AFTER A SEASON-BEST PERFORMANCE, THE PANTHERS HEAD TO TOWNSVILLE PENRITH V NORTH QLD PREVIEW: PAGES 26-27
Nathan Cleary.
Photo: NRL Photos.
panther rumblings
IS EDDY FEELING THE BLUES?
! Daley’s tough call: The career-best form of Roosters fullback James Tedesco will force new Blues coach Laurie Daley to make a tough call when the New South Wales team is selected for the first game in a few weeks’ time. Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards is the incumbent and I’m told has his nose in front at the moment but you can’t deny the form of Tedesco, who has been a stalwart for the Blues through his career. There is little appetite to switch either to the wing, despite the Blues’ woes in that position, which means one will miss out. Right now I think Edwards will get the nod.
! Academy rift: I’m told that not all Penrith officials are on board with the plan to build a $20 million female rugby league academy. While the Coalition promised to fund half of the project if it won government last weekend, there was no such commitment from Labor. It means that with the Coalition defeated, Penrith would have to foot the $20 million bill themselves if they wish to go ahead, unless they can find another funding partner. I’m told this has been a hot topic of conversation amongst officials and even at Board level in recent times. While the club is supportive of the women’s program and a future NRLW team, not all believe the $20 million is bang for buck. I checked in with the club this week and they remained adamant they want to build the facility.
! Perth to swoop? With the Perth Bears to enter the competition in 2027, many club bosses are nervously shifting in their chairs – knowing the playing ranks are going to be raided to form an entirely new playing squad. Penrith have the likes of Luke Garner, Liam Henry and Lindsay Smith off-contract at the end of 2027. Securing any of those names would be monumental for the new Perth side. Jack Cole, Matt Eisenhuth, Trent Toelau and Scott Sorensen are also off-con-
to the piece, which basically just proved my point. “Who let her out of the kitchen,” said Facebook user Rick, who appears to be married based on his profile picture. “Give her a roast to cook or some ironing,” said Warren. Others defended criticism and said the referee’s sex shouldn’t matter. That was the point! The comments I was referring to were specifically about Belinda Sharpe’s gender. Criticise decisions and referees all you like, but the behaviour by some Penrith fans on that night was beyond disgusting.
! Interest in Gardiner: Could the Panthers be poised to lose yet another Assistant Coach? There’s plenty of rumours doing the rounds that Ben Gardiner is in the sights of English Super League club St Helens.
! Stadium discoveries: During preliminary works for the Penrith Stadium upgrade, more than a dozen potential Aboriginal artefacts were discovered. None were quantitative enough to trigger expanded investigation, and further inspection revealed none of the suspected artefacts turned out to be legitimate. Registered Aboriginal organisations were involved in the process. Should any artefacts be uncovered during construction, those organisations may choose to have any and/ or all Aboriginal cultural material uncovered reburied/relocated within the area.
! Matty in St Marys: Fox Sports personality Matty Johns is coming to St Marys Leagues Club next month for a special one-off event. ‘An Evening With Matty Johns’ will be on at the Boronia Showroom on Saturday, June 28.
tract, though it would appear Sorensen’s next destination is England. The Panthers should have no trouble re-signing Garner, Henry and Smith if they want to stay – but they’ll also have one eye on the work to do after the 2027 season, with the likes of Nathan Cleary and Liam Martin both off-contract.
! Clearys in no rush: Talking of Nathan Cleary being off-contract, there’s a few nervous people around the club who are quietly concerned that Nathan and Ivan Cleary haven’t re-signed long-term deals with Penrith. I checked in with the club this
Dylan Edwards.
OVER THE MOON FOR LURON
Penrith Panthers and Kangaroos forward Lindsay Smith said he felt over the moon when young wrecking ball Luron Patea crossed for his first NRL try last weekend.
The 20-year-old former Penrith Emus star put the Panthers in front just before halftime when he crashed into the Broncos defence with courage and determination to score a spectacular individual try.
Patea’s brilliant 28-minute performance off the bench had the commentators in the box salivating and the Panthers fans at home hungry for more.
But it was the youngster’s teammates who were the happiest for him, in particular fellow prop Smith, who was full of praise for Patea when speaking with Extra Time “Luron is definitely very talented and I think will be a special player in the future,” Smith declared.
“I was super stoked when he went over for that try. He’s definitely a very explosive player but also very skilful. He could be something special.”
Following several strong outings in the NSW Cup last year, Patea made his NRL debut last season, playing three first grade games in total. This year, he scored an opportunity to play in Las Vegas in the opening round before returning to reserve grade to develop further.
Smith, who is now a mainstay in Penrith’s forward rotation, said Patea’s development path is eerily similar to the one he experienced many years ago.
“It took me a couple of years to start playing regular NRL,” the 25-year-old said.
“I debuted in 2021 with one game and then played three games the following year, which is similar to him. Last year
Luron played a few games… got the taste of it… then played in Round 1 against the Sharks.
“When you’re so close you desperately want to get back into the first grade arena.
He’s been dominating in Cup week in, week out, and has been one of our best trainers. Luron’s form on the week
end definitely didn’t come as a surprise.”
What did come as a surprise to many punters last weekend was the performance of the Panthers, who entered last Sunday’s afternoon’s Magic Round fixture against the Broncos in last place.
Smith said his side “got the game we wanted and needed”, which resulted in a huge 32-8 victory.
“In previous weeks we’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot a lot, but we got our style of footy back and I feel that goes a long way to winning games,” he said.
“Although a lot goes into it, it’s a simple game at the end of the day. The team that holds the ball better and defends better, often wins.”
Lindsay Smith against the Broncos. Photo: NRL Photos.
Luron Patea enjoyed a breakout performance last weekend. Photo: NRL Photos.
NATHAN TAYLOR
T Jenkins 2, I Tago, N
N Cleary 6/6
Tries: M Asomua, C Stewart, D Levi Goals: A Cook 2/3
D Laurie 2 Goals: Z Lamont 1/2
Tries:
Cleary, L Patea Goals:
Tries: M Smith 2, X Cacciotti,
Tries: B Hunt Goals: A Reynolds 2/2
Tries:
Tries: Z Clarke, D ainuu
Penrith Panthers games...
DAY CLEARY ANSWERED THE CALL analysis
lang on league
with Peter Lang
Nathan Cleary had a determined look on his face the moment the game between Penrith and Brisbane kicked off at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. He looked almost angry. His body language was different to what it was the previous week when the game against the Sea Eagles finished in another heavy loss.
That day, Cleary was shaking his head, looking down at the ground with his hands on his hips. He looked defeated but another thing was noticeable at the press conference after the match.
He’d had enough of losing. You could almost hear the anger in his voice.
Like any champion player, Cleary was done kicking stones. He was going to kick some butt instead and inspire his teammates to do the same.
Many pundits were expecting the Broncos to win on Sunday.
I was one of them. What an idiot.
It didn’t take me long to realise that greatness comes in many forms and shows itself in different ways.
Not just in the obvious flash plays either.
Cleary signalled his intent in the16th minute when he kicked the ball downfield, sprinted up the field like he was Usain Bolt and then put a heavy hit on Broncos fullback
Selwyn Cobbo, the contact was so hard Cobbo’s head rocked back like he was hit by an express train.
This is not an easy thing to do when the person you tackle is nearly 10kg heavier than you.
Cleary did it anyway and it worked. The Broncos scored after five minutes, but that would be the last try they’d score for the match.
“He’s trying to carry this Panthers side on his back,” said caller Dan Ginnane.
“Nathan Cleary, he’s just looking for the collision,” added co-com-
Michael Ennis.
“He’s in an aggressive state of mind,” exclaimed Matthew Johns in commentary. They didn’t know the half of it but they could tell ‘greatness’ when they saw it. For the rest of the game Cleary put on a masterclass, a 40-20 was followed by a deft kick for an Izack Tago try.
Then for good measure and with the game still in the balance, he wound the clock back to the 2023 Grand Final and scored an almost
identical try to the one which won Penrith their third consecutive premiership.
Last year he helped the club win its fourth title in a row.
That’s why at age 27 and with his best football still ahead of him, Nathan Cleary is already the greatest player in Panthers history, or as popular culture likes to put it, Cleary is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) at Penrith.
Of course, the victory against Brisbane will be somewhat diminished if the team doesn’t back it up with another win this weekend.
Cleary knows it, he even told a newspaper reporter as much after the game;
“We knew we had to show up and thankfully we did,” he said. “In saying that you can’t fall in love with yourselves. We put in a good performance against the Roosters and didn’t back it up.
“So, it’s important we build on this.”
Cleary is also smart enough to know he can’t win a competition or even qualify for the Finals without his teammates, that’s why he said “WE” so many times in the interview.
For there’s no ‘I’ in team but there’s a ‘W’ in ‘win’ and ‘we’. Every team has a leader.
Penrith is lucky enough to also have a G.O.A.T.
mentator
Nathan Cleary was sensational against Brisbane. Photo: NRL Images.
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS
EELS KNIGHTS
DOLPHINS TITANS
EELS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS
EELS KNIGHTS BRONCOS RAIDERS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS RABBITOHS RAIDERS
EELS KNIGHTS
EELS KNIGHTS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS
EELS TITANS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS
SHARKS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS RABBITOHS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SHARKS
EELS KNIGHTS RABBITOHS BULLDOGS DRAGONS COWBOYS
SEA EAGLES
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS DRAGONS PANTHERS STORM SHARKS
EELS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS
WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SHARKS
DOLPHINS TITANS BRONCOS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS TIGERS SHARKS
EELS TITANS RABBITOHS RAIDERS WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SHARKS
DOLPHINS TITANS BRONCOS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS TIGERS SHARKS
DOLPHINS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SEA EAGLES
EELS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SEA EAGLES
EELS KNIGHTS BRONCOS BULLDOGS WARRIORS PANTHERS STORM SEA EAGLES
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