Penrith skipper Yeo remaining wary of potential banana skin game against rivals Parramatta

Despite both sides sitting at opposite ends of the NRL ladder, the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels face off in a highly anticipated local derby on Friday night.

These two teams have had plenty of instant classics in recent years, with the Eels holding the upper hand in the regular season whilst Penrith has importantly been more successful during finals games.

Despite Penrith’s dominance over the entire NRL since 2021, the Eels have found relative success against the reigning Premiers, winning four of the last nine clashes.

With the Eels desperately trying to escape the battle for last spot, Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo is wary of a potential ambush from a motivated Parramatta side.

“Particularly over the last few years, we’ve always had tight contests against them, they seem to play our best footy against us,” Yeo said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“We expect nothing last, off the back of going over to NZ where, (the Warriors) were really desperate obviously they needed to win and to get beat over there by Parra, who played very well.

“They’re playing for a little bit too, there’s been a few boys (according) to the media that have been tapped on the shoulder and told they can look elsewhere, or the other boys are trying to impress Jason Ryles before he comes in so they’re playing for a lot at the moment.”

Several big names including Ryan Matterson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Maika Sivo and Shaun Lane have all reportedly been given permission to look elsewhere despite being contracted for two more seasons.

“We understand we need to be better but more just focused on ourselves,” Yeo added.

“(We’re) trying to tinker a few things and see where our best footy lays ahead, looking forward to that and the challenge up there.

“Obviously (CommBank Stadium) it doesn’t get much bigger for Western Sydney, we’re looking forward to it.”

The Panthers host the Eels at CommBanks Stadium on Friday night.