About halfway through last season, by which time there appeared an inevitability about Penrith completing a historic three-peat, Phil Gould pondered when the streak would end.
“They’ve got the chance to win five or six comps in a row,” Gould mused on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast in July. “Who’s gonna stop them?”
History will show that the Panthers completed a rare treble, the first since the great Parramatta side of the 1980s, although this is where the run was meant to end. The impact of the salary cap, the drain of talent lost during the State of Origin period, and the rise of a worthy rival were all factors expected to finally conspire against them.
They began the season losing the World Club Challenge, their opening NRL game and their talisman captain and halfback, Nathan Cleary, to injury. Going into Thursday night’s blockbuster against the Roosters, the team many feel most likely to knock them off their perch, they were also without Kiwi captain James Fisher-Harris and fellow forward Scott Sorensen.
Yet they never looked like losing.
This was their ninth consecutive victory over the Roosters. The 22-16 scoreline flattered the Tricolours, a result that was all but sealed at half-time. Of the last 76 times that Penrith have gone into the break in front, they have won on 75 occasions. They cannot be run down.
It seems no one can stop the Penrith Panthers.Credit: Getty
Coach Ivan Cleary has at his disposal a relentless, insatiable winning machine. Gould was mocked mercilessly when he made his outrageous six-peat prediction, but who is laughing now?
The beauty of rugby league, since the introduction of the salary cap, has been the glorious uncertainty of who will prevail in the toughest competition in world sport. Former NRL chief executive David Gallop’s great boast was that any team could win on any given day.
Penrith are marching to a fourth straight title. Is their dominance killing the NRL?
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29.03.2024
About halfway through last season, by which time there appeared an inevitability about Penrith completing a historic three-peat, Phil Gould pondered when the streak would end.
“They’ve got the chance to win five or six comps in a row,” Gould mused on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast in July. “Who’s gonna stop them?”
History will show that the Panthers completed a rare treble, the first since the great Parramatta side of the 1980s, although........
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