Souths winger Dayne Jennings has gone into the right corner for a try.

But it is coming back.

Souths five-eighth played the ball, and then kicked the shin of Penrith's Jake Cogger.

It is a sin bin, and I reckon Walker is lukcy not to be sent off.

ABC Sport caller Andrew Moore agrees.

What a joke. He should be sent from the field.

South Sydney have been warned: Dylan Edwards is on fire.

He gives a lovely pass to Liam Henry, and the big man ran 40 metres.

Souths were able to scramble and defend the goal-line.

Souths are warned.

Panthers 6

Rabbitohs 0

It is a perfect start for the Penrith Panthers.

Fullback Dylan Edwards has streaked away to score the opening try.

The Panthers went down the right, which was the short side.

Edwards passes to right centre Paul Alamoti, and Alamoti evades a defender to get an offload back to Edwards.

The Penrith fullback then stepped around Souths fullback Jye Gray, then he fended off Latrell Siegwalt, and he scored.

Edwards said pre-game Penirth wanted to start well, and they have.

"Penrith will be happy, they have started a lot better than last week." — Luke Lewis, ABC Sport

Panthers 6

Rabbitohs 0

Referee Adam Gee blows his whistle, and round 18 of the NRL is underway.

Souths prop Tevita Tatola takes the first hit-up, and the second run is taken by fellow front rower Keaon Koloamatangi.

Souths are running to the right of your screen.

It is an incident-free set for Souths, before they kick clear from the 40-metre line.

Next Sunday, South Sydney will host the "World's Biggest Birthday Party" for Jai Arrow.

Arrow was forced into an early retirement after being diagnosed with Motor neurone disease (MND).

The NRL has announced "Jai July", a month-long celebration for Arrow.

Commercial partners have got involved to donate money for tries and try celebrations.

You can follow the ABC Sport live blog, and listen to the ABC Sport live call.

Tap the link below to hear Andrew Moore, Luke Lewis, and John Gibbs on the touchline at Western Sydney Stadium.

G'day KB.

No doubt you are right; there will be millions of Australians up very early tomorrow to watch the Socceroos' round of 32 knock-out clash with Egypt at the FIFA World Cup.

Don't forget about the ABC Sport Socceroos live blog tomorrow.

Penrith are on a two-match losing run.

Tonight, they are without a trio of Origin stars.

Stand-in captain Dylan Edwards has spoken to Fox League.

The Penrith fullback says the key to victory tonight will be avoiding a slow start, and limiting the opportunities Souths have in attack.

Definitely last week, we missed the start of the game, so that's a big focus for us.

They're dangerous when they get opportunities, and they definitely make you pay when they can.

A big addition for South Sydney tonight is the return of Jack Wighton from a broken arm.

He will resume his position at right centre this evening.

Souths five-eighth Cody Walker has been interviewed on Fox League and said the club is excited for Wighton to be back playing in the NRL.

He's a wonderful addition to our side. I thought he was one of the best defensive centres at the start of the year. One of his best attributes is that he just competes hard at everything

— reporting by AAP

Coach Michael Maguire insists Brisbane's outside back Deine Mariner is "flying" after overcoming a freak leg injury that required a staggering six limb-saving surgeries.

Going into their crunch Saturday night clash against Cronulla at Lang Park, the Broncos need a victory to snap their dismal seven-game losing streak - the longest losing run by any defending premiers since Wests in 1953.

But while their NRL finals hopes are fast diminishing, they have been boosted by Mariner's return which comes after undergoing surgery for compartment syndrome in his right thigh suffered in round nine.

The condition, which restricts blood flow and can lead to amputation if untreated, raised doubts on whether the 23-year-old would take the field again this season.

But Maguire says Brisbane never counted him out.

"He's flying. It's nice to have Deine back, actually. He's a big part of who we are," the coach said on Friday.

"He just had to work through it, and when you go back to when it actually happened, the doctors worked really hard and fast around that space, and they did a fantastic job."

The Broncos will also have forward Xavier Willison in their squad after successfully seeking an exemption following his concussion against the Sydney Roosters last Friday.

Maguire said he was "really happy" Willison would line up, especially as Brisbane are without stars Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan, who are on State of Origin duty, while second-rower Jack Gosiewski has three fractured ribs.

The trio's loss will leave a massive hole in Brisbane's middle, although it allows VJ Semu to make his first NRL start.

"He (Semu) works really hard, and it's nice to see these players getting an opportunity with what's going on in and around the team," Maguire said.

"He's been training hard and working really diligently around building combinations, so I'm looking forward to seeing VJ out there with Presto (Preston Riki)."

Reece Walsh (Origin) and centre Aublix Tawha (ankle injury) also won't play on Saturday, while Ben Te Kura has been released from the club to pursue his NFL dreams.

Centre Josiah Karapani has been dropped for the Sharks clash following his drink-driving charge, along with other traffic offences from last Sunday morning.

G'day Mike.

Thanks for joining me on a Friday night.

It does feel like a surprise that Brian To'o is playing tonight; dropped from the NSW Blues squad for Game III.

I would not be surprised if he enjoyed a big game tonight.

(NRL)

Panthers

Penrith are missing a trio of players on State of Origin duty: Nathan Cleary (halfback), Liam Martin (second row) and Isaah Yeo (lock). They have been replaced by Jack Cogger, Scott Sorensen and Lindsay Smith.

Billy Phillips (number 16) starts in the second row after Luke Garner was ruled out yesterday. Zakauri Clarke has been added to the six-player bench.

The Panthers have made a late change. Jack Cole (number 18) will start at centre, with Izack Tago (number 3) reverting to the bench.

Rabbitohs

Souths have Cameron Murray (lock) on State of Origin duty, replaced by Lachlan Hubner.

Jack Wighton returns from a broken arm to line up in the centres. Dayne Jennings is on the wing for the injured Alex Johnston.

— reporting by AAP

Interim St George Illawarra coach Dean Young has proposed the NRL implement a shot clock for the bunker, adding to calls for the contentious video referee system to be overhauled.

The Dragons mentor found himself on the wrong end of the video referee in their 24-16 loss to Canberra last Sunday, when the Raiders were awarded a contentious try, but the bunker ruled a no-try to Dragons centre Valentine Holmes.

It was the latest issue to engulf the system, which has been at the centre of much controversy and previously prompted South Sydney mentor Wayne Bennett to say he is no fan of it.

"When we review our games ... and we're watching the clip in eagle cam, my players take about 15 seconds to work out whether they made a good decision," Young said.

"That's where the frustration comes in: the bunker's got the technology, and they've got the time because no one's rushing them to make a decision.

"Maybe (there needs to be a) shot clock on how long they've got to look at the decision."

Young was recently invited by the NRL to sit in the bunker, and he conceded that the video referees do have a lot going on, although he said they may be overthinking calls because of the time they have.

— reporting by AAP

Canterbury utility Matt Burton is on stand-by to replace NSW playmaker Ethan Strange in the State of Origin decider, joining camp on the state's far north coast.

Matt Burton. (Getty)

The Blues have not made a decision on the availability of bench player Strange, who remains a chance to recover from a rolled ankle for Wednesday's game at Lang Park.

Some Blues players travelled to Byron Bay on their day off on Friday, but Strange stayed at the team hotel in Kingscliff to rest the injury he suffered at training the day before.

The Blues will next train on the Gold Coast on Saturday morning and are prepared to give Strange more time to shake off his injury.

The Canberra five-eighth wore a moon boot on Thursday night but was seen walking freely without strapping on Friday morning.

Strange fell awkwardly on the same left ankle during a loss to Wests Tigers in April but managed to return to the game, only to miss the following week.

On Friday morning, Blues staff felt it was too early to determine whether the 21-year-old would need to miss the decider.

With the Bulldogs on a bye, three-time Blues representative Burton is set to train with the team in Strange's place over the coming days.

He was booked on a flight arriving into the Gold Coast from Sydney late on Friday night.

The Blues would need to seek an exemption from the NRL to officially add Burton to their 20-man squad.

But this is considered a formality, with the team drafting Jack Bostock into their game-day team when Casey McLean went down during camp for game two.

Isaiya Katoa would likely have been called into camp, having been on stand-by when five-eighth Mitch Moses was battling a hamstring issue ahead of game two.

But the Dolphins halfback is now unavailable with the arm injury he suffered in last week's defeat of the Warriors.

Strange was excellent on Origin debut in NSW's game-one win then played a cameo off the bench in the 44-24 loss at the MCG.

Here is when kick-off in the clash between the Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs is in your state or territory:

• 8pm AEST: NSW, Queensland, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, PNG
• 7:30pm ACST: South Australia, Northern Territory
• 6pm AWST: Western Australia
• 10pm NZST: New Zealand, Fiji
• 11pm: Tonga, Samoa

Good evening, Australia.

Welcome back to ABC Sport's live digital coverage of the 2026 NRL premiership season.

Tonight, round 18 of the premiership begins with just one match:

• Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

Both teams are missing their State of Origin stars for this clash, which opens up plenty of intrigue.

Be part of the conversation and join the blog throughout the evening by letting us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Let's go.