{"id":473307,"date":"2025-10-01T20:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=473307"},"modified":"2025-10-01T23:20:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:20:28","slug":"the-costly-slip-up-that-foiled-panthers-five-peat-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=473307","title":{"rendered":"The costly slip-up that foiled Panthers' five-peat dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every era has to come to an end sometime\u2026 and for the Penrith Panthers<\/a>, it happened last Sunday in a game in which they briefly let their guard down against the powerhouse Brisbane Broncos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the first time in 99 games, they allowed a lead of 10 or more points to slip through their fingers at Suncorp Stadium.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was complacency, looking to the grand final ahead, or just tiredness after battling their way from last spot in round 12 to the finals.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Gus in hospital battling 'significant health concerns'\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Teddy joins elite club with second Dally M Medal win<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> AFL 'not thrilled' as Cats' Mad Monday antics slammed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

We will never know if the Panthers could have beaten the Storm this weekend to make it five titles in a row, but one thing is certain – Melbourne would be happy they are Bali-bound.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The poor start to the year – just three wins from their first nine games – meant the Panthers were under the pump for the remainder of the season, with a host of 'must-win' games taking their toll.<\/p>\n

Rival clubs have been picking at the bones of the Panthers throughout their magnificent four-year reign, and this season, losing three key men – James Fisher-Harris, Jarome Luai<\/a> and Suni Turuva – appeared to make a fifth premiership a bridge too far.<\/p>\n

Despite their poor start, the Panthers still mounted a strong title defence, with Nathan Cleary<\/a> at the heart of all they did.<\/p>\n

Somehow, despite a string of injuries, Cleary managed to play 22 games, often getting the Panthers home in the tight matches with his brilliant game management.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He definitely missed having Luai to take some of the heat off him, but in youngster Blaize Talagi, Penrith have a fine youngster who will be even better in 2026.<\/p>\n

Fullback Dylan Edwards<\/a> again returned phenomenal numbers at the back, while wingers Brian To'o, Tom Jenkins and Paul Alamoti bagged 38 tries between them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the centres, the club unveiled a superstar in waiting in Casey McLean, who scored 16 tries in 23 games and set up many more for his outside men.<\/p>\n

Lock Isaah Yeo<\/a> was again all class, providing the ideal ball-playing link between the forwards and backs, and is regarded by many as the best number 13 in the game.<\/p>\n

In the back row, Isaiah Papali'i was a great signing after a disappointing season at the Tigers in 2024, Liam Martin provided plenty of his customary muscle and Scott Sorensen and Luke Garner were always reliable.<\/p>\n

Lindsay Smith and Moses Leota both stepped up following the loss of Fisher-Harris, and Liam Henry is a big improver.<\/p>\n

Mitch Kenny did plenty of the grunt work at hooker, invariably topping the tackle count, but speedy youngster Soni Luke, who had just one match, may see more game time in 2026 to give the team greater zip out of dummyhalf.<\/p>\n

\"NRL<\/p>\n

Best player:<\/strong> Cleary was again the true professional at halfback, performing under massive pressure each week and coming up with the plays that matter.<\/p>\n

Biggest disappointment:<\/strong> After he had a huge season in 2024, Izack Tago was much quieter this campaign with just seven tries in 25 games. Watch him return to his best next year.<\/p>\n

Key signing<\/strong>: n\/a<\/p>\n

2026 gains:<\/strong> nil to date<\/p>\n

2026 losses:<\/strong> Mavrik Geyer (Wests Tigers), Brad Schneider (Dolphins)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every era has to come to an end sometime\u2026 and for the Penrith Panthers, it happened last Sunday in a game in which they briefly […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":473309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=473307"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473313,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473307\/revisions\/473313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/473309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=473307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=473307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=473307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}