2024 review: Penrith Panthers

Embed from Getty Images

Josh Robertsion recaps the year that was - which saw Penrith forge history with an historic fourth consecutive title.

People always want to find excuses on why the Penrith Panthers shouldn't be held as one - of if not the - greatest side of the modern era, with excuses like "oh, they don't have a Cronk-Slater-Smith" or "it's not the Raiders side of the 90s".

But for all these comparisons that are put up, trying to compare sides of yesteryear, the 2024 Panthers can easily say they have done something that will go down in NRL history - with an historic fourth NRL premiership in a row, something not done at the top level since the great St George team of the 1960's.

Let's head back to February. Things started tough for the Mountain men, when a World Club Challenge trip to England saw them fall short of capturing of the only trophy that hasn't sat in the cabinet in Penrith. A controversial contest saw Super League champions Wigan claim the silverware, with the home team awarded a crucial try by the video referee which was contentious due to it appearing that Warriors centre Jake Wardle appeared not to ground the ball.

If the trip to England wasn't tough enough, the Panthers had to go from the cold of England's winger to the middle of a Melbourne heatwave for Round 1 - and points were at a premium. Penrith had to go scoreless in Round 1 going down just 8-0 to the Storm, after a first-half try was chalked off by the NRL Bunker.

Things looked better on the return home, with wins against the Eels and the Broncos though things weren't all the reigning premiers' way, with Nathan Cleary suffering a hamstring injury against Brisbane. A win against title contenders the Roosters showed the Panthers were still a force without Cleary though, as they picked up an important win. Controversial would again reign, with the Bunker overturning a decision which helped the Panthers through the first half.

They were brought back to earth when they were on the receiving end of a parochial Manly home crowd for the entire 80 minutes and fell to a heavy 32-18 loss at 4 Pines Park.

An important bye refreshed the side as they went on another four game winning streak, with important wins against the Tigers in Bathurst, Cowboys in Townsville, Souths at Accor Stadium and then back home for a win against the Bulldogs.

From there, Penrith became a little uncharacteristic. They then fell to a shock 22-20 defeat at Magic Round to the Warriors which left people questioning where the season was headed. The questions were answered pretty quickly though, when they trekked to the Shire against a Cronulla side who themselves had earned themselves high admiration after wins against the Roosters and Melbourne - but it was Penrith who showed they were still one of the teams to beat with a 42-0 win.

The Origin period was again mixed - wins against Manly and Newcastle sandwiched between losses against the Dragons and Cowboys at home.

Despite sitting second, there was still plenty of questions about the Panthers season with some very impressive performances mixed in with some absolute shockers.

Picking up an important win in Brisbane, the Panthers then welcomed back Cleary - and they need his magic as they had to come from 14 points down against the Dolphins to force Golden Point, and then the 'boot of Nathan' struck with a 2-point field goal to win the game.

Victories over the Dragons and Knights helped the Panthers stay in second spot until they met Parramatta and after a good first half, they quickly ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, trailing 34-20 with ten minutes to play before three tries in the space of three minutes delivered the premiers a 36-34 triumph in a miracle comeback.

A second loss to the Storm came at home when yet again the Men in Purple just had enough to see off the Panthers threat, though it was panic stations when Nathan Cleary suffered a shoulder injury.

The loss to Melbourne and then a loss to Canberra saw the Panthers slip to fourth spot and needing the unlikely case of both Cronulla and the Roosters losing games they should win to take a top two spot - and remarkably, that's what happened. Penrith bounced back to finish the season with wins over Souths and Titans - although the latter was hardly spectacular - in Round 27 at the Farewell to Penrith Park.

Arguably, it could be said that the finals were the most impressive period of the year for Penrith with a 20 point win against the Roosters at home before a decisive win over Cronulla booked them a spot in a fifth consecutive NRL grand final.

Despite the contests between Penrith and Melbourne being close all season, it was the Storm who were expected to win. Not to let their legacy slip without a fight, the boys in pink stepped it up as they tend to do, and, being the big game team, the Panthers were clinical with a now famous 14-6 win to seal the fourth premiership in a row.

Turning point

It's hard to sum up a particular turning point for the Panthers but it would be surrounding the injuries to Nathan Cleary.

His fitness battles threatened to derail the Panthers season and whilst it was a speed-bump at times, his returns to the fold were key to Penrith - especially come finals time with the way he controlled games and led them to ultimate success.

What worked

The Panthers system of next-player-up worked perfectly yet again. The Panthers had six debutants through the teamsheet in 2024. It wasn't just the debutants that made a big impact, it was the growth of players long in the system - such as Liam Henry who had his best season yet, along with fellow impact forward Lindsay Smith - who was duly awarded with selection for Australia.

The other thing that worked is Ivan Cleary's shrewd business in the contract market where he can sign players that are languishing at other clubs or shown the door - best exemplified by Scott Sorensen. Clubless at the end of 2020, he became a cult hero in Penrith winning four rings. Paul Alamoti fits this bill too - unwanted at Canterbury, he joined the Panthers in 2024 and immediately won the fanbase over.

What didn't work

In a season resulting in such success, it's always hard to find something that didn't really work. Although there were times they lacked consistency across the season, they didn't have a weak spot though it could be argued that the influence of Brad Schneider in the second half of the season after his injury was the best for the Panthers.

2024 week-by-week

Season's best

It's hard to look past Isaah Yeo. The Panthers captain became the most capped Penrith player of all time going past club legend Steve Carter. Yeo won the Merv Cartwright Medal for the second straight season and third time overall as he was just phenomenal all season and it's hard to think of a bad moment outside his sin-binning at Magic Round.

It would also be hard to go past the efforts of Jarome Luai who stood up and controlled the Panthers like he hadn't done before whilst Dylan Edwards made himself at home in the NSW and Australian teams after yet another huge season at the back before knee injury slowed him down a fraction.

Rookies

I mentioned some of the Rookies in the "What worked" part but it's hard to not go into a bit of depth because the McLean brothers made a big impression throughout the year including for Casey who scored four on debut for New Zealand at the Pacific Championships in early November.

The rookie class of Panthers for 2024 included Mav Geyer - adding another generation of the Geyer/Alexander dynasty to the Panthers history books. The debuts of Preston Riki, Trent Toelau, Luron Patea as well as the departing Isaiah Iongi showed the junior development system out west is still going strong.

2024 player record

Season snapshot

Coach: Ivan Cleary
Captains: Nathan Cleary (14), Isaah Yeo (13), James Fisher-Harris (1)

Biggest home crowd: 21,525 (vs. Gold Coast in round 27)
Average home crowd: 19,663

Top pointscorer: Nathan Cleary (126)
Top tryscorer: Sunia Turuva (17)

Club awards

Merv Cartwright Medal - Isaah Yeo
John Farragher Award for Courage and Determination - Mitch Kenny
MKJ Projects Members Player of the Year - Isaah Yeo
Ben Alexander Rookie of the Year - Liam Henry
Club Person of the Year - Matt Eisenhuth
Senior Education Award - Luke Garner
Jersey Flegg Player of the Year - Nick Murphy
Junior Education Award - Lachlan Blackburn
NSW Cup Player of the Year - Isiah Iongi
OAK Plus Try of the Year - Dylan Edwards

Looking ahead

Every year since 2021, we've said another premiership is unlikely given history is against the once little club from Western Sydney, but every year they turn up and are there on Grand Final day yet again. The losses of Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris are two of the biggest losses the club could have but there are plenty of young talent already showing that they can fill the boots.

The Panthers have also made some exciting signings with Blaize Talagi and Isaiah Papali'i coming to the club there is no excuse for the Panthers to have a huge drop from the top four in 2025.

Best 2025 team

based on current signings at time of writing.

1.     Dylan Edwards
2.     Brian To'o
3.     Paul Alamoti
4.     AJ Kepaoa
5.     Casey McLean
6.     Blaize Talagi
7.     Nathan Cleary
8.     Moses Leota
9.     Mitch Kenny
10.   Liam Henry
11.   Isaiah Papali'i
12.   Liam Martin
13.   Isaah Yeo

14.   Brad Schneider
15.   Lindsay Smith
16.   Luke Garner
17.   Scott Sorensen

Authors note: I know the Kepaoa name might be an odd one, but the impact he had since coming across from the Tigers in the NSW Cup was massive and I think he could work well in the Panthers side.