The situation was illustrated perfectly in the Panthers’ latest win.
Penrith’s six-game winning streak has put their NRL rivals on notice and left Panthers legend Scott Sattler convinced they can win a fifth-straight premiership this season. And one scary detail from their resurgent form backs up Sattler’s assertion, and should serve as a warning to Penrith’s fellow premiership contenders.
During their six-game winning run from round 13, the Panthers have only conceded a competition-best 11 points per game in a stunning return to their defensive best. One moment from Penrith’s most recent win against South Sydney in round 20 highlighted their steely resolve when Tyrone Munro looked destined to score out wide in the second half, only to be held up over the tryline after some desperate, scrambling defence from the Panthers.
Led by fullback Dylan Edwards, it was the type of play that has become synonymous with the Panthers in recent seasons and was a far cry from their displays earlier this season. Penrith were dead-last two months ago when they were averaging more than 24 points against, across the opening 12 rounds.
And it’s no coincidence that their surge into sixth spot on the ladder has coincided with a transformation into the NRL’s best defensive side across that period. Penrith’s NRL dynasty has been built around their work without the ball and Ivan Cleary’s side only averaged more than 16 points against per game in one season since 2020, when they played in the first of five consecutive grand finals. The one outlier was their 2022 premiership season when Penrith conceded 23.3 points per game.
Penrith rediscover their NRL premiership-winning defence
However, Penrith’s 11 points against per game across their last six victories is better than their premiership seasons, with the club conceding an average of 13.2 points between 2020 and 2024. “You can just feel like we’re more resilient, we’re stopping tries, we’re making it hard for the opposition,” captain Isaah Yeo said.
Whereas that wasn’t really the case for the first half of the season. “They’d go down on our end in the first set, they’d put on a play, it wasn’t under pressure, and all of a sudden they’re scoring.
“But we’re trusting the system a bit more, we’re being a bit more proactive, particularly at the start of the games. We’ve relied on that for such a long period of time now, and we didn’t have that for the first half of the season.”
During their current winning streak, Penrith have only let in seven first-half tries, compared to 27 in their opening 11 matches and it’s a major factor behind their return to form. “Off the back of that, you get in the game style you want. You get more ball in play. It all flows so much into each other,” Yeo added.
When we’re defending well, it keeps the ball in play more. The flip side of that, when you’re having to score points and get frantic … it doesn’t suit the way we’ve played over the last five or six years. We were having to tackle way too much because of the pressure we were putting on ourselves.”
Penrith’s resurgence is even more impressive when you consider they’ve been missing some or all of their Origin stars for games during their six-match winning streak. And it’s little wonder that Penrith legend Sattler is convinced they can go on and claim an unprecedented fifth straight NRL premiership this year.
“They can, based on the aura… and it doesn’t matter if they finish 5th or 6th, cause a home elimination/semi-final to them is irrelevant,” Sattler said on SEN radio this week. “And they’ve got players that know how to win and how to prepare.”
