Panthers Executive General Manager Phil Gould AM joined the Big Sports Breakfast on Wednesday morning to chat about the upcoming elimination final between the Panthers and the Bulldogs.
The Panthers finished sixth on the NRL ladder after the 26 Rounds and will host the Bulldogs in an all Sydney derby at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers go into the clash having won their past five matches and their only loss in the last eight matches came in golden point away to New Zealand, while the Bulldogs head into the Telstra Premiership finals series on the back of three straight losses.
BE THERE at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, September 11 and support your Bulldogs as we fight to continue our finals campaign and take on Penrith Panthers in a must-win elimination final. Get your tickets here: www.nrl.com.au/tickets
The two sides have only met once in 2016 and while the seventh placed Bulldogs aren’t carrying winning form into the finals series, Gould a former Bulldogs Coach himself – knows what to expect from the blue and whites.
“That won’t worry the Bulldogs in one shape or form. It won’t worry their Coach and it won’t worry their players," Gould said on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“This is a hard headed, experienced football team and we all know they’ve got the ability to turn it on at the drop of a hat.
“We are expecting them at their best on the weekend and it will be a real good test for our young fellas.
“It will be a completely different sort of game and different environment to what they’ve (the Panthers) experienced in recent times.
“It won’t be as open and free running as some of the football they’ve played in the last few weeks and they’ve got to learn very quickly to adapt to that.”
The Bulldogs are in their fifth straight finals series under Coach Des Hasler, while the Panthers will head into their third finals series in 10 years.
With very little experience within their camp, Gould knows the young Panthers will learn a lot this weekend against eight time premiers, the Bulldogs.
“These young Panthers will learn a lot about football this weekend playing against these opponents (the Bulldogs) under these circumstances."
