Parramatta Eels fans all over are frustrated and rightfully so.
NRL fans all over are confused and rightfully so.
Penrith Panthers fans all over, however, should also be frustrated but in a unique change, not at their team. They should be frustrated at the lack of credit their team is receiving for their 12-6 win against the Parramatta Eels yesterday afternoon at ANZ Stadium.
When a team loses their fifth straight game to start a season it is very easy to immediately focus on them. Many questions are asked and many accusations are thrown.
Overall, a search warrant is thrown into society to find a solution. However, I believe more attention should be directed towards the team that actually won rather than the team that is now 0-5.
It is only human, sporting fan instinct to try and work out what is wrong with your team when they are playing poorly especially when they are yet to take home two points.
Human instinct should also be to look at the bigger picture and ask questions beyond “Who do we blame?” and “What do we do?”
Ask the big questions like “Just how good was the opposition?” and “Were my team really bad or were the opposition just better?”
It’s an unfamiliar concept to many fans in the NRL community, accepting that sometimes when your team loses it’s because the other team was just better, but it’s one that fans should really embrace.
Nathan Cleary is going to be one of the best halfbacks in the NRL – if he isn’t considered one already. He offers a lot to the club in many aspects and he has become a fan favourite for Rugby League fans of any team. When he went down injured against the Bulldogs in Round 3 many Penrith fans held their breath.
The breath was exhaled and tears were cried when news broke that his injury could keep him off the field for up to ten weeks. However, these were tears that seemed to have forgotten a very special off-season purchase in James Maloney.
Maloney is no young, not yet ripened fruit in the NRL bunch, he is an incredibly experienced player who knows how to lift when it most matters and with Cleary on the sidelines for quite some time, he has done just that.
Yesterday against the Parramatta Eels was no exception – except in the eyes of frustrated and confused Parramatta fans apparently. Maloney is good, very good in fact, but a half can only perform to their greatest calibre with the right forward pack and the Panthers have that.
Please, for the love of all that matters in the NRL, give these guys some credit. There are quiet whispers calling for Reagan Campbell-Gillard to wear the sky blue for this season’s Origin series but these whispers should be screams.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
I want to hear applause for James Fisher-Harris’ 44 tackles, 109 metres, 3 offloads and 1 tackle break.
Give Trent Merrin the credit he deserves for turning his form around and making himself a sure inclusion in the side. I could continue on for much longer but the statistics themselves do the talking.
There was much more reasoning to Parramatta’s mere six points than Josh Hoffman dropping the ball or the halves passing too hard or kicking too deep. I am not denying that Parramatta can lack on the attack at times, but I’m focusing on the strength in the Panthers defence.
The Penrith Panthers have won four of their five matches, sitting not just nicely in the top eight but in the top four at third place. This doesn’t happen just because their opponents didn’t play well.
Penrith Panthers fans, be proud and enjoy this season because I have a feeling it’s going to be a very fun one. Parramatta Eels fans, look at the full picture, not just want you want to focus on.
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