Penrith Panthers, loss to Wests Tigers, reaction, analysis, Apisai Koroisau,
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They say all good things must come to an end, that champions won’t be champions forever.
And, as the rain fell at Carrington Park last Saturday night, there seemed a sobering sense that things will be different at Penrith this year.
How different exactly? Well, even after a loss to the previously winless Tigers, it’s still too early to answer that question.
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Because while all good things will come to an end and the Panthers won’t be champions forever, there is reason to believe Penrith could still make history this season.
But if the Panthers are to become the first team to win three premierships in a row in the NRL era, it will look very different to the record-breaking dominance of years past.
It’s not so much that Penrith is not a title contender in 2023. Far from it, in fact.
Blowout wins over Manly and Canberra are proof of just how far the Panthers can go, if they get it right. For the first time in a long time though, Penrith hasn’t got it right.
They’ve taken the wrong option, lost games they usually wouldn’t and generally lacked the poise and polish that made them a premiership powerhouse. James Graham put it best while speaking on Triple M last Sunday.
“They’ve been so far ahead, that’s what people have become accustomed to,” the English veteran said.
“I think now they’re back in the pack. The pack is bigger and with their best 17 on the field they’re a chance but they lose a couple of players and they’re just like any other team.”
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It’s not as simple a case as the hunter becoming the hunted either. The Panthers have been the hunted for a few years now and still maintained a level of intensity to drop only four games last year.
Already, Penrith has lost just as many in the space of nine games in 2023. But there is one thing that has changed, outside of the obvious holes left behind by Apisai Koroisau and Viliame Kikau.
The Panthers aren’t starting games as well as they had in the past and that is giving opposition teams an edge, confidence that they are in with a shot against the defending champions.
It’s a surprise given how strong Penrith started games last year and something coach Ivan Cleary conceded to reporters earlier this week.
“I feel like we’ve brought the best out of everyone,” Cleary said.
“But we’ve helped that, to be quite honest. Particularly in the starts of…
Read More: Penrith Panthers, loss to Wests Tigers, reaction, analysis, Apisai Koroisau, 2023-05-04 02:52:57