Luke Lewis has delivered a withering assessment of the chances of Parramatta upsetting Penrith in this weekend’s Battle of the West NRL Grand Final.
Speaking to James Graham on his The Bye Round podcast, the 2016 Clive Churchill Medallist gave a blunt opinion on the chances of whoever it was that the Panthers ran into on the big night.
“The best I’ve seen for a long period of time,” he said of the club where he made his name.
“They’ve won SG Ball this year, Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and if the Panthers win on the weekend it’s an NRL Grand Final. The Panthers have everything down pat. The way that they coach all the way through their system and junior grades is perfect.”
“I look at Penrith at the moment and they can win the game in so many different ways. They can win the game with their attack, with their defence, they can starve teams of possession, they can turn the screws when it needs to be done.
“Their kicking game is perfect, they’ve got attack on left and right. Nathan Cleary has the game so sorted at such a young age, I think Penrith would have to be 20% off and whoever they play has to play their perfect game of footy to beat them. That’s quite scary, right?
“This Penrith side is the best I’ve seen for a long time.”
Lewis went on to predict that the Panthers current strength in depth would allow them to replicate the dynasty that emerged at Melbourne under Craig Bellamy, when he could call on players from reserve grade and junior ranks and turn them into high-level first graders at will.
It’s crazy, but if you look through that club, and the amount of talent coming through there is like Melbourne used to be. Remember, they would let someone go and you’d think they’d struggle, but all of a sudden, these players that you’d never heard of would come in and be superstars. That’s what Penrith have out there at the moment.
It’s superstar after superstar after superstar, all young kids tied up that want to play for the club. It makes me pretty proud as a Penrith junior to see what they’re doing.
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