Panthers vs Sharks Predictions: 5/2 about Turuva taking Penrith to a fourth Grand Final

The Penrith Panthers’ quest for a fantastic four consecutive NRL Grand Final wins is put on the line in Saturday’s Preliminary Final when they take on the Cronulla Sharks at Accor Stadium (kick-off 10:50 BST, 19:50 local, Sky Sports Mix).

The reigning champs are big favourites to go on and win the competition again, but to do so they need to overcome a plucky Sharks side who only finished two points adrift of them in the regular season. My Panthers vs Sharks predictions will need to take that into account.

Panthers vs Sharks Odds

You won’t need telling that the Panthers are a prohibitive 2/9 to win in the 80 minutes, with the Sharks available at 100/30 to pull off an upset few are talking up. There’s a 22/1 bet on the table if you think this one will be a draw in regular time.

Betfred are offering a series of Price Boosts on this Preliminary Final, with Jarome Luai’s anytime tryscorer odds lengthened from 5/2 to 3/1 and Ronaldo Mulitalo going from 1/1 to 6/5 in the same market.

The Panthers to overcome a 12-point handicap and Sunia Turuva to score a try at anytime has been boosted from 2/1 to 5/2, while on the other side of the ledger a Kayal Iro try with the Sharks succeeding with a 16-point start is now 11/2 from 9/2.

Team News

The Panthers’ one question mark is over Scott Sorensen, who missed their previous victory over the Roosters with a hamstring injury but could return here. He has initially been listed among the reserves, but he might well start in place of Luke Garner.

Former Hull KR half-back Brad Schneider is on the bench once more but could make way for Garner in that scenario.

Rugby League Odds

The Sharks will go again with the 17 which beat the North Queensland Cowboys last week to reach this far. That means ace scrum-half Nicho Hynes will play his 100th NRL match with the great hope that number 101 will be at the same venue next Sunday.

Panthers -12 and Sunia Turuva to score a try anytime @ 5/2

It’s nigh-on impossible to back against the Panthers given their recent track record and their ability to simply get the job done.

They’re also coming up against a Sharks outfit that, while they finished in fourth and just two points behind the second-placed champions, can blow so hot and cold over the course of 80 minutes, let alone a season.

Nicho Hynes sums them up to a large extent, and if he could have a big day on Saturday then the Sharks have a hope. But that being said, Cronulla have already been destroyed once this season by the Panthers, losing 42-0 at PointsBet Stadium back in May despite the champs being without Nathan Cleary.

So with that in mind, and with the expectation that Ivan Cleary is going to have his charges pumped up to make history over the next 10 days, I can see the Panthers winning by at least two scores.

And with Sunia Turuva having crossed 16 times in 22 matches this term, I can see him scoring another in this one, bringing in the boosted 5/2 double.

Panthers to win both halves @ 21/20

It’s at times like this that the Panthers don’t tend to let up. Yes, we all know about the rollercoaster Grand Final last year when they fell three scores behind to the Brisbane Broncos before somehow pulling off that miracle victory.

But this is a team that will want to go into the showpiece occasion next week with momentum. So if they get ahead early, don’t expect them to rest on their laurels. I can really see them ramming home the advantage and rolling into next Sunday buoyant.

This might be the day the Panthers show just how serious they are about gunning for number four.

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