Penrith coach Matthew Elliott reckons he can counter the brilliance of electrifying Parramatta fullback Jarryd Hayne in Friday's massive NRL western Sydney derby.
Elliott is banking on four stars - not one - doing the business.
The tantalising match looms as a winner-takes-all affair after the Panthers climbed above their
arch-rivals on for-and-against differential after their 40-10 demolition of South Sydney at CUA Stadium.
After last week's Eels-Wests Tigers match was promoted as a showdown between Hayne and Benji Marshall, there is every likelihood Friday's fixture will be seen as a showcase for Hayne and brilliant Penrith centre Michael Jennings.
Elliott admitted it was the individual brilliance of NSW Origin star Jennings that got the Panthers over the line in a spectacular 38-34 round-17 victory over Parramatta. Jennings, who has scored 17 tries this season, bagged a hat-trick.
Elliott was keen to avoid any individual head-to-head match-up and emphasised the Panthers had several strike weapons.
"We've got Frank Pritchard, Trent Waterhouse, Luke Lewis and Michael Jennings, so we're not going to get into a star-off with anyone," he said. "Parramatta are playing some sparkling footy at the moment, so it's going to be a big challenge for us and we want to make it a big challenge for them."
He was adamant Penrith would have to improve on the level of performance they produced in their previous win against Parramatta.
"We weren't good enough on that day. We were good enough to win but we weren't good enough for our own standards."
Elliott humorously dismissed any fitness concerns over star utility Lewis, who was accidentally kneed in the head by Jennings.
Asked if Lewis was concussed, Elliott replied with tongue firmly in cheek, "... at birth, yeah".
Skipper Waterhouse was equally unsympathetic.
"He's a bit of a drama queen, Luke," Waterhouse quipped.
The Panthers captain revealed that his players had talked early last week of lifting their defensive efforts after leaking 40 second-half points against Brisbane and admitted that area of their game would be crucial against the free-scoring Eels.
"You're going to have to defend well against them because they've got plenty of firepower in their side."
He insisted Penrith were "definitely up to" the challenge of playing in the finals, but did not want to look beyond Friday's clash.
- AAP
