NRL Round 8 Preview - Panthers v Bulldogs @ Pepper Stadium

Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bulldogs @ Pepper Stadium
 
Preview - The Panthers will be looking to rebound from just their second loss of the season when they host the struggling Bulldogs at Pepper Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers 3-game winning streak was halted by a determined Sharks’ side at Shark Park, with the Sharks holding on for a gripping 26-22 victory. The Bulldogs went down 6-0 in a tight yet at times turgid loss to the Roosters, where the Bulldogs had over 50 plays in the Roosters 20 metres zone without managing to come up with a try. 
 
Penrith Panthers’ Scouting Report - Penrith are unchanged despite losing to the Sharks last week. There are rumours Nathan Cleary could be back in a couple of weeks, however Josh Mansour may be missing for several months after suffering multiple facial fractures in round seven.
 
Canterbury Bulldogs’ Scouting Report - The Bulldogs got through last Thursday's bruising loss to the Roosters without any injury concerns and are unchanged for the Panthers on Friday. Dean Pay will be expecting more from his spine including senior players Kieran Foran and Michael Lichaa after the Bulldogs couldn't muster a point, despite having over 50 tackles in the Roosters 20m zone in their loss last Thursday. 
 
Verdict - Panthers by 1-8 in a low scoring game

Hard to tip the Bulldogs based on their donut in attack last week, however I do think they will be competitive again here. They are one of the few teams down the bottom of the table that have been competing and playing hard every week, and deserve some credit for that at the very least. The Panthers are a funny team as, despite being 5-2, they can tend to drift in and out of games. Having said that, back home coming off a loss, they still should have too much for the Bulldogs, although I don’t think they will have it all their own way.