Matchday Details
Saturday, 14 March 2026 – 7:35pm (AEST) – Carrington Park
📺 Broadcast: Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Ashley Klein | Bunker: Chris Butler
Penrith Panthers
1. Dylan Edwards 2. Thomas Jenkins 3. Paul Alamoti 4. Casey McLean 5. Brian To’o 6. Blaize Talagi 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. Luke Garner 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Jack Cogger 15. Billy Phillips 16. Scott Sorensen 17. Kalani Going 18. Izack Tago 19. Freddy Lussick 20. Tom Ale 21. Jack Cole 22. Sione Fonua
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1. William Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. KL Iro 5. Samuel Stonestreet 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicholas Hynes 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Thomas Hazelton 11. Briton Nikora 12. Billy Burns 13. Jesse Colquhoun 14. Siosifa Talakai 15. Toby Rudolf 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Braden Uele 18. Hohepa Puru 19. Chris Vea’ila 20. Jayden Berrell 21. Niwhai Puru 22. Michael Gabrael
Match Preview
After strong performances in the opening round of season 2026, the Panthers and Sharks clash in Bathurst on Saturday night.
Penrith held the reigning premiers the Broncos scoreless in a scrappy affair, prevailing 26-0 at Suncorp Stadium. It was far from perfect, with the Panthers committing a large amount of errors, but holding Brisbane to nil showed Penrith’s defence will continue to be one of the toughest in the competition.
The Sharks, on the other hand, dispatched the Titans in a 50-10 demolition. While the Titans look like they will struggle again, the Sharks looked dangerous, led by a dominant showing from Braydon Trindall – who scored two tries and had the main assist on four others.
The Panthers have named the same 19-man squad from a week ago, with Liam Martin and Liam Henry still on the sidelines with injury. After a late call up to the starting side, Thomas Jenkins retains his spot and will start on the wing, with Izack Tago on the extended bench. Craig Fitzgibbon has also named an unchanged team for the Sharks.
Penrith returns to Bathurst for this important round 2 clash. Carrington Park has not been a happy hunting ground, with the Panthers only winning three of their past seven matches at the venue, most recently hitting rock bottom in round 12 last year after a 25-6 loss to the Knights, which left them last on the ladder. Which then triggered a remarkable turnaround en route to a close preliminary final loss.
There are intriguing battles right across the park in this match, highlighted by the star power across both team’s spines. Dylan Edwards was at his best last week, running for 260 metres and also adding a try, and will come up against Will Kennedy who contributed a try and an assist of his own in round 1.
Both sides also boast plenty of attacking power on the edges, with Jenkins taking his starting opportunity last week with both hands, scoring two tries, while the Sharks centre-pairing of Jesse Ramien and KL Iro should cause plenty of headaches for Panthers duo Paul Alamoti and Casey McLean.
This match-up starts in the middle though. The Panthers will need to limit the impact and go-forward of Addin Fonua-Blake, who ran for 200 metres in just 53 minutes last week. The pressure will be on the likes of Moses Leota, Lindsay Smith, and Isaah Yeo in the pack to slow down one of the best prop forwards in the game.
Penrith holds the advantage over the Sharks in recent history, having won nine of the past 10 games between the two sides. The last time they faced each other was way back in round 1 last year, with the Panthers winning 28-22 in Las Vegas.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Panthers by 4 points.
Bold call: Jenkins backs up his double last week with another two tries.
Related
- NRL Round 2 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 2 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
