They share the bottom two spots on the National Rugby League table. It seems all is lost for the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels in 2012. But it isn’t all doom and gloom for these proud clubs.
As time moves, the wheel turns.
Both Parramatta and Penrith are moulding the future of their squads as we speak. In these times, young players become stronger and their skins thicken.
Creating and keeping your roster in this day and age is an art form. While both sides have their superstars, it’s further down the chain where both clubs future lies.
Forget Jarryd Hayne, Luke Lewis and Michael Jennings for a moment.
For the Panthers, good times are surely just around the corner. The mountain men and their young stars are slowly building on their individual career games.
“My main focus is getting a big squad together that can build a foundation for the long term,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary told Penrith Press at the beginning of 2012.
State of Origin enforcer Tim Grant has now played 82 games and is creeping up on the 100-match milestone. Kiwi international Sam McKendry has played 65 and playmaker Luke Walsh has 89 matches to his name. Lachlan Coote and Dayne Weston have 74 and 58 respectively.
This group is the most important for the Panthers. They are the men with the responsibility of taking this club forward. The expectation that they lift and improve individually couldn’t be any higher.
Parramatta are a little further back in their development, but the same expectations and pressure apply.
Mitchell Allgood [37], Jordan Atkins [40], Taniela Lasalo [36], Joseph Paulo [40] and Ryan Morgan [24] are that middle group of the roster that must step up. Even Tim Mannah [87] has a role to play.
Unfortunately coach Stephen Kearney may not get to see the Parramatta renaissance. Well, not from the Eels’ coaches box.
The group below these players are the rookies. The expectation isn’t on them as they work to find their feet. But they are the ones expected to sell tickets and merchandise in the future. The real talent is here, the ones that will probably see that white light at the end of the tunnel and enjoy the spoils.
For the Eels its kids like Cheyse Blair and talented forward Matt Ryan. Like outside backs Ken Sio and giant flyer Jacob Loko. Then there are backrowers like Pat O’Hanlon and Justin Horo.
The Panthers have utility Blake Austin who is already make strides in the top grade. Winger Josh Mansour has been a revelation and Ryan Simpkins is developing faster than many predicted. The main ingredient for the Panthers, though, is Toyota Cup star Harry Siejka.
Siejka is the next generation and plenty of good things will eventually revolve around him.
These two clubs don’t have to look outside their own boundaries to find success. Glory is staring them in the face every day of the week. It will just take some time.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Does anyone else want to see Penrith in that '91 strip fulltime? Hell yeah
Michael
Guest
Penrith's 2013 team as it currently stands if we don't re-sign anyone or sign anyone else: 1. Lachlan Coote, 2. Brad Tighe, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Dean Whare, 5. Josh Mansour, 6. Harry Seijka, 7. Luke Walsh, 8. Tim Grant, 9. Kevin Kingston, 10. Sam McKendry, 11. Lewis Brown, 12. Sika Manu, 13. Luke Lewis RES: 14. James Segeyaro, 15. Dayne Weston, 16. Mitch Achurch/Vaipuna Tia Kilifi, 17. Blake Austin Much better balanced team. A MUCH better forward pack which addresses specific deficiencies on this team due to a lack of impact on the fringes. On top of that a plethora of young talent coming through. Penrith will be a significant amount better and it is no secret that the guys we've recruited have all come from hard line coaches and they'll be used to Cleary's style. Slow culture build.
npollard
Roar Rookie
Good recruitment and talent spotting of youth are vital aspects of a successful NRL club. The Melbourne Storm model is there for all to see. It is ironic that the 2 clubs with the largest junior nursery are at the bottom of the NRL ladder while the club with the smallest nursery is at the top. Penrith and Parramatta juniors are juniors available to any club as shown by Tony Williams and Paul Gallen’s careers to date. I have my doubts about both Parramatta and Penrith. The coach’s role is to get the best possible performance from his team during the season. Judge his performance at the end of the season against your pre-season expectations and take into consideration injuries to players in your measurement. Player development structures that may payoff in later years should not be a priority for the head coach. Kearney was an assistant coach at Melbourne not the head coach. His greatest success came with the Kiwi’s World Cup final win after Wayne Bennet provided some assistance. The Warriors always seem to underachieve and their management let Cleary go early last year only for him to guide them last year to the GF. Did he suddenly find out how to coach or did the Warrior’s players just produce what we all thought they are capable of? I don’t know either of them personally and their knowledge of the game may well mean they can contribute greatly to a football club but to me neither of them appear to demonstrate a passionate approach to playing the game which I believe is an important ingredient in successful coaches who inspire their players. The ‘it takes time’ response when teams under a new coach disappoint is a familiar one. No need for such a response this year at Canterbury where Hasler is having an immediate positive effect on the current group. Interestingly, their future playing roster is totally uncertain and they are also ‘building’ for a future but Hasler is focussed on the ‘now’. Wayne Bennet at Newcastle is probably the most interesting case of an ‘it takes time’ scenario but let’s wait till October before we write the final report card.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Doubt it .. the Roosters get it right once every 20 years .. Brian Smith/Nick Politis = dumb and rich
jdubya
Guest
If your logic is correct then surely the Roosters must be in better shape for the future than any club in the competition.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Hahaha I'm waiting for Inglis to rip of his QLD jersey in game 3 to find a Blues jersey and its been a screwjob all along. Losing 6 series in a row doesnt make sense, but oh well.
Aleks Duric
Roar Guru
Love the wrestling analogy mushi!
Aleks Duric
Roar Guru
The problem with Parra is we can't seem to retain a lot of the phenomenal talent that comes through our junior development program. I don't know if it's a case of not identifying talent at a really early stage, like Paul Gallen, poor retention e.g. T-Rex, or bad cap management...but it's been a major issue for the Eels for decades now
mushi
Roar Guru
Both Parra and Penrith though seem to be absolute masters a butchering the junior pipeline. They’ve delivered a veritable bouillabaisse of salary cap mismanagement over paying some, releasing others, bringing in more expensive players to stunt their development, seasoned with pepper and served with crusty bread. It's like you expect one of those wrestling moments at a news conference where they rip off their shirts and there's a [insert other Sydney team here] jersey on underneath and they cackle away as they reveal they’ve been working for the other sides all along.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Well thats the catch 22 isnt it ? You can develop a squad or you can buy one. If you buy one you spend all your money and cant keep the juniors.
Tired
Guest
That might be true but fans see that they have had quick and consistent success whilst out west success is sporadic and for Parra quite elusive. So fans and sponsors are saying where is our bang for our buck when other teams develop their juniors and get consistent success? This is the age of expectations being met quickly, if they're not then your cut off because it's not good business, given the NRL is a business and so are the Clubs. Customers of any business want value and they're not getting it at the moment with Penrith and especially Parra.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Well if you look at the Storm and Broncos squads, their best players are developed juniors.
Tired
Guest
Whilst I agree the fans don't want to wait years for success, they want it now. Years ago fans were prepared to wait but those days are gone. Penrith and particularly Parra fans see the relatively quick success of Melbourne and the consistent success of Brisbane and wonder why that can't be achieved at their clubs. Fans (and sponsors) don't wait.