They may have come up short against the Melbourne Storm in the 2020 decider, but the Penrith Panthers are being heralded as the team of the coming decade.
They’re young, they’ve come up together and they now have big-game experience.
Why wouldn’t they absolutely brain it for the foreseeable?
Um, because Penrith.
Blergh, I know, I’m being a total snob and what a shitty thing to say about a suburb that I haven’t visited since Australia’s Wonderland shut down.
But if you want to know the biggest issue the Penrith Panthers face in keeping their young-gun crew together, it’s a simple question of geography.
Because why would you live in Mount Druitt if you can afford to live in Manly?
For what it’s worth, I work in the poorest suburb in Australia and live within walking distance. I’m penning this on a seven-year-old laptop and while I was lucky enough to attend one of Australia’s finest (read: most expensive) secondary schools, my kids aren’t going to a GPS institution unless I jag a win on Powerball.
Break out the violins, people (or just continue to click on my stories, it’s putting dinner on the table here in Waratah).
But while I love where I live and work, trading it in for a mansion with ocean views remains the dream.
And while that’s a ridiculous proposition for a hack with a Mac, it is entirely plausible for the likes of Jerome Luai, Brian To’o, Moses Leota, Tyrone May, Spencer Leniu or Stephen Crichton – AKA the kids who grew up on literal ‘Struggle Street’.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
They’re going to be offered money the likes of which most can only dream, and good on them because if I can watch you in primetime on a Friday night on two different channels and a streaming service, you deserve to be paid fat stacks.
But when you’re banking ten grand a week, you’ll have no worries paying off your parents’ mortgage and then looking for your own place.
And why wouldn’t you take a leaf out of, say, Phil Gould’s book and set yourself down in a place where you can smell salt in the air?
Lifestyle is the issue the Panthers will struggle with in keeping their talented crew together, because how can the likes of club’s deputy chairman Greg Alexander legitimately preach the Pennie Gospel when he puts his head down on a pillow on Sydney’s Northern Beaches?
Penrith’s top brass may live in the area but those who don’t need to be there 40 hours a week have made the move away from the place Gus so lovingly calls “the golden west” from his house in the Shire.
And the commute is a bitch! While Penrith is technically part of greater Sydney, it’s essentially as far from the city as Gosford.
So if you’re being offered half a million or more dollars a year, which will pay off a mortgage on a sweet pad in just about anywhere in the world far quicker than the 30 years it’ll take most punters, well, why not live in a suburb that doesn’t have “above-average crime rates for domestic violence, drug offences, home break and enters and motor vehicle thefts”?
I know, I know, I know. I’m being a massive, massive knob. But if you can afford to, you’re far more likely to live somewhere heaps, heaps nice than not.
And after 17 wins in a row and a minor premiership, just about everyone at the Panthers is in line for a decent bump in pay.
Nathan Cleary isn’t. He’s on a million bucks a year and the Panthers will ensure he’s their marquee man for his entire career.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But what about Luai? Newcastle need a five-eighth, can afford the salary of a NSW Origin squad member, and a million bucks will get you the house of your dreams in Hamilton South.
And the Knights are hardly on their own with the off-the-field pitch – the lifestyle is better at most clubs in the NRL than the Panthers can offer. And the proof is the fact half the people at Penrith trying to keep these players at the club don’t actually live at the foot of the mountains!
So it stops being a question of how much you get paid and instead what you’re buying with the money. And Tom Trbojevic – if he ever moves out of his parents’ house – smashes Nathan Cleary on that front even if he gets paid marginally less.
I’m not saying Penrith’s roster is going to be decimated by the fact they play out of Panthers Stadium. But six of their brightest young stars came up in a suburb that SBS – the most generous TV network in Australia – blew apart with a doco that was described as “poverty porn”.
These kids are going to be offered huge money from clubs that service an area that SBS wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Some of them are going to see that greener grass and decide it’s where they want to pasture.
That’s the biggest issue the Panthers face – not the dollars they can offer but what their players want to spend it on.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Joe If you own a house near Newcastle University, you are not poor
Nick
Roar Guru
Everything you mention that Penrith has...the east has better. Better universities, better schools, better museums (unless you think the museum of fire is the greatest one in the world), better galleries, better theatre, better restaurants (how many hatted restaurants in Sydney exist west of Parramatta for example?), the domestic and international airport within reach, significantly cooler summer temperatures, better gold courses. The only thing Penrith has on that list that the east doesn't is the Penrith lakes complex...but it has Sydney harbour. This idea that the east is smog filled is absolute snot. Come join me in Asia and you'll get an actual understanding of smog. Sydney skies are clean everywhere. I used to travel through the blue mountains all the time to get to Sydney - I've never once in my life made it from Penrith to the city in "half an hour" down the M4. That sir, is impossible.
Albo
Roar Rookie
"...he’s cracking at it being a dull area. Whether poverty = dull is another argument. " What absolute garbage. You obviously know nothing about the Penrith Region. Firstly , from a footballer's career perspective , the Panthers have no trouble attracting any player they might want to import, and they could offer top dollar to use the best facilities in the NRL. The fact they produce so much good young talent from their own "dull" local area, means they don't need to go out on spending sprees to other Clubs. Players might move out of the area ( or not) after they finish their careers , but most are more than happy residing in the area whilst they pursue their footy career. Sure Brandy & Freddie have moved to the beaches in retirement , but Royce and family have a brand new apartment next to Panthers, and many other ex players still live in the region ! Secondly, the Penrith region is far from dull and has a diverse environment catering for young families , from battlers through to landed gentry. You can live in a working class suburb , old establish suburbs or new housing estates, through to multi million dollar homes along the River, in the mountains or on the outskirts in all directions. And all are just half an hour down the M4 to the City and its attractions. The region has Universities, TAFE's , quality State & Private Schools, Hospitals, Art Galleries , Museums, the Dame Joan Sutherland Theatre, The Penrith Lakes complex for all Olympic water sports, Equestrian centres, the Godolphin Race Horse Training complex, Cinema complexes, restaurants & cafes, a myriad of Sporting complexes , clubs & golf courses, the Blue Mountains, the Hawkesbury and all its tourist attractions, birds & trees and no smog, and it has Panthers. If you can't find something for entertainment and life satisfaction in the Penrith Region, it really is not the area that is dull !
catcat
Roar Rookie
Penrith does have one things for these guys..their mates. I think Canberra is the same. You can live close by to each other when you're in the one area. Major disadvantage for me is the summer temps 40+...alway Air con I guess....
Lion Down Under
Guest
Where you work isn't the poorest suburb in Australia. 2308 (Callaghan) is the suburb with the lowest average taxable income. That's because it's a tiny suburb and virtually everyone that lives there is aged between 18 and 21 and in full-time education so they don't have a full-time wage and they're too young to have accumulated much wealth. Many come from well-off families and all of them will be hoping that their education will stand them in good stead in life. That doesn't make them poor, it means that they currently have very little tax liability. Big difference. Places like Windale, Raymond Terrace and Hamilton South where people see no means of escape is where true poverty resides.
Brendon
Roar Rookie
Haha yeah the issue with trying to type while in a meeting at work! I can confirm I have left, got out as soon as I could, thats for sure!
Admiral Ackbar
Guest
There is truth to this - remember when Ken Arthurson told Fatty Vautin not to sign with Parramatta because he’d catch typhoid from swimming in the Parramatta River?
Nick
Roar Guru
They can do both. Buy east, rent west.
Nick
Roar Guru
Yeah, I'm sure. But most of those players weren't born in Samoa eh. No different to basketballers. They ain't staying in the hood. They moving to Bel Air, or the penthouse overlooking central park.
Jake Tafau
Roar Rookie
Rugby have no interest out here which is why my kids stopped paying it.
Jake Tafau
Roar Rookie
I read enough, the point I'm making is compared to how I lived in Samoa Penrith is a step up and it's not a bad place to live, it's not rich but its also not dull.
RoryStorm
Guest
I congratulate the Panthers for having a footy side made up of players who are mainly from Penrith and surrounding suburbs. I think Api even started out at Penrith before going to Manly and then coming back again. Probably more locals in their team than any other club. I'm guessing there, so I stand to be corrected. Maybe the Broncs? I congratulate your team for the run of wins this season. Another five minutes in the game and you would probably have won the GF.
Joel
Guest
What's more important for the 2770 boys? Spending a heap of cash on themselves to live at the beach away from from their families. Or the complete opposite. No brainer.
Phil
Roar Rookie
....................the house of your dreams in Hamilton South........................no thanks, I'll take Windale any day.
MaxP
Roar Rookie
Don’t drag rugby into this please. I’ve not seen an article like this on the rugby pages. Most of the class stereotype commentary is directed at rugby, not the other way around. The majority of rugby fans want to see the game expand into western Sydney for the good of the game and the huge talent available.
Brian Westlake
Roar Rookie
As security?
Brian Westlake
Roar Rookie
That's because you don't talk to anyone. Beachside will take most of these guys, whether it be the shire, Newcastle or Manly. Overcrowding at the beach? Hell... Why don't we go to cables or whatever the hell it is... Nah I'm good
MickDonovan
Roar Rookie
I'm not sure he's been to Regional Australia, some far worse places than Penrith.
Nick
Roar Guru
I think you need to re-read the article, Jake (and others). He's not cracking at Penrith being a "poor" area, he's cracking at it being a dull area. Whether poverty = dull is another argument. But his overall point is not wrong. Penrith is simply not, and will never be a destination that can attract players, and some of the good juniors will eventually be lured away. That's not my opinion, or Joe's opinion - that's the market's opinion. The coastal suburbs are worth more because of the lifestyle. It's not just Penrith that suffer from this, Canberra have a HUGE issue bringing in top line talent too. You talk about the wealthy players being able to live in a massive house in the blue mountains/windsor etc...but they are not doing that. They are living out west while they are contracted at Penrith but doing what all cashed up people are doing: buying in the east. And eventually, they are going to want to live east. Brad Fittler didn't return to live in Penrith. Greg Alexander didn't return to live in Penrith. Phil Gould didn't return to live in Penrith. Penrith - somewhat unfairly - is the suburb you seek to get out of.
Nick
Roar Guru
A few do...according to the court reports of the players who get arrested! Ivan Cleary currently lives in his investment property in Leonay, and rents out his main hut on the northern beaches.