NRL semi-finalists the Penrith Panthers are on their way to Wagga next season, drawn to play the Canberra Raiders in the round eight game at Equex.
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The keenly-awaited match-up was revealed by the NRL this morning when the full 2019 fixture was released.
The Panthers boast one of the competition’s most exciting young players, Nathan Cleary, and one of the NRL’s most experienced playmakers, his NSW Origin teammate James Maloney.
Penrith fell just short of a preliminary final this year after a heart-breaking one-point loss to Cronulla in the second week of finals.
The game against the Raiders is a 3pm kick-off on Saturday May 4.
The occasion is a huge boost for rugby league in the Riverina according to NRL development officer James Smart.
“It’s exciting. It’s a full-on NRL game. It’s not a trial,” Smart said.
“Any support that country areas can get from clubs is massive. And kids want to see the stars they see on TV each week.
“Where they’ll be playing too… there’s lots of kids in the region that have played on that ground and as a kid it gives you a buzz.”
The Raiders announced in August that they had partnered with Wagga City Council to bring NRL games to the city in 2019 and 2020.
Last week, the NRL, the Raiders and Wagga City Council confirmed the game would be played on the first weekend in May to make for a blockbuster weekend in the city, coinciding with the two-day Wagga Gold Cup carnival.
The last major rugby league game in the city was the successful Country v City game in 2015, played in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 9000 spectators.