At the start of the season I placed a bet on the Penrith Panthers to be minor premiers. The squad looked good and fresh, and I thought that, for the generous odds on offer, they might be worth a punt. But I never really thought it was much of a chance.
I never really thought they were a chance, but then in May I drafted an article for The Roar stating that the Panthers were premiership contenders.
They had just thrashed Parramatta, albeit a Jarryd Hayne-less Parramatta, and were flying high at the top of the ladder. I was going to tell you all about my bet, and how smart I was. Josh Mansour and Matt Moylan were both playing like Blues bolters, and Jamie Soward was starting to come into the form he is in right now.
They looked good. Damn good.
But I didn’t submit the article. Because deep down, in my heart of hearts, I couldn’t actually see them lifting the trophy come October.
Come finals time, I couldn’t see them beating Manly. I couldn’t see them beating Souths. The Roosters were looking pretty average back in May and I couldn’t even see the Panthers beating them.
I wanted to believe. I wanted so badly to believe in fairytales.
And as the season wore on, as the Panthers kept taking on all comers and finding bewildering success, I started to believe a little more. Despite an injury ward that refused to ever stop filling, the Mountain Men fought on.
They were entertaining. They were fun. They were surprisingly tough. James Segeyaro had all the energy of a puppy on Viagra, and he led out of dummy half better than any hooker has this year. Soward just kept getting better, which as a Dragons fan annoyed the crap out of me. Mansour grew facial hair at an alarming rate. Tyrone Peachy, pre-injury, was spectacular.
And yet I still couldn’t see it happen. I couldn’t see how a team without a State of Origin or Test star to be seen could beat the big guns. How a team with an injury list that, when typed in size 10 font, couldn’t fit on Josh Mansour’s beard, could beat Manly, Melbourne or Easts.
So now that I’ve seen the Penny Panthers grind out a brilliant victory over the minor premiers and defending premiers, can I finally believe?
They made the top four. They beat the Roosters and earned the week off. They’ve done everything right. But when it comes down to grand final day, do they really have what it takes to be the best?
After Saturday night’s victory, it is now clear that not only do they deserve their spot in the top four, they can challenge for the trophy. I’ll even put my (perfectly reasonable) bias against Jamie Soward aside and say I hope they win it.
And I really want to think that they can win it. Maybe I can believe in fairytales after all. All I know is that Saturday night was the best game I’ve seen all year, and the Panthers came out on top.
tigerdave
Guest
Whatever the banter, the fact is that they are the real surprise packet of the competition and in their current form, have as good a chance as any of winning it. Many scribes wrote that their draw was favourable to them. Well maybe it was a better draw than some, but they have beaten some pretty fair sides in the last 6 weeks, and are still improving. That;s scary for the opposition. Lets take our hats off to Gus Gould and Ivan Cleary. The footy public were gobsmacked when they let Jennings and Lewis go. They were bewilded when they purchased so called has beens, Soward and Wallace. The only people who never questioned it were Gus and Ivan. They stuck solid, and now have the depth to cover their rather large injury list. It seems when one player goes down , another with equal or better ability steps forward. Great football brains are leading this club, they have no bigheads and their players seem to be enjoying what they are doing. Someone finally tamed big Jamal and he seems to be happier someone took the time to do so. Go the Pathers.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
your hard to please
Knightblues
Roar Guru
not really storm bulldogs was sudden death and half the storm supporters stayed at home
KiwiBear
Guest
What game were you watching?
turbodewd
Guest
crap crowd! I thought NRL fans loved the McIntyre system so much! NRL finals should be sudden death, then you'd get good crowds. Week one of the NRL playoffs are a waste of time. Notice how only the sudden death games are sellouts? eg Broncos @ Cowboys was a very good crowd of 25,000.
Tom Clarke
Roar Pro
Haha the article would have been a lot more braggy in tone if I'd actually won the bet! But yes, bandwagonner all the way
davey
Guest
This is why I make it a point to tell my friends what my crazy little predictions are at the start of round 1. This way I can either brag at the end of the year when they come off, or stay very quiet when they don't.
Bocking
Guest
Good luck to the Panthers but it wasn't the best game of the season, far from it. In some respects, it wasn't even a good game.
steveng
Roar Rookie
The Panthers looked good in the last 2 minutes of yesterday's game, that is all. Both the Roosters and the Panthers didn't have their best games. The Panthers looked pedestrian there for a while (well allot of the times) in the rucks when they were just walking and Segeyaro was making lot's of mistakes at dummy half, passing the ball to no one, players overrunning the ball, it just looked disastrous and I thought that the Roosters would take advantage of this but they didn't and that is why they lost the game. But the last 2 minutes of the game was absolutely unbelievable first the try and Soward's conversion and then Soward's field goal which was miraculous. Well done to the Panthers but on last nights performance I wouldn't get carried away if I was one of the fans and that also applies to the Roosters which I'm sure that they will come back bigger and stronger against the Cowboys but they will have to work hard as they won't have "head hunter, ball ripper" Hargr in their side.
Elma Dudd
Guest
That's because she stood you up to get a bit of " THE DUDD" action .
The Barry
Guest
Haha...all in good fun. I just love the "I tipped them at the start of the year but didn't tell anyone." If only the TAB would accept that.
Jay C
Roar Guru
They looked like world beaters last night. Although the Roosters were very poor so it was a bit hard to judge. Buth they do seem to just turn up every week and get it done. I hope Segeyaro stays loyal to PNG with his representative career.
Baz
Guest
A bit narky this morning aren't we gentlemen?
The Barry
Guest
Did I tell you about the Melbourne cup first four that I picked.?
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
Jennifer said "it's not you, it's me". So sad.
The Barry
Guest
I picked the lotto numbers six weeks in a row but didn't buy a ticket.
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
Earlier this year I had a hot date with Jennifer Lawrence but I didn't tell anyone about it.
The Barry
Guest
They're coming out of the woodwork now. "I put a bet on the panthers at the start of the year but I didn't tell anyone about it" "I wrote an article saying they'd win but I didn't submit it" This isn't a criticism of the panthers, they fully deserved their win last night.