Like many of his teammates, Panthers and NSW Origin backrower Liam Martin hasn’t lost an NRL Finals game since the Qualifying Final against South Sydney in 2021.
That particular Finals Series, which took place in Queensland due to the pandemic raging down south, is regarded as the toughest of the current Panthers dynasty.
With several players getting around busted, including Dylan Edwards with a broken foot, the Panthers clawed their way to their first NRL Premiership since 2003 off the back of their spirited and stifling defence.
If Penrith are going to secure their fourth consecutive premiership in a few weeks’ time, they’ll need to draw some inspiration from that 2021 team that both supporters and media counted out after they lost to the Bunnies and were forced to go the long way around.
“All Finals are tough but in ’21, we were playing with busted men,” Martin told the Weekender on Monday.
While the Panthers finished the 2024 regular season in second spot despite a rocky last month, they are still considered favourites – along with the Storm – to hoist up the Provan-Summons Trophy in October.
Martin said despite a scare against the Gold Coast Titans last Saturday night, the Panthers are full of belief they can turn their form around and be there on Grand Final Day.
“It was pretty scrappy the other night. I think there’s plenty of areas to improve on,” he admitted.
“We’re tracking well. The belief is still as strong as ever and as long as that’s unwavering, we’ll be fine.
“We know what we have to improve on. We just have to get a solid week of training in and go from there.”
Not all clubs can just flick a switch and be at their best come Finals time, but the Panthers are a different beast and history has shown time and time again that when it’s all on the line, that’s when Penrith rise to the occasion the most.
With Nathan Cleary back at the helm after a month off, the Panthers will go into this Friday night’s Qualifying Final against the Roosters as favourites and with their strongest team available.
Martin said having Cleary back in the number seven jumper is crucial to their success this post-season.
“He’s as tough as they come,” Martin said.
“What he’s done… that Grand Final [last year] just demonstrates… that he has the willpower to win and it’s pretty inspiring for the rest of us.
“The Roosters are such a quality side and have been for a long time. Whenever you verse them, you want to match them and step it up a gear.
“We’ve always done that pretty well against them in the past, but this is a whole new game. We’ll just approach it the same.”
The Panthers and the Roosters play at BlueBet Stadium this Friday night.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.