Penrith Panthers vs New Zealand Warriors Prediction: Panthers to go through

The playoff match for the NRL 2023 season will take place at BlueBet Stadium between the Penrith Panthers and the New Zealand Warriors. Will the Warriors be able to display their hunger and pull off a win despite the fact that the Panthers have a significant advantage playing at home? I look deeply into the match and make betting options available in the following paragraphs.

The lone blemish on the Panthers' record came in the form of a shocking 18-32 loss to their opponents in the 2022 Grand Final, the Parramatta Eels. The Panthers went on to win nine of their next ten games to complete the 2023 home-and-away season. Penrith finished the season with the best defensive record in the competition, allowing just 13 points on average in 2023 and 12.4 points when playing at home. The Panthers finished the season with 645 points scored, which was good enough to put them first in the league in the attack category.

The Warriors had a winning streak of seven games before they decided to give their key players some time off in the final round of the regular season. They appear to be just as dangerous as any other club heading into the NRL Finals Series. What is even more impressive for New Zealand is that they had won their previous five games in Australia before the final round of the season. This has traditionally been a weak spot for Kiwi clubs, so New Zealand's success in this regard is particularly noteworthy. When playing away from New Zealand, the Warriors' offense scores an average of 9.9 more points per contest than it does when they are at home in New Zealand. Despite the fact that Tohu Harris is dealing with a lingering ailment as we move into the first week of the finals, the Warriors captain has been selected to start at lock.

Although the Warriors will put up a fight, they will finally yield to the reality that they will be hosting a finals game in New Zealand next weekend. The Panthers are, of course, heavy favorites to win the competition from here on out, with odds of just 2.40. The Warriors will put up a fight, but they will eventually concede this fact. I can see the Panthers never letting up on the gas and blowing this game wide open in the fourth quarter and winning by a margin of at least 13 points. However, I do anticipate that this game will get off to a poor start, which will result in a score that is lower than the 40.5-point game total. I anticipate that Panthers center Stephen Crichton will cross the try line this week against the Warriors since he has scored five tries in his previous five games and will be going up against the defensive side of the Warriors' team that is weaker.