As much as this clash between Penrith and the Roosters always felt inevitable in the Finals, it wasn’t expected to happen like this.
Just a fortnight ago the Roosters were flying, beating teams with ease and edging towards Premiership favouritism, with many experts predicting they still had another gear or two to find.
Then Round 26 happened. An afternoon of chaos that saw halfback Sam Walker and hooker Brandon Smith sidelined for the rest of the season with serious injuries. Half your spine, gone in a flash.
To make matters worse, Victor Radley suffered a serious shoulder injury and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was watching it all unfold from the stands after copping another long suspension.
In short, the Roosters come to Penrith on Friday night battered, bruised and almost broken.
And while the Roosters lament the loss of their halfback and playmaker, the Panthers celebrate the return of theirs.
Nathan Cleary will return from a shoulder injury for the Finals, the knight in shining armour Penrith need after limping through the final part of the regular season.
There is a lot of pressure on the two-time Clive Churchill Medal winner. Any expectation that Cleary will solve all of Penrith’s problems at the moment is probably a little over the top.
Penrith are indeed not in the form we expect at this time of the year, compared to the previous four seasons. They are not blowing teams away, they lost back-to-back games only a few weeks ago and they’re not dominating or controlling games as they have in the past.
But despite all of that, the side has finished in the top two for a fifth straight year and is again the best defensive team in the competition. If I’d told you that before a ball was kicked this year, you’d have taken it. Indeed, you would expect a result like that would mean completely dominant performances throughout the season.
It’s fair to say that luck played its role along the way. Wins over the Eels and Dolphins, for example, could have easily gone the other way and if they had, Ivan Cleary and his team would have been on a plane to Melbourne this weekend.
But you do make your own luck in this game and it is Penrith’s never-say-die attitude that has got them this far.
A few weeks ago Cleary questioned his side’s desire, in some very deliberate comments in a press conference.
This week, I have no doubt he would have done it again, a little more privately this time.
He would be asking his team if they feel they have three games left in them. Three games to cap off this incredible era with a fourth straight title, and potentially a chance at redemption against the side that delayed the dream run by a year back in 2020.
Three games to farewell James Fisher-Harris, Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva in style.
Three games.
This Penrith team knows Finals footy like the back of its hands. And there’s enough fresh blood in there to ensure that knowledge doesn’t go stale.
The regular season has been rocky, inconsistent and at times, concerning.
And yet, we’re here again. And what do you know, another chance to prove the doubters wrong.
Three games. 240 minutes. Bring it on.
Tip: Panthers by 10.
Penrith and the Roosters play at BlueBet Stadium on Friday, September 13 at 7.50pm. The game is live on both Channel Nine and Fox League.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.