Panthers and Wildcats Both Staring Down the Barrel in Round Thirteen

by noelrr
28/06/2012

The fortunes of the Penrith and Parramatta NRL and WCL teams appear to be eerily aligned this year, with both codes sitting at or near the bottom of their respective competition ladders. On the basketball front, the Panthers, Wildcats and Sutherland Sharks have all circled each other at the bottom of the ladder in recent weeks, although the Panthers have, to date, managed to stay out of outright last position. At present, the Wildcats are holding tight to the wooden spoon and life does not get any easier for them this weekend, when they travel south to Wollongong to play the Illawarra Hawks in Round Thirteen of the 2012 Waratah Championship League (WCL) competition. The Hawks have hit winning form in recent weeks, disposing of the Sharks (70-62), Panthers (91-68) and Hills District Hornets (89-83). Those three wins, in particular, have set the Hawks on a path to the playoffs and the Wildcats do not appear to have the depth of talent necessary to defeat the reigning WCL premiers this weekend – especially not in Wollongong. The Panthers are now on a nine-game losing streak and host the third-placed Maitland Mustangs at 2pm this Sunday afternoon at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (PVRSC) Cambridge Park. Not even the most ardent Panthers fan could predict a win by their team this weekend, in spite of the Mustangs coming off a 79-59 loss to the Sydney Comets in Round Twelve. There are however some positive vibes for the Panthers, even though they were comprehensively thumped by the Hawks in Round Twelve. The Panthers pushed the Mustangs all the way to the wire in the first game between the two teams this season – in Maitland – and led for the vast majority of the game before falling agonisingly short of success at 95-93. Penrith head coach Jeff Cooper spoke after the Hawks game and said "We need to play better against Maitland this Sunday and the key to that is stopping Rueter (American import Mitchell Rueter) and Keiran Gleeson". Rueter was held to nineteen points and single figure rebounds by the Comets, giving the Panthers some hope they can also restrict his output this Sunday. The Panthers will be looking foward to playing this Sunday's game on the PVRSC Show Courts, after being relegated to the old Court One last Saturday night to make way for the current flavour of the month - the Roller Derby. Whilst that game transfer should have played into the hands of the Penrith players, who have a familiarity with all six courts in the Penrith stadium, it would be the visitors who would dominate from the opening whistle. Parramatta's besieged women's team get a merciful break from action this weekend, enjoying a bye round. WOMEN: Newcastle Hunters 75 (Katie-Lee Ebzery 37 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 5 steals) def Parramatta Wildcats 37 (Emma Bramston 12 points; Josie Taoi 7 points, 8 boards; Laura Winter 7 points) MEN: Newcastle Hunters 89 (Adam Stanger 18 points, Nathan Wilson 18, Deion Sims 17, Joshua Morgan 12, Matthew McGovern 12) def Parramatta Wildcats 74 (Goran Veg 17 points, 9 boards, 4 blocked shots; Rangi Kennedy 16 points; Jamie Newth 13); Illawarra Hawks 98 (Daniel Jackson 24 points, Tyson Demos 21, Philip Jordan 10, Zac Delaney 10) def Penrith Panthers 61 (Ben Ellsworth 13 points, Steve Gavrilovic 11, Robert Crane 9) PHOTO: Louis Brandt scores on a reverse lay-up against the Hawks in Round Twelve - photo by Noel Rowsell

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