Die Macht » Its one thing to lose to top-10 oppon

What they lack in experience, they make up for in maturity and confidence.Thats the belief of Penrith star Trent Merrin, whose team will be giving up a huge edge in finals experience in Sundays NRL elimination clash with Canterbury.Merrin and veteran Peter Wallace represent more than half of the 24 finals games played by the team named to take on the Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium.In contrast, Canterbury have 117, with the Morris twins alone almost matching Penriths total.Merrin, who won a premiership with St George Illawarra in 2010, admitted the team lacked big-game experience but took solace from their good form in 2016, including their current five-game winning streak.We do have a young team, but the best way to combat that is just to worry about what we can control, Merrin said on Wednesday.Throughout the year, we were still trying to find our feet but, the last few weeks, weve really come into our own and thats all we need to focus on this week.Rookie halfback Nathan Cleary, for example, was still in high school this time last year.But Merrin said he still backed Cleary, and the rest of his teammates, to step up against the Bulldogs, urging them to ignore the build-up and focus on their individual jobs.Im here every day training with (Cleary) and I know the capabilities he has as a player, he said.Hes just so mature for his age, the way he handles the game and he takes control. It wasnt a big surprise to me because I knew what he was capable of doing.The best thing is just the maturity everyone has. The way they carry themselves for young players, its pretty amazing to see.Wallace himself hasnt tasted finals football since a qualifying loss with Brisbane in 2012, but is also undeterred by Penriths lack of know-how in the big games.Theres only been six that have experienced the finals, he said.(But) I dont see it as any more of a disadvantage than an advantage. Well treat it as another game of footy - only the stakes are a lot higher.PANTHERS FINALS KNOW-HOW (games):* Chris Grevsmuhl - one* Jeremy Latimore - two* Josh Mansour - two* Suaia Matagi - one* Trent Merrin - six* Matt Moylan - two* Peter Wallace - eight* Dallin Watene-Zelezniak - twoAnibal Sanchez Nationals Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Aaron Barrett Nationals Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. https://www.cheapnationals.com/537r-stephen-strasburg-jersey-nationals.html .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Kyle McGowin Nationals Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Nationals Jerseys 2019 . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed.COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Jake Bentley threw for two touchdowns, Rico Dowdle ran for 127 yards and another score Saturday night, and South Carolina handed No. 18 Tennessee its third straight loss, 24-21.The Gamecocks (4-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) had struggled on offense much of the season and were expected to be a comfortable bounce-back win for the powerhouse Vols (5-3, 2-3) after consecutive defeats to No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 1 Alabama.Instead, South Carolinas defense bottled up the Vols most of the game, holding them under 300 yards of offense for just the second time this year. Joshua Dobbs threw for only 120 yards and was picked off twice by cornerback Jamarcus King, the final time with 3:50 left in the game and Tennessee needing a dramatic rally.Tennessee got a final chance with 35 seconds left and drove to the South Carolina 41. But Aaron Medleys desperation, 58 yard field goal attempt was well short on the final play.This is a spark, linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams said. This is the start of something for the next couple of games and next year.First-year coach Will Muschamp improved to 5-0 all-time against Tennessee, the first four victories coming during his time at Florida.Bentley was again on target in his second college start at quarterback. He threw for 167 yards and completed 15 of 20 passes, including a 17-yard TD throw to Bryan Edwards and a 35-yard scoring toss to K.C. Crosby in the final period to put South Carolina up 24-14.Tennessee could not dig itself out of that hole and ended a three-game win streak against South Carolina.This is unacceptable, Vols coach Butch Jones said. Everybodys going to own this and everyboodys responsible.ddddddddddddTHE TAKEAWAYTennessee: The Vols third straight SEC loss may have been the most devastating of all as they fall two games behind Eastern Division leader Florida with three league games left. Tennessee will have to root for these same Gamecocks in two weeks when they head to The Swamp to face the Gators.South Carolina: No question this is Muschamps biggest victory at South Carolina, and suddenly puts the Gamecocks in line for a bowl game with struggling Missouri and FCS opponent Western Carolina ahead in November.POLL IMPLICATIONSCount on Tennessee falling from the rankings when it comes out. Its one thing to lose to top-10 opponents, its another to lose to a team that entered last in SEC scoring offense.EJECTED GAMECOCKSSouth Carolina lost starting cornerback Chris Lammons and starting safety D.J. Smith to ejections, both for transgressions with Tennessee receiver Jauan Jennings . Lammons threw two punches at Jennings after the two tied up in the opening quarter and he was thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct. Smith was called for targeting on a hit of Jennings.Lammons Tweeted later his actions were selfish and he apologized to fans, teammates and coaches.BIG RETURNTennessees most explosive play was a 100-yard kickoff return by Evan Berry that cut a 10-point deficit to 17-14 in the third quarter.UP NEXTTennessee steps out of conference to play FCS opponent Tennessee Tech at home next Saturday.South Carolina closes out five straight games at home against Missouri next Saturday. ' ' '