Right now, the Penrith Panthers stand at a pivotal crossroads of their NRL campaign. They’re already fighting their way to the finish after a rough debut full of starts. Last week, in a match against fellow NRL club the Canterbury Bulldogs, the Penrith Panthers decided to rest 16 of their top 17 players. This unexpected move is a strong indicator of their commitment to a patient, long-game approach. The Panthers seem to have made their peace. They even accept that they’ll be out of the playoff places come May, a far cry from the lofty places they occupied in other campaigns.
For the Panthers, this has been a brutal year. They dropped to dead last after an awful first six months of the year. They’ve been scrappy and tenacious, fighting their way back up the ladder. They’re riding a wave of momentum with sights now set on their fifth as a club premiership title. This isn’t their first trip on the Road to Glory together.
Penrith’s head coach Ivan Cleary did not understate the impact that this difficult season has had on his side. He underscored the importance of creating that momentum going deeper into the season. We all think we know who the good teams are. Everyone’s had some teams that’ve played incredibly well from week to week this entire season. If you really pay attention to football though, your predictions thus far are a trainwreck.
The good news is the Panthers clearly are committed to building their roster with young players. In their last match against the Bulldogs they opened the 2021 season with debut opportunities to two forwards. Consider centres Sione Fonua who kicked around in park football with Brothers Penrith just last year. Until now, he has enjoyed the spotlight only on the amateur stage! Impact Player Off the Bench Zac Lipowicz made his debut as an emergency backrower. He manages his rugby life in between working as an electrician and has played international football for Poland. Both players, especially Vukovics, are a welcome shot of new blood into an oldish, veteran-laden team that is hoping to jump back into the playoff picture.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, channeled the spirit of their surprise 1995 premiership campaign. That year, they all but clinched their regular season championship in sixth place yet flourished in the cut-throat environment of finals. Terry Lamb carried the team through this considerable storm. They were reeling from an existential crisis caused by the Super League war and were amid an implosion concerning player contracts. The infamous four star players were Jason Smith, Jarrod McCracken, Dean Pay and Jim Dymock. Almost all were trying to renegotiate on their contracts with the insurgents.
In Australia, there have only been 117 teams that have even won a premiership. Interestingly enough, only two of those teams did so while ending the year unranked. The Bulldogs’ 1995 campaign is one of these exceedingly uncommon examples. Recent analysis shows that eight teams have reached the grand final from outside the top four in the NRL era, including the Penrith Panthers’ own New Zealand Warriors side in 2011.
Former Bulldogs player Jason Hetherington reflects on the title-winning season. He painted a powerful picture of just how important their defensive togetherness and fight was to their success. It was our relentless defense for one another that made us great. We continued to run and turn them away,” he continued. Hetherington wants the message to be that any team can find success. They only need to find the right defensive foundation and keep faith that they’re going to start scoring goals.
“If teams can just establish that defensive system and structure for one another,” Hetherington said, “anyone has a fighting chance. That’s the order of the day, though. That needs to happen. The logistics of it can happen, but you have to think that you can make that happen.”
As the Panthers aim to recover from their slow start and make a statement in the finals series, they must embrace the challenges ahead. Hetherington recalled how his team capitalized on moments of finals football: “We embraced the moments of finals footy and we had an understanding of what was in front of us.” This mentality is every bit as important for Penrith as they pursue their second straight deep run and first with this core during this key development stage.
The chemistry between players on a team can make or break how competitive they are during games. Hetherington said, “A huge part of that comes down to the chemistry of what we had. Mateship, having each other’s backs, helping each other — that’s important. While Penrith gears up for what will be an unimaginable run of matches to come, continuing to grow this friendship will be key.
