Short-priced favourites one week, rank outsiders the next.
That is the prospect Penrith face heading into Thursday night’s Grand Final re-match against the Storm in Melbourne.
After producing probably their worst performance in five years last Friday night against the Roosters, there’s not a lot of faith in Penrith to turn it around against the competition favourites this week.
But there’s hopefully one positive thing working in Penrith’s favour: they surely can’t be that bad again.
We all waited last Friday for Penrith to click into gear and run away from the Roosters. It felt like it was simmering for the entire game, or at least the first 50 or 60 minutes.
But it just didn’t come. The Roosters kept pushing back and eventually got on top of an mistake-riddled Penrith side that made 13 errors and missed 46 tackles. It was uncharacteristic from Penrith, but take nothing away from the Roosters – they refused to believe all the talk that they were no chance of winning and did their fans proud.
The Panthers head to Melbourne without Dylan Edwards, who succumbed to a groin injury in the second half of the loss to the Roosters, and with plenty of pressure on their backs to turn around last week’s result.
But I will say this – I think the 38-32 defeat at the hands of the Roosters will worry the fans more than it will the players. Fickle supporters were last Friday ready to rip into a side that has brought them so much joy over the past five years, forgetting that so often, this team has bounced back from adversity and met every challenge before it.
Which is why Penrith’s dreams of a fifth Premiership have hardly been rattled by a Round 2 defeat at CommBank Stadium. Let’s see how many of us even remember the game come September or October.
Ivan Cleary will of course this week work to rectify some of the things that went wrong last week, but I doubt that would have resulted in thrashing them on the training field or even raising his voice.
Cleary would know much of that loss last week came from an issue between the ears, and I have no doubt he would have done plenty of talking over the past few days – choosing his words carefully, and resisting any temptation to blow up at a squad that knows what it is doing perhaps better than any other team in the NRL.
Penrith would not be fearing this trip to AAMI Park. They have had Melbourne’s measure on more than a few occasions over the past few years, particularly when it’s mattered most.
They would be wary of the Storm’s clear mission this year to reverse the result of last year’s Grand Final, and we saw in the opening game against Parramatta just how much Craig Bellamy’s side can tear you apart when they get on a roll.
But just like Cleary wouldn’t have read the riot act too loudly this week, Bellamy would be unlikely to utter the words ‘Grand Final re-match’. Because what does it really matter? You don’t get to hold the trophy just because you reversed a result in Round 3. It doesn’t erase anything, doesn’t change what happened at Accor Stadium six months ago.
The Panthers don’t need to re-invent the wheel. Stay calm, stick to the game plan, keep things simple. Hold onto the ball and reduce the error count from last week, and you’ve got yourself a real shot. I feel this one is going down to the wire – but I’ll keep the faith in Penrith.
Tip: Panthers by 2.
Penrith play Melbourne at AAMI Park on Thursday, March 20 at 8pm. Live on Nine, Fox League, Kayo and SEN 1170.
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.