# 2018 Penrith Panthers season

The 2018 Penrith Panthers season was the 52nd in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Griffin (from round 1 to round 21) and Cameron Ciraldo (from round 22 onwards) on caretaker basis and captained by Peter Wallace and James Maloney, the Panthers competed in the National Rugby League's 2018 Telstra Premiership.

## Squad
### Player transfers

A † denotes that the transfer occurred during the 2018 season.
Gains :
| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Adam Keighran | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2018 |
| James Maloney | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2020 |
| Tyrone Phillips | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2018 |
| Jayden Walker | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2018 |
| Andy Saunders† | Wentworthville Magpies (NSW Cup) | |
| Siosifa Talakai† | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |
Losses :
| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Sitaleki Akauola | Warrington Wolves (Super League) | 2019 |
| Tim Browne† | Retirement | – |
| Bryce Cartwright | Gold Coast Titans | 2021 |
| Mason Cerruto | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2018 |
| Tom Eisenhuth† | Melbourne Storm | |
| Leilani Latu | Gold Coast Titans | 2020 |
| Matt Moylan | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2021 |
| Darren Nicholls | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2019 |
| Mitch Rein | Gold Coast Titans | 2018 |
| Tony Satini† | Mount Pritchard Mounties (NSW Cup) | |
| Lachlan Stein† | Newtown Jets (NSW Cup) | |
| Peter Wallace† | Retirement | – |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Trial | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 17 February | 1 | Sydney Roosters | Panthers Stadium | 30 – 18 | Sivo (2), Eisenhuth, Egan, Leota, Peachey | Cleary (2/4), Keighran (1/2) |
| Saturday, 24 February | 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Belmore Sports Ground | 24 – 10 | Campbell-Gillard, Crichton | Cleary (1/2) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw |||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Sunday, 11 March | 1 | Parramatta Eels | Panthers Stadium | 24 – 14 | Blake (2), Kikau | Cleary (6/6) | 21,506 |
| Saturday, 17 March | 2 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Panthers Stadium | 18 – 14 | Blake, Merrin, Peachey | Cleary (3/4) | 15,995 |
| Friday, 23 March | 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium | 18 – 20 | Edwards, Maloney, Mansour | Cleary (2/2), Maloney (1/1) | 11,247 |
| Thursday, 29 March | 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium | 33 – 14 | Blake, Kikau, Leota, Maloney | Maloney (8/8, 1 FG) | 11,907 |
| Sunday, 8 April | 5 | Parramatta Eels | ANZ Stadium | 6 – 12 | Mansour | Maloney (4/4) | 10,061 |
| Sunday, 15 April | 6 | Gold Coast Titans | Panthers Stadium | 35 – 12 | Harawira-Naera (2), Crichton, Edwards, Peachey, Tamou | Maloney (5/7, 1 FG) | 11,091 |
| Sunday, 22 April | 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Southern Cross Group Stadium | 26 – 22 | Edwards, Kikau, Watene-Zelezniak, Yeo | Maloney (3/4) | 12,667 |
| Friday, 27 April | 8 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Panthers Stadium | 22 – 14 | Harawira-Naera, Leota, Yeo | Maloney (5/6) | 13,760 |
| Friday, 4 May | 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | Carrington Park | 20 – 26 | Phillips (2), Wallace (2) | Maloney (2/4) | 10,289 |
| Friday, 11 May | 10 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium | 18 – 29 | Campbell-Gillard, Harawira-Naera, Peachey, Watene-Zelezniak | Maloney (6/6, 1 FG) | 14,801 |
| Thursday, 17 May | 11 | Wests Tigers | Panthers Stadium | 16 – 2 | Peachey, Phillips | Maloney (4/5) | 15,081 |
| Saturday, 26 May | 12 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Panthers Stadium | 28 – 2 | Campbell-Gillard, Cleary, Crichton, Kikau | Maloney (6/6) | 21,565 |
| | 13 | Bye | | | | | |
| Friday, 8 June | 14 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 22 – 23 | Peachey (2), Whare | Maloney (5/6), Cleary (1 FG) | 7,662 |
| Friday, 15 June | 15 | Sydney Roosters | Allianz Stadium | 32 – 6 | Whare | Maloney (1/1) | 10,078 |
| Saturday, 30 June | 16 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Panthers Stadium | 10 – 18 | Watene-Zelezniak | Maloney (3/3) | 12,755 |
| Friday, 6 July | 17 | New Zealand Warriors | Panthers Stadium | 36 – 4 | Luai (2), Blake, Harawira-Naera, Kikau, Phillips | Luai (6/8) | 10,255 |
| Friday, 13 July | 18 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Panthers Stadium | 12 – 24 | Blake, Harawira-Naera | Luai (2/3) | 11,742 |
| Friday, 20 July | 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 50 – 18 | Blake, Mansour, Peachey | Cleary (3/3) | 26,357 |
| Saturday, 28 July | 20 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Lottoland | 24 – 28 | Blake, Cleary, Mansour, Whare, Yeo | Cleary (4/5) | 6,134 |
| Sunday, 5 August | 21 | Canberra Raiders | Panthers Stadium | 40 – 31 | Tamou, Peachey (2), Whare, Watene-Zelezniak, Mansour, Maloney | Cleary (6/7) | 12,195 |
| Saturday, 11 August | 22 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 16 – 17 | Blake, Cleary, Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (6/7, 1 FG) | 11,283 |
| Saturday, 18 August | 23 | Newcastle Knights | Panthers Stadium | 12 – 20 | May, Egan | Cleary (2/2) | 14,125 |
| Friday, 24 August | 24 | New Zealand Warriors | Mount Smart Stadium | 16 – 36 | Blake, Mansour, Merrin | Cleary (2/3) | 17,195 |
| Friday, 31 August | 25 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 16 – 22 | Mansour (2), Blake (2), Crichton | Cleary (1/6) | 20,637 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 8 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 8 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 8 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Sydney | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 12 | 14 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 14 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 14 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | |
| | | | Cronulla-Sutherland | Cronulla-Sutherland | 21 | | | | |
| 8 Sep, Stadium Australia | 8 Sep, Stadium Australia | 8 Sep, Stadium Australia | Penrith | Penrith | 20 | 22 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 22 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | 22 Sep, Sydney Football Stadium | | | |
| 5 | Penrith | 27 | | | | Sydney | Sydney | 12 | |
| 8 | New Zealand | 12 | | | | South Sydney | South Sydney | 4 | 30 Sep, Stadium Australia | 30 Sep, Stadium Australia | 30 Sep, Stadium Australia |
| | | | | | | | | | Sydney | Sydney | 21 |
| 9 Sep, Lang Park | 9 Sep, Lang Park | 9 Sep, Lang Park | | | | 21 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | 21 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | 21 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | Melbourne | Melbourne | 6 |
| 6 | Brisbane | 18 | | | | Melbourne | Melbourne | 22 | | |
| 7 | St George Illawarra | 48 | 15 Sep, Stadium Australia | 15 Sep, Stadium Australia | 15 Sep, Stadium Australia | Cronulla-Sutherland | Cronulla-Sutherland | 6 | | |
| | | | South Sydney | South Sydney | 13 | | | | | | |
| 7 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | 7 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | 7 Sep, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium | St George Illawarra | St George Illawarra | 12 | | | | | |
| 2 | Melbourne | 29 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | South Sydney | 28 | | | | | | | | |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 8 September | Elimination Final | New Zealand Warriors | ANZ Stadium | 27 – 12 | Peachey (2), Maloney, Crichton | Cleary (5/6) Maloney (1FG) | 17,168 |
| Friday, 15 September | Semi Final | Cronulla Sharks | Allianz Stadium | 21 - 20 | Cleary, Yeo, Blake | Cleary (4/4) | 19,211 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Ladder

2018 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 542 | 361 | +181 | 34 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 536 | 363 | +173 | 34 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 582 | 437 | +145 | 34 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 519 | 423 | +96 | 34 |
| 5 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 517 | 461 | +56 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 556 | 500 | +56 | 32 |
| 7 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 519 | 472 | +47 | 32 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 472 | 447 | +25 | 32 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 377 | 460 | −83 | 26 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 563 | 540 | +23 | 22 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 414 | 607 | −193 | 20 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 428 | 474 | −46 | 18 |
| 13 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 449 | 521 | −72 | 18 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 472 | 582 | −110 | 18 |
| 15 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 500 | 622 | −122 | 16 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 374 | 550 | −176 | 14 |

## Statistics

| Name | Age | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Caleb Aekins | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Waqa Blake | 24 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Reagan Campbell-Gillard | 25 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Nathan Cleary | 21 | 10 | 2 | 18/20 | 1 | 45 |
| Christian Crichton | 22 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Dylan Edwards | 22 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Wayde Egan | 21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaide Ellis | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Fisher-Harris | 22 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 23 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Jack Hetherington | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sione Katoa | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Viliame Kikau | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Moses Leota | 23 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jarome Luai | 21 | 4 | 2 | 8/11 | 0 | 24 |
| Sam McKendry | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Maloney | 32 | 17 | 2 | 53/61 | 3 | 117 |
| Josh Mansour | 28 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Tyrone May | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trent Merrin | 29 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tyrone Peachey | 27 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Tyrone Phillips | 24 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| James Tamou | 30 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Peter Wallace | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 23 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Dean Whare | 28 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Isaah Yeo | 24 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 27 players | 25.54 | 19 | 62 | 79/92 | 4 | 410 |

## Other teams

In addition to competing in the National Rugby League, the Panthers are also fielding semi-professional teams in the 2018 Jersey Flegg Cup (for players aged under 20) and the New South Wales Rugby League's 2018 Intrust Super Premiership (NSW Cup). The JF team is coached by Ben Harden, and the NSW Cup team is coached by Guy Missio.

## Representative honours
### Domestic

| Pos. | Player | Team | Call-up |
| PR | Reagan Campbell-Gillard | New South Wales | 2018 State of Origin |
| HB | Nathan Cleary | New South Wales | 2018 State of Origin |
| FE | James Maloney | New South Wales | 2018 State of Origin |
| BE | Tyrone Peachey | New South Wales | 2018 State of Origin |

### International

| Pos. | Player | Team | Call-up |
| CE | Tyrone Phillips | Fiji | 2018 Test vs Papua New Guinea |
| WG | Christian Crichton | Samoa | 2018 Test vs Tonga |
| FE | Tyrone May | Samoa | 2018 Test vs Tonga |
| BE | Sione Katoa | Tonga | 2018 Test vs Samoa |
| BE | James Fisher-Harris | New Zealand | 2018 Test vs England |
| FB | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | New Zealand | 2018 Test vs England |