They sealed up the minor premiership weeks ago and have constantly showcased their depth of talent throughout the season, but according to the Penrith Panthers, despite the year gone by and their home ground advantage, theyโll head into Fridayโs game against the Parramatta Eels as underdogs.
Itโs no secret the Eels are the only team that Penrith havenโt beaten this year, frustrated by the Eels in their first meeting before being picked apart after Nathan Cleary was sent off in their second encounter of the season โ the same offence that has kept the halfback from the field until this week.
Though Jarome Luai missed that second encounter through injury, he claims that the Eelsโ record against the defending premiers should make them favourites by default โ an unusual position that the five-eighth seems to be enjoying.
โWith Parra beating us the last two times I think weโre the underdogs this week, which is pretty cool in itself,โ Luai said.
โFinals football is a different breed. Weโve played in a lot of big games as a team now as well, so I think we can put whatever happened in the regular season behind us.โ
Even two-time premiership winner Apisai Koroisau couldnโt pinpoint exactly where the Eels have been able to gain an advantage this year.
โThey just play really well any time they come up against us,โ Koroisau said.
โTheyโve got a great forward pack, great backs too. One of their real dangers is the individuals in their team โ they can come up with all the big plays and create something from nothing.โ
But is there a plan? Has Koroisau been given tactical instructions? It doesnโt seem to matter thanks to the return of star halves duo Luai and Nathan Cleary. Koroisau couldnโt be happier theyโre back.
โTo be honest I donโt listen too much to the gameplan,โ the No.9 joked.
โBut Nathanโs such a great leader on and off the field. To have (the halves) back, the way they lead us around and know everyoneโs roles, itโs like they havenโt even been gone.โ
One of the Eelsโ most dangerous weapons is Luaiโs opposite number, Dylan Brown, and even Luai has to give credit where credit is due.
โHeโs the best No.6 in the game at the moment,โ Luai admitted.
โHeโs one of their danger men and we need to keep a close eye on him if we want to win.โ
While Luai is excited for the challenge of coming up against one of the competitionโs form teams after such a long absence, he doesnโt buy the argument that itโs a battle of the halves โ or that the Parramatta duo of Brown and Mitch Moses are the best in the competition.
โWeโll let the footy do the talking,โ he smirked.
โIโm keen to go up against any good halves, but itโs a 13-on-13 contest out there on the field. We (the halves) just want to make our team the better team on the night.โ
