TEAM REVIEW: Penrith Panthers
Today we have a quick look at the Penrith Panthers for Season 2007.
Matthew Elliott is head coach for this season and roster for first grade reads as follows:Paul Aiton, Matt Bell, Joel Clinton, Matt Cross, Geoff Daniela, Brett Firman, Michael Gordon, Craig Gower, Michael Jennings, Luke Lewis, Mark Meredith, Peewee Moke, Bryan Norrie, Mark O’Halloran, Luke Priddis, Frank Pritchard, Frank Puletua, Tony Puletua, Shane Rodney, Luke Rooney, Peter Wallace, Trent Waterhouse, Rhys Wesser, Brendan Worth, Nick Youngquest.
Matt Elliott saw the opportunity at the Panthers; and said it was “Too Good To Miss” – With a glowing roster of talent and the recent history of strong results made it an easy choice for the former Canberra head coach.
Penrith wasn’t extremely active in the player market for this year; partly due to the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of atrractive talent on the market – but also due to the fact that they have a strong existing player base and “small adjustments” accordingly to Elliott can bring Penrith into contention for the trophy this year.In assessing the depth of player talent; Elliott feels players from on the fringe of first grade include: Michael Jennings, Junior Moors and some future first graders in years to come include Tim Grant and Geoff Daniella from SG Ball.
Certainly depth is no problem out at the foot of the mountains.Elliott also makes mention of the strong coaching team around him at Penrith; staff that include – Wayne Collins, Matt Adamson and Steve Georgallis.Training for the Panthers resumes on the 6th of November – good luck for 2007.
Prediction for 2007: The ultimate test for the Panthers will be the coach; Elliott showed strong signs he is a top coach by getting a bunch of no names into the top 8 at Canberra. Can he take a decent side such as Penrith to the top? Time will tell.We feel that in 2007; they will fall just short of the top 8. Possibly with a year under his belt; 2008 might be a year they have a tilt at the top prize.
Be sure and get your Panthers Supporter Gear, Memorabilia and Game Tickets for 2007!