CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
After four NRL premierships in a row, the Penrith Panthers have begun 2025 with some terrifying statistics.
While fans were hoping for the endless glory that the Western Sydney powerhouse appeared very capable of delivering during last year’s grand final celebrations, it appears that Penrith are just as susceptible to the cruelty of the rugby league gods – regardless of the momentum they had built over the last decade.
NRL pundits also forget that a few slightly different bounces in the 2020 grand final match against Melbourne could’ve meant that Penrith now has 5 Premierships.
But can the good times last? Only Queensland Maroons have truly gotten close to a ‘forever era’ – and that’s much easier to do when you only play 3 matches a year.
Has the post-Gus Penrith machine lost the wind from it’s sails?
It seems things might have changed with the exodus of talent to big money contracts at rival Sydney clubs. Fans are feeling distressed and even scared of the unfamiliar feelings that come from watching their team lose.
“Don’t know to feel hey” says one fan, Tai Tuivasa (40)
“I remain optimistic about the Ivan and Nathan combination. But spirits are low” says another fan, Naomi Watts. (56)
“Yeah. She’s been tough. But let’s not write the boys off yet” says Ed Husic (62).
With only one win from five games, this is their worst start to an NRL season since 2013.
And after spending the best part of a decade showered in glory, Penrith fans live in fear of becoming another one of those loser Sydney clubs like St George or Parra.
Media commentators and journalists are taking great pleasure in this slow start to Penrith’s 2025 season, as they gleefully take the chance to get vengeance against cocky players who have already left the club for millions of dollars.
