The Panthers can redeem themselves from their 2020 grand final loss and take out the NRL premiership in 2021.
Penrith have been the definition of dominant over the last two years, winning 24 of their last 25 games, which is nearly unheard of.
The club looked like the team to beat all of last season and were rolling through the competition until they met the team of the decade, the Melbourne Storm, in the decider.
There were rare signs from the men in black as they were wiped off the park in the first half to be down by 22 points at halftime. They mounted a near comeback, however they were a penalty try and an obstruction call short of winning.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The Mountain Men have not slowed down after their awesome 2020 year and are the only undefeated team left in 2021.
Can they finish the season with an unbeaten record of 23-0? At first look that seems ridiculous but have we ever seen a team playing like the Panthers are at the moment? I am still pretty young, but I certainly have not.
The only team in my life that may challenge how good these young Panther aer playing is the 2015 Brisbane Broncos (trying not to be biased).
Personally, I don’t think they will go 23-0 but it is a possibility.
There are just two teams that Penrith may have to worry about.
First is, obviously, the reigning premiers. You can never count the Storm out. The second are the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who I tipped to win the title at the start of the year.
My thoughts are starting to change after all of these outstanding Penrith performances, however the Bunnies are still a major threat because they are an incredibly strong and talented team with stars scattered across the park.
Still, I believe that Penrith will win it because they are just looking beyond spectacular.
Ken
Guest
Its interesting ,panthers beat the storm missing Cleary but storm were with out papenhyzen , Harry Grant now Penrith dont have a fullback or hooker of similar quality , an if olam passes that ball out to Addo Carr , panthers lose . I think storm know this an definitely dont fear the panthers.
Christo
Roar Guru
Yes Duncan, rugby league is starting to look like the NBA because we have a pretty good idea who is making the playoffs so any win or win streak in the regular season means nothing if you can perform in the playoffs.
Joey
Guest
There’s a handful of teams that could probably win on their day. Plenty of others that have no hope. Happy to be in the mix. It’s all the coach asks for. Add to that, not winning last year could have gone one of two ways, burst their balloon or made them hungry as hell. Doesn’t look like it burst their balloon.
Muzz
Guest
The Panthers are very entertaining when they're on. I don't they're solid enough to win it though. Maybe next year.
Randy
Roar Rookie
Crichton won't be picked for Origin. Not sure about To'o, depends who's available.
Cat
Roar Guru
No ones ever won a premiership in the first month and half of the season. Long, long way to go. Anything can happen.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Christo, will be an interesting back end of the season. For the first time in a long while, the Panthers will probably have a high representation in SOO and their NRL campaign is so reliant on Cleary being fit. Look at the Roosters, will make the semis but on a weakened roster unlikely to go all the way. Post origin injuries and suspensions could make the difference?
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Barring injuries, I can't see who'll beat them. Storm and maybe Souths. But that's about it. Their defence is stingy as a Scot (unwoke?) and they have so much strike power and confidence in attack.
matth
Roar Guru
Injuries snd post origin fatigue are the two risks. They will have teams lifting against them all year, plus possibly a decent contingent in origin. So they could run out of steam while another team times it’s run better. Of course any significant injury to Cleary changes everything.
danwain
Roar Rookie
Penrith did beat the storm without Cleary, let's not forget that
Dirk Diggler
Roar Rookie
It will be interesting come Origin for the Panthers- they will likely lose Crighton, Cleary, To'o, Yeo, Luai & Capewell and then have a tough draw from Round 20 with 4 consecutuve games against Top 8 sides. I agree they are the prohibitve favourites at this stage especially with the Raiders & Roosers struggling with consistency.
Nat
Roar Guru
I have a lot of respect for Cleary but I think opposing teams can get a better chance at success by putting pressure on his kicking game. With time, his boot is a devastating weapon but it only takes a rushing player to put him off slightly but that can have a significant impact on where the game is played.
The Sporacle
Roar Rookie
Yeah I noticed it against the Broncs mainly, didn't know if he had in other games as well. Impressive talent, shows how good that Central West NSW is as a RL nursery at the moment
Christo
Roar Guru
Yes Cleary is the mastermind of this team and his awesome decision making is crucial for Penrith and without him I don't think they win that Broncos game.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Fullback and hooker look like coming back this week. Cleary missed a few games last year with tik tok, didn’t stop them, just shuffled in Burton and Luai. Off field dramas, they don’t want any more of them.
Joe
Roar Rookie
The way they're going its hard to go past them. Currently without two of their starting spine players and still undefeated. Mentioned at the start of the year that they would be hungrier this year after last years loss and the way they've started shows that to be true. Still, a long way to go yet...if teams are going to aim up against them all year like the Broncos did last week they may well be spent come the pointy end of the season. At this point though I'd agree its Penriths to lose.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! More credit should have been given to the Broncos pack last week. They were very strong for the 80 minutes and limited the Panthers go forward, and they had the Panthers pack working overtime in defence. But the Panthers still held fairly secure but for the one poor effort up the guts for the Bullemore try. They do have a lack of concentration there at times ( usually when JFH & Leota are off). In the end the Panthers halves got them home , when many other teams might have gone down to a good Broncos performance.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Burton did miss a few tackles against the Broncos last week, but I think this was an exception to his normally strong defensive game. I think Pangai who was red hot last week aimed up on him and beat him a few times. I would not be too concerned here.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Take the dominant player out of most teams and they’re buggered I’m not sure about the Panthers forwards. I think they were a bit flat and maybe complacent against the Broncos. I don’t think JFH, Yeo, Kikau, Martin, Leota, Leinu will be regularly “out-aggressed” - I guess we’ll see
Christo
Roar Guru
Yes It can certainly happen, however I can just not see anything going wrong going for the Panthers