Since 2021, Penrith has won 3 Premierships and 3 Olympic Gold Medals

The Panthers and a Fox.

Must be something about animals in Western Sydney.

And, how appropriate that I mention the achievements of a lady from Penrith, because it’s Women In League Round:

– Thursday night footy returns for the first time in weeks as the Wests Tigers host the North Queensland Cowboys at Leichhardt, the great 2005 Grand Final match-up, and of course we don’t forget that this matchup featured two ungodly blowouts in 2023, as the Tigers, a team that won the wooden spoon by a landslide, smoked the Cowboys 66-18 at Leichhardt….

Followed by the Cowboys winning 74-0 in Townsville not even 6 weeks later, which is among many things, the greatest winning margin since 1935, the greatest winning margin by a Queensland team, the greatest winning margin for any game played in Queensland, and the biggest shutout win in First Grade history.

– The clash of the also-rans as the New Zealand Warriors host the Eels at Mt Smart in New Zealand prime time, although for a team of also-rans the Warriors are still pulling some great crowd numbers, as they’ve now sold out their remaining Mt Smart home games for this season.

– Much to my delight, First Grade rugby league make its annual pilgrimage to Perth as the Redcliffe Dolphins host the Sydney Roosters at Perth Oval, and while the Dolphins took part in the Optus Stadium double header last year, this game will mark the Roosters’ first game in Perth since Round 19 of 1995, when they defeated the Western Reds 25-6 at the WACA.

Still, I do remember the Roosters were due to play the Grand Final rematch against Canberra in Perth in 2020 (Because I had plans to go to that game), but the season shutdown and the subsequent rescheduled fixture put paid to that, and there weren’t any major rugby league games in Perth until Origin II in 2022.

– Another South East Queensland Derby for the Gold Coast Titans, this time against the Brisbane Broncos, and the way both teams are going I’d pick the Titans without even blinking, especially with the way they dismantled the Dolphins after going down 14-0.

– In what will be the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Premiership, the Melbourne Storm host the St George-Illawarra Dragons at AAMI Park, and what a game that was in ’99, as the greatest crowd in rugby league history (107,999) witnessed the Storm come from 14-0 down at the half to win 20-18, the decisive try coming 4 minutes from time when Craig Smith was knocked unconscious by Jamie Ainscough, for which video referee Chris Ward awarded a penalty try (The call of the millennium as Bill Harrigan described it), and Matt Geyer filled Smith’s role as goalkicker to convert the winning points.

All told, it was a pretty fair decision.

– The Cronulla Sharks host the Rabbitohs at Shark Park on Saturday night, and the Sharks need to get back on the straight and narrow with the Bulldogs bearing down on them, while it appears Souths have now well and truly parked the bus after being beaten up in Canberra…

What a great shame about Alex Johnston, out until the early rounds of 2025 thanks to his Achilles going pop, and in that time he’ll be stuck on 195 tries, leaving us to wonder if we’ll really see another player join Ken Irvine as the only players in the 200 Try club.

– Gold Medal City Penrith hosts Newcastle, a game that screams another 2 points the way of the Panthers as they return

– And rugby league is back at Belmore once again as Canterbury hosts the Canberra Raiders, 30 years on from the Raiders belting the Berries in the ’94 Grand Final, and this game will mark Josh Papalii’s 300th game for the Raiders, and his wife celebrated by getting herself banned from junior rugby league in Canberra for 10 years.

Alright, now to the Tips for Round 22….

Round 21 Score = 5/7

Running score after Round 21 = 96/156 (61.5%)

Lock of the Week

Despite that furious late comeback from Manly, we were correct as the Roosters held on to win a high-scoring epic 34-30 at the SFS, so this week…

THE WARRIORS, THE WAHS, TO WIN IN THE LAND THAT GAVE US SLICE OF HEAVEN…

Complete with scenes from Footrot Flats!