigers @ $1.29 (with Betfair)


Margin Delight = Tigers 13+ @ $2.10 - The Tigers should aim to not only win this game with ease, but also improve their poor points difference which currently sits at -4. Just a little side note, if you're thinking of taking the line of -11.5 it is at $1.95. So perhaps a margin of 13+ gives you better value.


Try Scoring bet = Beau Ryan First ($8), First 2nd Half ($8) and/or Last ($8) - He is back in the position where he scores most of his tries. He has been in some great form this season and no doubt this should continue. He will have a handy centre playing inside him that can attract two defenders so why not take one of these options. For mine, First Try would be the best.


Good luck!
Scooby
@scoobystips