Brian To’o.
Photo: NRL Photos.
Showing Panther pride through song
Every time the final whistle is called after a Panthers game, the sounds of ‘Go the Mighty Panthers’ ring around the stadium, but one group of devoted fans have taken it upon themselves to pen a new theme song.
Michael Dempsey – perhaps better known as Micko Panther ArmyMandy Harvey, and Chris Randall are all die-hard Panthers fans and have been there through wooden spoons and Premiership rings but they decided to show their love in a new way – through song.
The idea for the song, ‘The Panther Army’, began with a general love of music.
“It has a lot of passion and pride in it.”
“I love music, I’ve always played music my whole life and I wrote some songs previously,” Dempsey explained.
“Around Christmas time last year, we just started talking about making a Panther Army song. We wrote some lyrics and mashed it all together and kept working on it and working on it until we came up with something that we really loved.
“It has a lot of passion and pride in it. We’d listen to it before we put it out to the public and we’d be getting goosebumps and thinking it was better than what we expected.”
The song also features a rap verse done by James Suttle, which ended
up being the perfect addition to the Panthers anthem.
“When Penrith made the Preliminary Final last year, we had a Panthers supporters day before the Prelim and this guy James came up to me and asked if we were making a song,” Dempsey said.
“He goes I’m a rapper and he was a massive Penrith fan, and he said if you want, I could do a little rap in your song or video… he then put the rap together that’s in the song and we all became really good mates with
The song is also accompanied by a video that shows iconic places from Panthers history.
“We wanted to make sure it covered all the way from Penrith to Bathurst,” Harvey said.
“There is footage from Mount Druitt, Penrith, Emu Plains, Springwood, Lithgow and Bathurst because that’s how far the fans go. We wanted to make sure it was inclusive of all
The video clip was filmed partly at The Rusty Penny in Penrith and all the way to Carrington Park in Bathurst where the trio were handed the keys to the kingdom.
“I wrote to Bathurst Council, and they basically gave us the keys to Carrington Park!” Harvey laughed.
“We weren’t even supervised and that was amazing!”
The main message behind the song – despite it being a real belter – is about bringing Panthers fans together no matter who they are or where they come from.
“That’s the whole motivation behind it, we are a community and we are all passionate about Panthers,” Randall explained.
“Micko and I met 20 something years ago at the footy, we all met at the footy! It’s just about people getting brought together with a common interest that we all love.”
The trio are working on more music, under the name RiffRaff, which will see them expand their musical abilities.
‘The Panther Army’ is available on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
Michael Dempsey, Mandy Harvey and Chris Randall. Photo: Melinda Jane.
Dancing up a storm as the Panthers
Casey’s rise is unstoppable
McLean gets his shot: There’s an irony in the fact that Casey McLean will replace Stephen Crichton in the starting side for the Blues in State of Origin II next Wednesday. When Crichton was on his way out of the Panthers a few years ago, the club didn’t hit any panic buttons because every indication was that a young kid called McLean was coming through and his ceiling was perhaps higher than Crichton’s. Now, the 20-year-old takes his spot in the game’s biggest arena – albeit through injury. If McLean produces a strong game in what will be his second appearance for New South Wales, Crichton may not get his jumper back – not this year, not ever.
Sore over seats: I’ve had a couple of people reach out to me in recent weeks concerned about the seats that have been chosen for the grandstands at the new Penrith Stadium. The insiders, who wish to remain anonymous, suggest there is potential safety and quality issues with the seating. Infrastructure NSW says there’s no issue. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Seating at the new Penrith Stadium complies with all relevant building and safety standards. The seating has been independently tested and assessed against required design, durability and fire safety criteria, and meets accessibility requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.” Watch this space, or this seat, I guess.
Spotted: Tigers coach Benji Marshall and Panthers General Manager Shane Elford catching up on the sideline at CommBank Stadium last Sunday. Elford and Marshall of course won
news: The NRL is understood to be working with Meta to put a stop to some of the disturbing AI-generated fake news stories that are popping up on its platforms, particularly Facebook. The articles have killed off the likes of Royce Simmons and Greg Alexander and spread bizarre rumours about a host of Penrith figures, including Ivan and Nathan Cleary. While most of them are far from believable, it’s still concerning enough that the NRL is trying to put a stop to it.
Spotted: Former Panthers five-eighth James Maloney being as cheeky as ever at the Brothers rugby league luncheon at Panthers last
would become just
Podcast keeps growing: The Weekender’s Tension’s Running High podcast is picking up listeners in the United States and Papua New Guinea. Make sure you join Troy Dodds and Nathan Taylor with a new episode every Wednesday. Just search Western Weekender wherever you listen to podcasts.
Cleary misses Mary: Nathan Cleary remained in New South Wales camp on Tuesday night, unable to get to Parramatta to see his girlfriend Mary playing for the Matildas. The Blues are based on the central coast.
Fake
the fourth Panther to hit the century – joining Rhys Wesser, Ryan Girdler and Greg Alexander.
Photo: NRL Photos.
With a well-deserved bye this week and a record-breaking 68-0 club win against the Wests Tigers last Sunday, I thought it would be a good time to have a look at the Panthers’ five record-breaking 50 points-plus victories over the last 60 seasons.
Yes, that’s right Penrith have five 50-point winning margin matches to their credit.
Not only that but each game was played at the Panthers home ground of Penrith Stadium, except for last Sunday’s game at CommBank.
Now let’s take a brief look at the fabulous five50.
1. Penrith 68 def Wests Tigers 0 – CommBank Stadium – June 7, 2026
This was perhaps the club’s most impressive victory of the five, with the team keeping the Tigers to zero points with their defence. 12 tries were scored by nine Panthers players including doubles to “Milky” Jenkins, Brian To’o and Freddy Lussick. Nathan Cleary was Man-of-theMatch and scored 22 points made up of a try and nine conversions. What a performance.
2. Penrith 72 def Manly 12 – Penrith Football Stadium – August 8, 2004
This round 22 clash was memorable for the individual brilliance and contribution by winger Amos Roberts who finished the match with a massive personal haul of 28 points made up of two tries and10 goals. Other tryscorers included Rhys Wesser (with a hat-trick), Richard Fa’aoso, Preston Campbell, Danny Galea, and Paul Whatuira.
3. Penrith 56 def New Zealand Warriors 6 –Centrebet Stadium – May 18, 2013
Five-eighth Isaac John had a field day scoring a hat-trick of tries, while Lewis Brown bagged a double. Other tryscorers on the night included Matt Robinson, Kevin Kingston and David
Simmons. Meanwhile halfback Luke Walsh had the goal kicking radar well and truly on that evening kicking 11 from 11 conversions.
4. Penrith 60 def Western Suburbs Magpies 6 – Penrith Football Stadium – March 21, 1999
Panthers legend Royce Simmons was the coach that afternoon when a good-old fashioned smash up between the two opposing forward packs took rugby league back 20 years. Unfortunately for the Magpies, all it did was inspire Penrith to a then-record 50-point victory. Ryan Girdler was the star scoring three tries and kicking eight conversions.
5. Penrith 56 def North Queensland Cowboys 6 – Penrith Football Stadium – August 21, 2004
In a game where the Panthers dominated, they only led 18–0 at halftime before the flood gates opened in the second half. Rhys Wesser was having a career best season scoring a hat-trick of tries while Paul Whatuira scored a double. Preston Campbell, Luke Priddis, Frank Pritchard, Luke Lewis, and Luke Rooney also scored tries that night.
Traditionally 50-point victory margins are hard to come by but in 2004 Penrith had two. In 2026 statistically the Panthers are having a break-out season with Thomas Jenkins (20 tries) on track to beat Penrith’s all-time try-scoring record of 25 held by Rhys Wesser in 2003, just one stat which seems destined to fall. What a season the Panthers are having. Let’s make sure we all appreciate and enjoy it.
Celebrating a try against the Warriors in 2013.
with Peter Lang
How parents drove Fonua to top level
“Jarome has to stand up. He hasn’t brought them success. They haven’t done anything while he’s been there.”
Luke Keary on Jarome Luai
THEY SAID IT...
“It was a whole team performance. We earned the right . . . we were growing in confidence.”
“Just give it to him now”
“A lot of our leaders go into Origin, and it’s on us boys that are a bit older and have been around a while.”
“I’ve just got a feeling the Tigers are going to put on a bit of an ambush here. I really do. I’d be picking the Tigers at the line.”
A now-red
“It’s a weird day because of the way the game ended up going but ultimately we prepared well, played well and kept at it for 80 minutes.”
“Benji Marshall will get back to his car and it’ll have a flat battery.”
“It was clear to me from the start that we weren’t there. Everything in our game we could have got wrong, we got wrong . . . we’re so dumb with the ball. We get braindead and can’t compete.”
Tigers coach Benji Marshall
Moses Leota
Ivan Cleary on the win over Wests
Andrew Voss on the Tigers’ day against Penrith last Sunday.
faced James Graham
Cooper Cronk on Nathan Cleary and the Dally M Medal
Isaah Yeo on last week’s win
Tries: B To’o 2, T Jenkins 2, F Lussick 2, N Cleary, P Alamoti, I Tago, C Cogger, I Yeo, L Smith Goals: N Cleary 9, P Alamoti 1
Tries: J Edgar 2, J Liddiard, T Patea, N Murphy Goals: Z Clarke 5/6
Tries: T Goodfield 2, K Raven, H Wald, D Feltham Goals: K Raven 4/5
Tries: D Gabrael, J Lanyon, M Taotua
Tries:
Smith,
NRL LADDER & FIXTURES
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
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