This Sunday July 18 against a desperate New Zealand Warriors looms as a danger game for Forbes Magpies junior Charlie Staines and his Penrith Panthers who have been forced to move to the Sunshine Coast bubble after NSW deals with another COVID outbreak.

Coming off a thrilling 13-12 win against a bold Parramatta Eels last round, Penrith will be forced to do it without a number of Origin stars including halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai. Yet Penrith seem to relish these challenges.

In a 12-10 win over the Storm nearly three months ago and again two weeks ago against the Eels, Penrith got the job done without Cleary and against the Eels without Luai and Edwards as well. It is the kind of luxury of depth most teams can only dream about but it means nothing come Sunday for Charlie and company if they can’t hold out a Warriors team running out of time to make a September run.

The following week sees Penrith take on Brisbane before a mouthwatering rematch with Melbourne on July 31 in Melbourne in a game where Cleary, Luai and co are expected to return.

It wasn’t pretty and it was arguably their worst game in two years but the Penrith Panthers have won a scrappy match against a game but directionless Parramatta Eels.

Forbes Magpies Rugby League product Charlie Staines started at fullback, a position he is familiar with from his junior days here in Group 11 and had an indifferent night in difficult conditions.

In a game where the Panthers were always playing catch up, Parramatta scored first before Penrith took a 6-4 lead to the sheds.

As both sides traded tries in the second half in a real war of attrition, it soon became apparent that the Eels were only really hanging in due to Penrith’s disjointed attack that resulted in 15 errors. Penrith’s defence held solid all night with both Parramatta tries coming from fortuitous circumstances.

At 12-12 with time expiring, Dubbo CYMs player Matt Burton nailed a field goal to make it 13-12. Even a late Liam Martin check on Waqa Blake for a questionable penalty that allowed Mitch Moses a chance to kick a penalty goal from 30m out couldn’t change the result.

Penrith has the bye this weekend.

After being in the unusual position of back-to-back losses, Charlie Staines Penrith Panthers rallied against fellow title hopefuls Sydney Roosters 38-12 last week. The win returns the Panthers to the top of the ladder for at least today.

The men in black didn’t have it all their own way as the Chooks sprung to an early 12-0 lead after 15 minutes. Yet in the blink of an eye, a sin bin to Roosters enforcer Siosiua Taukeiaho after only 22 minutes for a high hit on a falling Nathan Cleary saw the Panthers pile on 22 unanswered points to go into the half 22-12 in front.

If the tri-colours thought they were still a chance at the half Penrith soon put pay to that with a dominant display scoring three more tries including Staines.

The Forbes Magpies Rugby League product crossed in the 63rd minute to end proceedings and give the Panthers a big boost leading into Origin II.

Next up for the title favourites will be old foes Parramatta Eels who themselves fancy their chances at a premiership ring. The winner may go a long way towards winning it in 2021.

Can’t wait!

BUILDING NICELY: After a sluggish start to the Central West Blowes Menswear Rugby premiership, the Forbes Platypi find themselves in outright second on 23 ppoints, two clear of Cowra and three ahead of Bathurst as they face last placed Orange City tomorrow.

It’s been the game everyone circles in their calendars for a while and for good reason. Every time the Forbes Platypi XV play the Orange Emus it always produces theatre and drama and Saturday was no different as Forbes defeated Orange Emus 30-24 in Forbes.

In front of a packed and parochial Forbes crowd, the Platypi threw out the form guide to lock in second spot on the ladder in front of a gridlock of teams lead by Cowra in a see-sawing affair.

The Platypi had lost earlier in the season to the Emus and were hoping to gain some revenge at home against this season’s high flyers as well as steady the ship after a month of mixed results. They didn’t disappoint as this classic rivalry between former grand final combatants saw both sides trade tries and the lead.

Tries to Charlie French, Mahe Fangupo, Steven Dinham and Minit Tonga along with some outstanding kicking from stand off Daniel Sweeney were enough to keep the Angus Roberts lead side at bay. Roberts was in everything for the Emu’s scoring an early try, kicking conversions and rallying the troops. Oscar Hunt also stood tall for the visitors in another for the scrapbook.

Next week Forbes travel to Orange to play bottom placed City who recently have begun to improve. The Platypi will need to be at their best regardless if they are to stay in the hunt for the semi finals and another tilt at the Central West Blowes Menswear title.