Penrith Panthers have struck a blow in the cross-code battle for bragging rights with the other football codes after being named Australasia’s best sporting team for 2023.
Platinum Asset Management and GAIN LINE Analytics have crunched the numbers on Australasia’s top sides and nominated Penrith as the cream of the crop after they racked up their third straight NRL premiership with their memorable Grand Final win over Brisbane.
Ivan Cleary’s team is widely credited with having one of the best talent development and retention programs in the country, which is reflected in their success at the elite level.
Panthers Rugby League CEO Matt Cameron was thrilled with being named the best of the best.
Penrith celebrate a third consecutive NRL premiership in the change rooms. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“On behalf of everyone at Penrith Panthers, we are extremely proud of our recent success,” he said.
“I’d like to pay tribute to our head coach Ivan Cleary, whose exceptional leadership has truly eased the path for everyone’s role on the team. Our team is youthful in terms of player age, yet our success has allowed them to mature within the game, understanding the essential elements needed to achieve it.
“Our first grade team stands as a testament to meticulous planning, robust development strategies, and the vital attribute of patience exhibited by our senior administrators. It’s crucial for us to maintain our resolve.
“We’re fortunate to have a steadfast board and supportive senior management who’ve backed every step of our journey”.
The club nominated their charity, Panthers on the Prowl, to receive a $10,000 grant from Platinum in recognition of their success.
Their program works to provide meaningful education and healthy development opportunities for students in the wider Penrith area who are at risk of disengaging from school.
A-League men’s premiers Melbourne City, who have also registered three straight premierships (regular season league), were named the runner-up in the Platinum-GAIN LINE analysis.
Anne Hatchard. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Super Rugby franchise, the Crusaders, who won an incredible seventh title in a row, missed out on this honour with more weight to win-loss record than outcomes in knockout matches.
Fourth was the UNSW Wests Magpies men’s water polo team, who added the 2023 title to wins in 2019 and 2022 (the COVID pandemic wiped out 2020 and 2021). They have won six of the last eight national competitions.
Fifth overall was the top female outfit, the Adelaide Crows AFLW, who topped this year’s ladder for the fourth time in six seasons, having won two premierships in that time. This year’s top 25 contains ten female teams, including three AFLW teams.
Melbourne City’s Jamie McLaren. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Since 2019, ABST has been an annual award over rolling five-year periods, with previous winners Melbourne Storm (NRL) in 2019 and 2020, and Sydney FC (A-League Men’s) in 2021. Crusaders won the inaugural 2018 award, which was a 25-year study.
The annual analysis looks at every game in Australasian sporting competitions, conducting a home/away or equivalent competition with Australian teams.
Douglas Isles, Head of Investment at Platinum, said “GAIN LINE’s theories on cohesion continue to resonate with my understanding of the strength of Platinum’s investment team. In parallel with the sporting context, there are countless examples in the corporate world, where cohesion, or lack of it, determines outcomes. ABST recognises sporting excellence while supporting
great causes and is an opportunity to make a difference by following up on the work we have done on ourselves”.
Australasia’s Best Sporting Team – Top 25
1 Penrith Panthers NRL
2 Melbourne City A League Men
3 Crusaders Super Rugby
4 UNSW Wests AWL Men’s
5 Adelaide Crows AFLW
6 Sydney Kings NBL
7 Melbourne Demons AFLW
8 Brisbane Lions AFLW
9 Sydney FC A League Women
10 Perth Scorchers BBL
11 Chiefs Esports Club eSports
12 Adelaide Strikers WBBL
13 Brisbane Lions AFL
14 Western Australia Sheffield Shield
15 CBR Brave AIHL
16 Tasmanian Tigers WNCL
17 Blues Super Rugby
18 Melbourne Boomers WNBL
19 Sydney Sixers BBL
20 Chiefs Super Rugby
21 NSW Waratahs Super Rugby W
22 Collingwood Magpies AFL
23 Melbourne Storm NRL
24 West Coast Fever Netball
25 Sydney Sirens AWIHL
Joe King
Roar Rookie
And yet, according to GainLine Analytics, the teams that (consistently) win across all professional competitions, have the highest numbers for ‘cohesion’ according to how GL defines and measures it—including for teams people usually throw up as exceptions and counter arguments. Seeing the advantage of cohesion (as defined and measured by GainLine) doesn’t mean we should cut SR teams to achieve it.
Albo
Roar Rookie
I think the key to the Panthers current run of success is : 1. They remain a cohesive group that enjoys playing footy & socialising together 2. They have a number of success driven leaders out on the park that drive the whole group to perform ( Fish, Yeo, Cleary, Edwards, Martin). No one dares let down their mates. I think the next big test for this status quo will hinge around the Luai decision to stay or go ? He is still a key ingredient to this team.
Andrew
Roar Rookie
esports is in there. Enough said!
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
I needed a laugh today. Thanks Platinum Asset Management! Thanks GAIN LINE Analytics! :laughing: :laughing:
Robbo
Roar Rookie
The article explains the basic criteria
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
They are the benchmark without a doubt, not just in terms of playing the game but also how to run a club. Will be interesting to see how long they can sustain it and what eventually returns them to the middle of the field.
Duvall
Roar Rookie
Not a fan of the Panthers but one has to give them credit - they are getting the job done in a big way.
mushi
Roar Guru
Not sure a competition would worry about not having representation. Doesn't that imply more parity in the sport?
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Definitely the most wetly contested. Can’t take that away from them.
KenW
Roar Rookie
While I agree it's a pointless award, your specific problem is odd. The NRL is far bigger than Super Pacific in any metric you could name apart from 'how many countries are teams based in' - where it wins by Fiji - a country with a GDP a little less than Coffs Harbour. Personally my eyebrows were raised by a water polo team named in 4th. This cannot be considered one of the most hotly contested sporting competitions in Australia.
Bernie
Roar Rookie
yeah, i hear you. anyone with enough talent to write iconic memorable songs and perform for decades knows his stuff. you have to be a big-head to survive in that industry.
Bernie
Roar Rookie
i reckon when he fell out of that coconut tree that time, he got a full body redux. what we see today is a Keef-Klone.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Confident he would have said that tongue in cheek. IMHO Kilby is one of the greatest, but even I only came back to them relatively recently. Interesting thing about the Church's career that they pretty much stopped writing singles after Metropolis (which they famously hate but I actually like), 30 odd years ago. The number of consistently good albums since then is staggering. So anyone would be forgiven for thinking they haven't written any decent songs since then unless they actually owned the albums and gave them a solid listen.
Bernie
Roar Rookie
hmmm, Steve Kilby, self-proclaimed "best songwriter in Australia". couple of good songs i suppose.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
Its a complete pile of you know what. Applying any logic I can think of and I cannot come anywhere near that listing. The Panthers may deserve to be the best team in Australia but after that, it completely falls apart.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
When you have a club that has hardly changed (apart from not winning their premiership) fall from 1st place in 2 consecutive years to 23rd on the list, it tends to suggest that winning your comp is the over riding factor. But then you get 3 womens AFL teams in the top 8 (cannot all have won the comp) then this does look decidedly screwy. I would love to see the criteria and have someone explain how they came up with that list. Until then, I will put it in this little red bin where it belongs.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Can't see the AFL recovering from this.
Micko
Roar Rookie
It was only 2020 when Richmond won consecutive flags, so not that long ago.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Super rugby is a farce Ray, with no open recruiting, drafts, trading etc. Hardly a sporting league worthy of praise!
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
One can only assume Keef is not operating with all original parts ...