SuperCoach Winners and Losers: Cleary goes down as big guns fail to fire in Panthers vs Storm
It was the game of the season but it wasn’t without ramifications as one of SuperCoach’s most popular players went down injured. See the 10 SC Winners and Losers from Panthers vs Storm.
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It promised to be the game of the season and it delivered in every way possible.
Penrith and Melbourne put on a show to kick off the weekend with an enthralling battle that had a little bit of everything.
We saw a sin bin, a comeback, friendly fire and one of the most popular players in SuperCoach leave the game early with a shoulder injury.
Here are the 10 SuperCoach Winners and Losers
SUPERCOACH WINNERS
1. Casey McLean (89) - The more we see of this young man, the more obvious it is how he belongs at this level. Scored a try and set one up to cap a great night.
2. Eli Katoa (81) - For the second time this season he has topped Melbourne’s SuperCoach count against the Panthers. A first half double sparked another strong score from the popular second rower.
3. Lindsay Smith (85) - What a game from the front rower. He got through a stack of work and scored the first try of the night for the Panthers. That was a fair reward for his consistency.
4. Isaah Yeo (77) - Played a key role in setting up Smith for the aforementioned try and was typically solid in all areas of the game. You know what you get from him every week.
5. Tyran Wishart (55) - Scored the most important try of the night while the Storm were down to 12 men, and finished with an impressive score of 55 points in just 31 minutes.
SUPERCOACH LOSERS
1. Brian To’o (32) We’ve been getting used to big scores from the Origin winger in recent times so this was a tough one for many. Didn’t really see any good ball in an attacking setting.
2. Nelson Asofa-Solomona (26) - He was involved in everything, including sending a teammate off for a HIA. Lost 12 SuperCoach points due to negative play and spending time in the naughty corner.
3. Daine Laurie (35) - Has done a great job filling in at fullback for Dylan Edwards, but came up with a few errors after being shifted to the wing and the obvious question is if he will hold his spot.
4. Ryan Papenhuyzen (38) - His final score of 38 included a try assist. Always tough for opposition fullbacks to get going for a good score against the Penrith defence and he found that out tonight.
5. Nathan Cleary (51) - The groans at Penrith Park when he went down were shared with the wider SuperCoach audience. The full extent of his shoulder injury could be a dagger for many with no trades left.
RELIVE ALL THE LIVE ACTION FROM PANTHERS VS STORM
FULL-TIME - Storm 24-22
Cameron Munster is controversially penalised for a high tackle that clearly wasn’t.
It gave the Panthers one shot at a two-point field goal to send the game to golden point, but Dylan Edwards came up short.
What a game that was. Two quality teams who could well do it again in October.
Here are the top SueprCoach scores from full-time:
75th minute - Storm 24-22
Grant Anderson is the latest player to come from the field for a HIA. Mitch Kenny is lucky to not be spending time in the sin bin after that tackle.
James Fisher-Harris takes Jahrome Hughes out late after a kick and the halfback gets up clutching at a shoulder.
That was a very questionable call.
The kick is an easy one for Nick Meaney and the Storm has the lead once again.
70th minute - 22-all
Tyran Wishart has made a big impact since coming on the field and he gives the Storm a much-needed response while still a man down.
He throws a big dummy close to the line, getting past three defenders on his way to scoring under the posts.
They needed that to be able to turn the tide.
Both Cameron Munster and Daine Laurie have passed their HIA’s, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona has returned from his time in the sin bin.
In huge news, Nathan Cleary has come from the field with a shoulder injury. He got up holding it after a tackle and looks like he is in a world of pain.
It’s one to follow, but the initial signs didn’t look good.
"The biggest damage he did was to his own teammate."
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 15, 2024
NAS is sent to the sin-bin in bizarre scenes.
📺 Watch #NRLPanthersStorm on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/B1ijnGXtqA
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60th minute - Panthers 22-16
Alec Macdonald has passed his HIA.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona has wiped out Cameron Munster and there is blood streaming from his nose after a tackle gone wrong. It wouldn’t surprise if there was a break.
His arm hit the back of Daine Laurie’s head and he has come from the field with a HIA.
Big Nelson has been sent for 10 minutes in the sin bin.
They don’t have to wait long to extend their lead, going downfield and scoring in the corner through Casey McLean.
What a wild couple of minutes that was.
Welcome back, Dylan Edwards! ðŸ‘#NRLPanthersStorm@telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/pLLCREAgMG
— NRL (@NRL) August 15, 2024
50th minute - Panthers 18-16
Alec Macdonald has come from the field of play for a HIA after copping a hip to the head while attempting a tackle.
It’s taken 50 minutes but the Panthers have their first led of the game after catching Melbourne short on the blindside.
Casey McLean dabbed a nice little grubber in behind the line on the back of a poor defensive decision from Will Warbrick and the returning Dylan Edwards simply had to wait for the bounce to touch down.
Did the Bunker make the correct decision calling this a try?
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 15, 2024
📺 Watch #NRLPanthersStorm on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/B1ijnGXtqA
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HALFTIME - Storm 16-12
It was a tale of two halves with the Storm coming out of the blocks fast, but the Panthers were able to recover and finish the half with the momentum.
That was until they gave away two set restarts and Melbourne made them pay.
Cameron Munster put a targeted kick to Will Warbrick who used his height to bat the ball back for Eli Katoa to score the easiest of tries.
He has a double now.
The half finishes bizarrely with the Storm kicking for touch from the 20m optional restart, only for it to be challenged for a player being in front and the Panthers slotting a penalty goal.
It has set up a thrilling second half between the competition’s two premier teams.
Here are the top SuperCoach scores from halftime of Panthers vs Storm:
30th minute - 10-all
Penrith is starting to pepper the Storm’s line and it’s Lindsay Smith who breaks the deadlock for the home side.
It was a simple slip from Shawn Blore as he was looking to slide in the line that proved costly.
Isaah Yeo spotted it and was able to run to the line and simply draw and pass to Smith.
Nathan Cleary surprisingly misses the relatively easy shot at goal. Will that come back to bite them?
The Panthers go back-to-back on the back of a pretty poor blunder from the Storm.
Jarome Luai puts a grubber in and the defence stands and watches as Izack Tago grounds the ball before it went dead.
We’re all tied up.
NRL obstruction rule 🤠AFL Holding the Ball.
— Bill Murray (@willismurray_) August 15, 2024
2 sleeps til VAR pic.twitter.com/h8Dk4hz1Hr
20th minute - Storm 10-0
There’s plenty of physicality in this one.
Nathan Cleary has been penalised for a shoulder charge on Nelson Asofa-Solomona, probably not the person you want to try that on.
A nice kick from Jahrome Hughes is contested by Will Warbrick who bats the ball back into the waiting arms of Eli Katoa who carries a few Panthers over the line to have their second of the night.
Storm strike early straight from the scrum! 👊
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 15, 2024
📺 Watch #NRLPanthersStorm on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/B1ijnGXtqA
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10th minute - Storm 4-0
Controversy early on.
Penrith produced an error to give Melbourne a scrum deep in enemy territory.
Jack Howarth runs a line and bundles Nathan Cleary over, appearing to hit his outside shoulder, but the Bunker gives the all clear and Grant Anderson has first points.
We’ve seen that exact type of play pulled up plenty of times before, proving once again it is the most confusing rule in the game.
7.50PM: The biggest game of the season is here.
Top spot is on the line between the two premiership favourites, Penrith and Melbourne.
7.20PM: It’s been a while since we’ve had a Thursday night game with this much anticipation.
Currently Melbourne leads the competition from Penrith by two points and with a +5 points differential.
If the Panthers win by three or more, they will climb into top spot and that will be awfully hard to take off them over the concluding rounds.
The only danger for SuperCoaches comes in the form of a defensive game.
Many are leaving the C on Nathan Cleary (HFB $943,700), but if the scoreline is similar to their encounter from round one (Melbourne 8-0), it would be a tough way for many to start the round.
Isaah Yeo (2RF $594,100) topped the SuperCoach points count with 67 that night, along with the since-departed Taylan May.
Eli Katoa (2RF $643,700) is one of the hottest prospects in the competition, yet his tally of 66 was the highest for the Storm back in the season opener.
Another low scoring night would be a cruel blow for SuperCoaches.
6.50PM: It’s the news Panthers fans have been waiting for.
Dylan Edwards (FLB $891,800) is set to return for his first game since the third State of Origin in a battle that is tipped to determine the minor premiership against the Melbourne Storm.
He will take over at fullback with Daine Laurie (FLB/5/8 $619,500) dropping back to wing and Sunia Turuva relegated to 18th man.
In another boost for the mountain men, James Fisher-Harris (FRF $552,300) also comes back from injury. He starts at prop with Luron Patea dropping out of the team to accommodate the New Zealand international.
The Storm are 1-17 from their team named on Tuesday.
EARLIER: The Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers are SuperCoach poison with both teams boasting superb defensive units.
But each team is also stacked with SuperCoach studs.
So what are we to do when the two clash?
Well obviously you are not going to leave someone like Nathan Cleary out of your 17, but it might behove the savvy SuperCoach to not captain him in this game either.
The VC armband is an option though.
Cleary’s career average (from seven games) against Melbourne is 60.9PPG and his best ever score against them is 103 in round 23 last year. I wouldn’t loop 103, but the VC feels like a smart insurance policy against Cleary going large.
OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brian To’o: ‘Bizza’ has been doing the business of late with two triple figure returns in his past five matches. To’o’s career average against Melbourne is over 60 and he has a career best of 108. Not too shabby.
Harry Grant: After a slow start to the season (by his own lofty standards), Grant appeared to be hitting his straps when he scored a barnstorming 199 points against the Dragons. However, a lacklustre 39 points against the Rabbitohs was to follow so maybe that was overly optimistic. Grant’s highest career score against Penrith is just 88 points so I would not expect a big one here.
Jahrome Hughes: Consistent 60s has been Hughes’ modus of late and while that’s nothing to write home about, a score of 60+ would be a big result here considering his lifetime average against Penrith is just 43PPG.
Eli Katoa: After being rested due to a knee niggle last week Eli Katoa returns this week. Penrith have lost both their regular starting edge backrowers so you’d think that might be the chink in the armour that Melbourne target and Katoa is a pretty nifty hole runner. A try would not surprise.
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