VENUE & TIME: CUA Stadium, Saturday August 1, 7.35pm (AEST).
COVERAGE: Fox Sports 2
LAST TIME: Warriors 42 - Panthers 20 at Mt Smart Stadium, Round 25, 2008.
WALKING WOUNDED: Just one change to the Panthers squad this week with damaging back-rower Frank Pritchard returning from a broken hand on a six-man bench. Utility Luke Lewis was keen to play but doctors' orders will ensure he doesn't return from a toe injury until Friday week's blockbuster against the Dragons. Petero Civoniceva (toe), Lachlan Coote (shoulder) and Masada Iosefa (bicep) all remain season casualties at the club.
The Warriors with be without inspirational skipper Steve Price for this clash after he suffered rib cartilage damage against the Dragons last week. Big Russell Packer has been promoted off the interchange bench as his replacement.
FORM: The severely undermanned Panthers secured back-to-back wins with their gritty 28-20 defeat of fellow top-eight aspirants, the Cowboys, at Dairy Farmers Stadium last Saturday night. The result saw them leapfrog the Cowboys on the ladder and is sure to give the club plenty of confidence to continue their charge towards the finals.
The Warriors were steaming towards a top-four finish this time last season, but they won't go anywhere near a finals match this year - last Sunday's limp 25-point loss to the Dragons confirmed as much. They have struggled to score points all season, leaving coach Ivan Cleary with a massive job to get this club rolling again for 2010.
WHO'S HOT: Michael Jennings was the man who finished with three tries for the Panthers last week, but the real star was gutsy full-back Jarrod Sammut. The flamboyant custodian scored a determined solo try late in the game to put his side in front for the first time, capping off a brilliant running performance that also included a couple of telling line-breaks.
WE THINK: The Warriors have won just two games across the ditch this season and without Steve Price leading the charge, their poor away record is set to continue against a hungry Penrith at CUA Stadium on Saturday night. The Panthers have been excellent at home and should find little resistance from a New Zealand side now officially out of the finals race. Saturday night's encounter marks the Penrith club's 999th top-grade appearance since entering the big league back in 1967. Panthers by 18.
TEAMS
Penrith Panthers:
Jarrod Sammut, Junior Tia Kilifi, Michael Jennings, Brad Tighe, Michael Gordon, Wade Graham, Luke Walsh, Frank Puletua, Paul Aiton, Matthew Bell, Trent Waterhouse, Gavin Cooper, Nathan Smith. Interchange: Adam Woolnough, Tim Grant, Joseph Paulo, Maurice Blair, Shane Elford, Frank Pritchard (two to be omitted).
New Zealand Warriors:
Wade McKinnon, Kevin Locke, Jerome Ropati, Joel Moon, Manu Vatuvei, Isaac John, Stacey Jones, Sam Rapira, Ian Henderson, Russell Packer, Simon Mannering, Jacob Lillyman, Micheal Luck (capt). Interchange: Lance Hohaia, Evarn Tuimavave, Lewis Brown, Ben Matulino.
Referees: Ben Cummins & Brett Suttor