Rugby league great Brad Fittler has revealed his “huge concern” around Penrith as the Panthers now face arguably the toughest road to the premiership of any of the six remaining teams.
The bid to win the title became tougher with news on Friday night superstar winger Brian To’o has been ruled out of Saturday’s semi final clash with Parramatta.
To’o failed to overcome an ankle injury and so Brent Naden will line up on the wing.
The Panthers finished the regular season as the second best side in the NRL, behind only mighty Melbourne which won an incredible 19 straight games.
But those two sides can no longer meet in the grand final, thanks to South Sydney upsetting the apple cart with a qualifying final annihilation of Penrith to turn the playoff series on its head.
The Bunnies and Storm cruised through to the prelims while the Panthers face a sudden death clash with Parramatta on Saturday night.
If they get through the Eels, they go up against the Storm in the penultimate week. It means the Panthers must defeat the Storm just to get to grand final day.
Fittler says they may not even get past Saturday night if they don’t rectify a glaring issue from last week’s loss.
“The thing they showed last week was they were a little bit vulnerable. It was the first time I’ve really seen Penrith like that,” Fittler told Freddy And The Eighth.
“For whatever reason the game got to them, their discipline was poor towards the end of the game. Their fitness is normally better than any other team.
“That was a huge concern for me.”
Penrith ran white hot in 2020 and finished top of the NRL ladder, then won straight through to the grand final.
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They tripped at the final hurdle, falling to Melbourne in the big dance.
The Panthers have been largely considered the best young team in the competition for two years now, but risk having their premiership window slammed shut with no silverware to show for it.
Andrew Johns believes the Eels are a good chance to knock the Panthers off on Saturday night.
“They (Panthers) are under all sorts of pressure, so it will be interesting to see what the pressure does to their key players,” Johns said.
“I thought (South Sydney) contained Brian To’o really well the other night the way they defended.
“If Paramatta can turn up and get a couple of early tries I’m interested to see what that pressure does to Penrith.”
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