The Penrith Panthers have been rocked by an injury blow ahead of Saturday evening's clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Star fullback Dylan Edwards has been ruled out by the club with what has been described as a "minor foot complaint". He will be replaced at fullback by Stephen Crichton, with Charlie Staines to join the side on the wing, taking Crichton's originally named spot.
Intriguingly, Staines won the race for the spot on the wing ahead of Brent Naden, who won't travel with the rest of the squad after being cut at the 19-man update on Friday evening.
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The Penrith fullback has struggled with injury at times this season, with the 25-year-old missing six games during the regular season.
There have been calls for Crichton to move to fullback permanently, with Edwards struggling in attack at times, only scoring five tries and assisting another four during the regular season.
Crichton, on the other hand, has split his time between centre, wing and fullback, scoring eight tries and assisting another eight.
The 20-year-old is touted as one of the best young guns in the game and will have a chance to prove it this evening as he takes up a spine position against South Sydney.
Staines has only fallen out of favour in recent weeks, having made 20 appearances for 14 tries this year. The youngster burst onto the scene at the back-end of 2020, but hasn't played since a Round 21 win over the Sydney Roosters.
