Here is all you need to know about the Penrith Panthers' revised 2020 Telstra Premiership draw.
The Lowdown
Teams they play twice
Warriors, Sharks, Wests Tigers, Eels, Cowboys.
Teams they play once
Roosters, Dragons, Knights, Storm, Rabbitohs, Titans, Sea Eagles, Raiders, Broncos, Bulldogs.
Day-by-day breakdown
Thursday - 2 games, Friday - 7, Saturday - 8, Sunday - 3
The restart
From the round-three restart through to round nine (as far as venues have been confirmed), the Panthers don't leave western Sydney with five games at Campbelltown and two at Bankwest. They start off against the Knights and Warriors before stiffer match-ups against the Eels, Storm and Rabbitohs.
Five key match-ups
Wests Tigers (Round 8, Campbelltown Stadium; Round 16, Venue TBC): OK, the real acrimony was last year when Ivan Cleary faced off against his former club for the first time but don't pretend there isn't still a ton of feeling there about how the relationship ended. Penrith somehow clawed out a one-point win over the Tigers early in the year but it was their thumping Magic Round loss that was close to the nadir of a disappointing season. They're sharing a home ground for the foreseeable future too, just to keep things nice and cosy.
The best are coming back
Knights (Round 3, Campbelltown Stadium): Penrith's round-25 trouncing of a sorry Knights outfit, which at least allowed them to carry some happy memories into off-season training, will be fresh in the minds of both clubs. Halfback Nathan Cleary was irrepressible in that 54-10 win but will have to sit this one out through suspension as each club gets their 2020 campaign back underway in a vital clash.
Eels (Round 5, Bankwest Stadium; Round 18, Venue TBC): It was Penrith's dour away win against the Eels that finally kick-started their mid-season winning run in 2019. They travel to Bankwest in round five and if Ivan Cleary's men are thereabouts at the business end of the season, their round-18 meeting against their western Sydney rivals could be absolutely critical to their finals hopes.
Warriors (Round 4, Campbelltown Stadium; Round 14, Venue TBC): A 30-10 loss to the Warriors in round 10 on the back of the aforementioned Magic Round humiliation turned out to be the catalyst for for a revival which resulted in the Panthers winning seven in a row from round 11-18. Clashes between Ivan Cleary's former club and his current side always seem to provide something extra whacky and a golden-point win in Auckland just five weeks after the round-10 loss was one of Penrith's more impressive moments of 2019.
Sea Eagles (Round 12, Venue TBC): the modern-day Fibros v Silvertails battle has some nice symmetry given Manly coach Des Hasler debuted for Penrith while Panthers mentor Ivan Cleary started his playing career at Manly. Panthers hooker Api Koroisau is back in the west after leaving Manly last year too and faces his former club for the first time. There's also the fact the only meeting last year had an understrength Panthers side springing an impressive 15-12 upset over Hasler's men in round 12 to help get their season back on track.
It's game on
Toughest stretch
Rounds 5-9. Penrith may be blessed on the travel front in the early rounds but they aren't so lucky in terms of opponents. The Eels, Storm, Rabbitohs and Sharks all played finals last year while the Tigers, as discussed, dished out some punishment last time these sides met.
You can download the full 2020 Premiership draw or just your team's schedule directly into your calendar with eCal. Download it now
