The Panthers play host to the Warriors at Penrith Stadium in the second qualifying final and the first of two Super Saturday blockbusters.
Penrith returned to form last week against a depleted Melbourne side at AAMI Stadium, and this week will be looking to extract some revenge on the Warriors who dominated them in their previous clash.
The return of five-eighth James Maloney was instrumental to their win last week, with young-gun Nathan Cleary failing to put his hand up in the veteran's absence.
The Panthers will need both Cleary and Maloney to be at their best if they are to overcome a Warriors side who pose plenty of attacking flair.
New Zealand started their season well, winning seven of their first nine games and quickly became the talking point of the NRL. Then injuries to the likes of Isaac Luke and Shaun Johnson stiffled Stephen Kearney's side and they hit a mid-year lull where they struggled with consistency.
The Warriors possess arguably the best spine in the competition and to boot, their wingers are up there with the strongest ball runners in the game.
The kicking game of the Panthers' halves will be crucial here.
They need to hone their accuracy and find the grass and touchline where possible, in order to limit the impact of the Warriors back three.
The last meeting between these two sides saw the Warriors run out dominant winners 36-16.
Although the victory was comprehensive, Panthers fans will be holding onto the fact that New Zealand hasn’t beaten their side in Australia since 2012.
Both teams have key players returning. Corey Harawira-Naera for the Panthers and most notably, Blake Green for the Warriors.
C Harawira-Naera (Panthers), B Green (Warriors), J Gavet (Warriors), G Beale (Warriors)
J Hetherington (Panthers), M Lino (Warriors), L Pulu (Warriors), T Satae (Warriors)
Mostly Cloudy and 14 degrees.
Key NRL stats
Average points scored: Panthers 21.5 / Warriors 19.7
Average points conceded: Panthers 19.2 / Warriors 18.6
Penrith have won 3 of their last 5 games against Warriors
The Panthers have won 5 of their last 10 games, with 2 of those 5 wins came against top-eight side
Key NRL Betting Stats
The Warriors have covered the line at 58.3% this season: Warriors +2.5 @ $1.90
Solomone Kata (3) leads both teams in first try scorers this season: Solomone Kata first try @ $13
David Fusitu'a has scored a try in his last four games: David Fusitu'a any time try @ $1.90
The Panthers have won 6 consecutive home games against the Warriors: Panthers win @ $1.71
6 of Penrith's last 7 night-games have resulted in 'Over' total match points: Over total match points of 38.5 @ $1.90
NRL Betting Tip: Warriors to win by a margin of 1-12 @ $3.25
Reasoning: The Warriors looked to have turned the corner and have built solid momentum in recent weeks. They proved too strong for the Panthers in round 24 and should be too good for them again.
Sep 07, 2018 07:01 PM
AAP
C Harawira-Naera (Panthers), B Green (Warriors), J Gavet (Warriors), G Beale (Warriors)
J Hetherington (Panthers), M Lino (Warriors), L Pulu (Warriors), T Satae (Warriors)
Mostly Cloudy and 14 degrees.
Key NRL stats
Key NRL Betting Stats
NRL Betting Tip: Warriors to win by a margin of 1-12 @ $3.25
