Two premiership heavyweights will go head to head this Friday night when Parramatta take on Penrith in the highly anticipated Battle of the West.
While sadly no crowds will be permitted into BlueBet Stadium due to the Greater Sydney lockdown, the Round 16 fixture is set to go ahead as normal with ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys confirming it’s “all systems go” despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Sydney.
“The competition will proceed as normal,” he said on Channel Nine’s ‘The Sunday Footy Show’.
“Where we play the games is probably the one area we need to look at. We don’t want the clubs to lose revenue by not having people at the games, it also adds atmosphere for people watching it on TV, so we’ll do everything in our power to be flexible and change the games around.”
Mr V’landys also hinted at the prospect of playing double-headers out of neutral venues, but that idea has since come with some backlash from the media and public.
“We may have some double-headers in specific areas so we can have crowds but let me assure you that there is no chance that the competition won’t proceed, it will be proceed as normal,” he said.
“We proved last year that we can do it and the reason we were successful last year was because all the players and the officials were so conscientious and professional and abided by the protocols, that’s why we succeeded last year.”
At this stage, the Battle of the West was still set down for BlueBet Stadium with thankfully zero cases of COVID-19 reported in the Penrith area since the recent outbreak begun.
Penrith will be aiming for back to back wins this Friday night, while the Eels will be shooting four in-a-row and the chance to join the Panthers on 26 competition points.
Both sides are expected to be close to full strength for the clash, with Eels and NSW Blues prop Junior Paulo set to back up after clinching the Origin series in Brisbane last Sunday night.
Parramatta will go into the game as underdogs, with the Panthers undefeated at BlueBet Stadium in nearly two years.
Friday night’s game will be broadcast on Channel 9 and Fox League.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.