The first draft of this column was all about the epic nature of this Thursday night showdown.
About how Nathan Cleary’s kicking game was a chance of strangling Canterbury. About how both sides’ Premiership credentials would be dented by a third straight defeat, so tensions were high.
But the delete button got a workout, thanks to Ivan Cleary.
We all know now that Cleary will rest the entire first grade team for this clash, focusing on an assault on the Finals rather than scoring the chocolates in a round 26 match that while important, means little in the big scheme of things.
I am not foolish enough to suggest Penrith will win this encounter. This is a very inexperienced
team, with four debutants and it will likely be too much for them in the end.
But I do think Penrith will give this a fair shake and go with the Bulldogs for the bulk of the contest. The enthusiasm of this young team should ensure that.
And we must not forget that these players are used to winning, given Penrith’s consistent success in the lower grades.
I’d expect the Bulldogs to pull away in the final 20 minutes, when the men will be separated from the boys.
Canterbury will not let the opportunity to arrest their recent mini losing streak go to waste and while their preparation will be extremely different to what Cameron Ciraldo was expecting, I don’t expect them to take things lightly. Whatever the scoreline, we’ll forget about it
thefinal word
in a week or so. I’m excited to see what Penrith can do from outside the top four and I don’t think any side would want to play them in the Finals.
But it is unquestionably the toughest path to the Grand Final the Panthers will have faced in this run of success, perhaps only equal to 2021 when they had to go the hard way around after losing in the opening weekend of the Finals.
I’m expecting this to be an extremely physical encounter on Thursday night, despite Penrith’s withdrawals. But I also think it will be given high scoring – I’m not sure defence will be the highlight here.
Matt Burton will surely send a few of his famous bombs into the air, though at least Daine Laurie and Paul Alamoti add some much-needed experience in terms of defusal.
Neither side will be defined by their performance in this game given the circumstances but to the winner goes so much in the way of easing pressure ahead of the Finals.
I expect that to be Canterbury.
There’s just too much on the line for them as they chase confirmation of a top four finish, and the quality and experience they boast is impossible to ignore.
We will likely look back on this game and remember the unearthing of a special talent in this young Penrith squad. There will be a highlight or two somewhere, amongst the possible carnage.
Tough as the result may be, I still expect this to be an exciting game. Penrith will put up a fight, but the Bulldogs will land the knockout punch.
Tip: Bulldogs by 12.
Graphic by Kacey Wilson.
TROY DODDS
ASHLEY KLEIN
panther rumblings
WHO IS THE BEST OF THE BEST?
! Panthers to honour greatest team: Early discussions are underway to honour the best Penrith team of the past 60 seasons as part of major celebrations to recognise the club’s history next year. I’m hearing the Panthers will lean into 60th anniversary celebrations, including a new Team of Legends 20 years on from when a similar team was announced at a 40th anniversary dinner. One of the real challenges will be deciding how many current Panthers make the team, and would Nathan Cleary take the halfback spot over Greg Alexander?
! Panthers rest stars: Word that Nathan Cleary may be rested from tonight’s game against Canterbury actually started to leak out at the Leagues Club on Sunday night. Come Monday morning Penrith were still favourites for the clash, but by the time the afternoon arrived the Panthers had blown out and Canterbury were favourites. The cat was out of the bag well before Cleary appeared on ‘100% Footy’ on Monday night, where he confirmed he’d sit out the game. By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, Penrith were despised outsiders at $3.10 with the TAB.
! Spotted: A book shop in Mudgee cashing in on the Panthers v Raiders game last week by ensuring both clubs had books in the
! Spotted: Outgoing Panthers Group CEO Brian Fletcher enjoying a soft drink at the Woolpack Hotel in
Mudgee on Friday afternoon, ahead of the clash between Penrith and Canberra that evening.
! Pub’s bizarre Raiders push: We’re sure it was all in good fun but there’s no doubt the Colyton Hotel turned off plenty of Panthers fans last week. They consistently posted on social media backing the Raiders – including taking pot shots at Penrith and labelling them pretenders. Intended to be banter given the publican is a mad Raiders fan, but still bizarre given the pub is in Panthers heartland.
! Yeo’s early return: While it was no major surprise that Isaah Yeo was going to play against the Raiders on Friday night, sharp-eyed X followers would have had confirmation much earlier than most. A post confirming Yeo’s return that was intended to go up an hour before kick-off ended up on Penrith’s official X account briefly earlier in the day. Whoops!
! Hills untouched: What may surprise many about the Penrith Stadium upgrade is that the hills are staying exactly as they are now. Not even a dab of work to make them more comfortable or modern. They were always staying at both ends but there was some presumption a
landscaper would be called in to at least freshen things up. You’ve really got to laugh at the irony of spending $309 million to essentially make corporate sponsors more comfortable, while most fans will have either the same or poorer viewing experience. Meantime, the State Government held a media event earlier this week at the stadium – announcing demolition was complete and it was time for construction to begin. Below is an incredible photo of what the stadium looks like at the moment from the northern hill.
! Pantherettes stay home: It
was interesting to note that despite being a Panthers home game, the Pantherettes didn’t make the trip to Mudgee last weekend. We presume logistics and finances resulted in that decision.
! Merv on the move: This year’s Merv Cartwright Medal will be held after Round 27 and before the Finals. It’s been scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 at the Western Sydney Conference Centre. The Merv has moved around a bit in recent times but last year was after the Grand Final. This year it will form part of the build-up to the Finals. We may even
see a repeat of 2010, when coach Matthew Elliott randomly asked all players to stand up in the middle of the event and get home to bed to prepare for the Finals. They thought he was joking. He wasn’t, and oneby-one they made their way out of the old Pavilion.
! Sign gone: I’m told that while a large Panthers sign on the western side of the ground was preserved and stored during demolition of Penrith Park, the huge light-up sign that sat above the Eastern Grandstand ended up in a skip bin.
! Artefacts to be re-buried: As always on a project like the Penrith Stadium build, random discoveries are going to be made along the way. I’m told spear heads were found during demolition, and will be re-buried as part of the construction process for the new venue.
! Stars stay on ice: Penrith is taking resting players seriously. At least one player appearance this weekend has been cancelled, and will take place at another time. It’s clear this little break is intended to release players of football completely for the weekend.
! Luai supports store: Former Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai will be making an appearance at the opening of the new Simon Curwood Jewellers store in Penrith on Thursday night. The event will be held in Westfield Penrith from 6.30pm.
main window display.
Brandy or Nat?
CLEARY: WHY I MADE BIG CALL
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has explained his headline-grabbing decision to rest 16 regular first graders and blood four debutants in Thursday night’s battle with Canterbury at Accor Stadium.
Speaking with the media on Wednesday morning, Cleary said a lot of thought and consultation went into the massive call to give 16 players from last week’s loss to the Canberra Raiders the night off.
“Every decision that I make in my job… some are not easy, and some come clearer than others. This one was fairly clear,” he said.
“There’s many different factors that go into [a decision like this], but once I started discussing with the staff, everyone was of the same opinion and that kind of helped as well.”
Cleary said he didn’t ask his best and most experienced players whether they wanted to rest against the Bulldogs, he straight out told them.
“No, not this time. They all understood,” he said.
“We just decided if we were going to rest a number of them, we might as well keep going.
“Fatigue is definitely part of it. Just the fact of
where we’ve had to come from. We were last on the ladder in Round 12, we’ve played cutthroat footy for a long time. That’s definitely part of it.”
The Panthers will go into tonight’s clash as massive outsiders, but that doesn’t bother the four-time premiership-winning coach, who said there is a bigger prize to play for come October.
“I’ve always said someone is going to do it sometime (win outside of the top four) and it certainly happens in other sports. I don’t see why it can’t happen in our sport,” Cleary said.
“The last couple of weeks have given us confidence as well. We feel like we can definitely play better and we feel like we are definitely capable.
“We have a lot of experience in Finals games and in big games. And just the way our season has gone, I feel like we’re in a good place to be able to play well and give ourselves every chance to battle for a premiership.”
Guiding Penrith’s new-look side against the Bulldogs will be club stalwart and popular forward Matt Eisenhuth. Cleary said the 33-year-old, who won Penrith’s Clubperson of the Year award in 2024, was a logical choice.
“He came into my office and said he demanded the captaincy,” Cleary joked to Extra Time
“Eiso is a very smart footballer, and he deserves that honour.”
Eisenhuth, who joined the Panthers in 2021, said captaining the club is something he’d never thought he would do in his long career.
“I’m excited by it. I’m excited by the week mostly,” he told Extra Time
“There’s a lot of new faces and a great opportunity for some of the boys to show that they are first grade standard and it’s something they’ve probably dreamed about for a long time.
“I’m excited to lead those boys out and hopefully make a memorable experience for them.”
Eisenhuth is by far one of Penrith’s most popular teammates, with even hooker Mitch
Kenny declaring on Monday that the rangy forward deserves a statue at the new Penrith Stadium when it opens.
The new skipper said he loves his teammates but sometimes they take their banter too far.
“I don’t like the attention and the boys know that too – that’s probably why they carry on like that,” Eisenhuth said.
“They take the piss a bit and it’s all in good fun. I just enjoy being around the boys. I’m the oldest one in the group, but they make me feel young and keep me young.
“I just love being a part of this club.”
Matt Eisenhuth will captain Penrith against Canterbury. Photo: NRL Photos.
NATHAN TAYLOR
KENNY: WE CAN WIN FROM OUTSIDE FOUR
With Penrith’s top four dream all but over, hooker Mitch Kenny believes his side can still win this year’s competition from anywhere in the top eight.
It will be unusual territory for Kenny and his Panthers teammates when the Finals roll around this September, with the defending Premiers slated to finish anywhere between fifth and eighth after 27 rounds.
Not in Penrith’s previous six premiership victories – 1991, 2003, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 –have they finished the regular season outside of the top four.
In fact, no team in the NRL era has ever won the Grand Final from fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth position.
Speaking with Extra Time on Monday, Kenny said despite not getting two bites of the cherry this season, he’s still supremely confident of his side getting the job done playing weekly sudden death football.
“Absolutely! Someone’s got to win it in from outside of the top four, I don’t see why it couldn’t be us,” he said.
“There’s still a marginal chance we scrape into the top four, but I think that
ship has sailed. I think this year playing out of CommBank and being our ‘home away from home’, I think that puts us in good stead because it’s felt like an away trip a lot of the time.
“So I’m super confident in us beating anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’m looking forward to the
Last Friday night in chilly Mudgee, the Panthers suffered their second consecutive
While Panthers fans all over Australia struggled to get to sleep because of the unbelievable finish against the Raiders, the players were far
“It’s one of those funny ones where it was bitterly disappointing, but we don’t lose any
“We certainly look at that game and feel like we didn’t play great and still came so close to winning it against the form team of the compe-
tition and the ladder leaders, for good reason. I would’ve loved to have come away with the two points, but it certainly doesn’t shake our confidence going into Finals.”
The Panthers were a whisker from beating the Raiders in Extra Time after Nathan Cleary’s field goal hit the upright and landed straight into the hands of Raiders winger Jed Stuart, who shifted the ball to five-eighth Ethan Strange, who ran nearly 80 metres before passing to lightning fast fullback Kaeo Weekes to score the match-winning try.
Kenny said losing to the Storm and Raiders in back-to-back weeks in Golden Point hasn’t dented their confidence of beating the top teams come September.
“No, it doesn’t get to us – if anything, it has the opposite effect,” he said.
“We come away from those games against the top teams feeling like we let it slip and knowing we’ve got a lot more in the tank, so we’d like to see those sides again.”
The Panthers will face their third tough test in a row when they battle the third-placed Canterbury Bulldogs this Thursday night at what’s expected to be a packed out Accor Stadium.
Like the Panthers, the Bulldogs are also staring down the barrel of three straight losses after dropping games to Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters in consecutive weeks.
“It’s a huge game and, like playing the Storm and Canberra in recent weeks, it’s felt like it’s been really good practice for Finals,” Kenny said.
“The Dogs are a really gritty team and have been super consistent all year. You know they’re going to give this comp a shake, so we want to be playing against the best teams.”
Canberra celebrate ‘the miracle in Mudgee’. Photo: NRL Photos.
Nathan Cleary readies for a field goal.
Mitch Kenny is confident in Penrith’s title chances. Photo: NRL Photos.
Missed last week’s results? Here’s a rundown of what happened in
Tries: J Tapine, S Sasagi, E Strange, K Weekes Goals: J Fogarty 2/3
Tries: C McLean 2, L Martin Goals: N Cleary 2/3
Tries: L Ilias 2, H Finau, C Ramsey, B Murdoch-Masila Goals: J Glover 5. FG: L Ilias 1
Tries: D Fale, A Kepaoa, D Laurie, L Sommerton, Z Lipowicz
Goals: J Cole 5/6
Tries: E Lomu-Stewart 2, E McGrath, H Crichton
Tries: J Elford, N Webb Goals: C Blankenstein 1/2
key Penrith Panthers games...
player of the year
BYE: RABBITOHS
panther memories
Penrith’s 1993 season was one rather forgotten.
Still dealing with the death of Ben Alexander the previous year, the Panthers were light years away from the side that won the competition just two years earlier.
They started the season with three straight losses, before finally breaking through against Balmain on a Friday night at Penrith Park.
But that win would be followed by six straight losses – and the knowledge that the season was slipping away.
By the end of the year
Penrith had won just seven games to finish 12th, wrapping up the year with a rare highlight – a 10-6 win over Cronulla at Caltex Field.
Penrith’s season was rocked by injuries, and at times the side couldn’t even train given how far down on troops they were.
Incredibly, coach Phil Gould was forced to use a club record 46 players during the year.
Now that the Panthers have officially qualified for the 2025 NRL Finals, I’d like to take a look at five reasons why Penrith can and can’t win a fifth straight premiership.
First, I’d like to acknowledge that to even make the finals after sitting in last place mid-way through the season is a remarkable achievement in itself.
Given that the Panthers aren’t likely to take fourth spot they will be playing sudden death semi-final football from week one.
The only thing left to be decided is if it will be at ‘home’, and I use the term loosely, or away.
Ok so let’s look at five reasons why they can’t win first.
with Peter Lang
1. The statistics of a team winning outside the top four aren’t good. Only one side, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs has
down. Look out opposition teams.
3. The Panthers still have some of the best players in the game in key positions. Dylan Edwards at fullback, Nathan Cleary at half and Isaah Yeo at lock. The surrounding cast isn’t too bad either.
4. Liam Martin has the potential to be the real ‘X-factor’ over the next few weeks. Martin’s game has gone to another level. He’s more aggressive with his runs and his chase on those kick bombs have to be seen to be believed.
5. Big match experience. When s**t hits the fan, the nerves rise to the surface and the finals start, this team knows how to win. The regular season is an entrée, the finals is the main meal.
Season 2025 has brought with
lenges for the Panthers but being in last place after round 12 had to be
Sure, the mountain Penrith has to climb this year is a lot steeper than
But one thing is certain however, these men at the foot of the mountains know something about climbing one and reaching the
The Panthers are playing Finals footy again in 2025.
