The collective noun for a group of panthers is a claw but there's never been a sighting of a claw of panthers in the wild.
That's because panthers are solitary creatures. They do not travel in packs — unless, of course, they're the kind of panthers that come from Penrith.
Betting on Penrith has been an easy way to make money over the last two and a half seasons, so in hindsight it shouldn't be so surprising that New South Wales came up trumps after staking their Origin lives on one particular claw of Panthers.
Brad Fittler picked seven current Panthers for Origin II in Perth, and in debutant Matt Burton he had an eighth player who is well known at the foot of the mountains, but he didn't just entrust the fate of the series to some of the best players from the NRL's most dominant side — he had the Blues emulate the best of Ivan Cleary's ruthless winning machine.
There is no secret to what Penrith do or how they do it. For all their victories in recent times, the recipe is often the same, and it's one the Blues followed to the letter in their 44-12 win.
It didn't happen from the opening whistle. There was real pressure on New South Wales heading into this game — the knives had come out after their shock loss in Sydney, and the heat had been applied after Fittler's litany of team changes.
So to begin with, the Blues were a little frantic, a little unsure of themselves. They knew what they wanted to do, but getting there was the challenge.
They arrived at the place they needed to find through those many Panther connections.
It was through Burton's sharp chase to a clever Cleary kick for their first try, and by Jarome Luai and Burton combining to send Brian To'o over in the corner for their second.
Burton is a Bulldog by trade, but he learned his craft as a Panther and he was a steady hand and a game breaker in the early stages when the Blues needed it.
We talk a lot about certain guys being "Origin players" or making "Origin plays".
There is no real definition for what that means, it's the kind of thing you just know when you see it and when Burton is around you tend to see it a lot.
It was in second half, after the Blues held a narrow lead at the break, when everything became clear.
If the Blues did what Penrith do, if they stayed on the job, controlled possession, targeted the Queensland back three with torturous bombs and rugged defence, hammered the life out of every Maroon man who runs the ball and attacked with a similar aggression and zeal with ball in hand and did it all again and again and again, they would win.
If they could prove they were more willing to turn your desperation into a weapon, if they were willing to be more brutal, more merciless, and refused to ever back down, they'd get there in the end. It might take 15 minutes or 50 minutes or 79 minutes and 59 seconds, but they'd get there.
The Panthers play that way and they play that style and they trust it, really trust it, and almost always it ends with the opposition breaking, and then there's a cloud of dust, a cry of pain, some blood on the floor and the game is gone.
That's how Penrith won the premiership last year.
That's how they've stormed to the top of the ladder this year.
That's how there is so many of them in this New South Wales side and that's how the Blues put 44 points on Queensland to force a decider.
It took about 25 minutes of the second half for Queensland to crack and once the Maroons broke the Blues played all the classic Panther hits and enjoyed every second of them.
Luai scored a try from nothing, threw up the "W" with his hands, because the only thing he loves more than fighting and winning is representing western Sydney, and screamed into the sky. To'o did all the hard work one could ask for, then did a little bit more.
Cleary, in his finest hour as an Origin player, dictated terms, set up a few tries and finished with a whole lot of points.
Isaah Yeo was superb in all facets in the middle of the field and showed, yet again, why he's the best forward in the world.
Burton got in on the reunion with some more bombs that you dare not look directly in the eye, lest they send you mad.
Liam Martin threw himself around with no regard for life or limb.
If the colour was off on your TV you could have sworn they were still wearing black jerseys.
Stephen Crichton and Api Koroisau didn't quite get their moments in the spotlight, but that's how it goes at Penrith as well — not everybody has to star every single time, because there is so much talent and so many players who can share the load.
It would be wrong to paint this victory solely as a Panther triumph. James Tedesco was superb again at fullback — if any other player produced a game like the Roosters fullback did, he would be a certainty for man of the match but because Tedesco has done it so often we have come to expect these kind of performances.
Jake Trbojevic was strong on return and Junior Paulo was terrific off the bench, erasing memories of his struggles in Sydney.
And as much as the Penrith gambit paid off, it might not be enough to win at Lang Park.
Queensland's temple is almost impossible to storm — the Blues have only won two deciders there in Origin history.
The Maroons did not play with the desperation and fury they showed in Sydney, perhaps because they knew they had that ace up their sleeve.
They have almost half a century of Queensland mythology behind them, and all the spirit and brilliance and history that comes with it.
But the Panthers way is to play without fear, no matter what, even in the face of eternity.
Is that enough to overwhelm the magic of the Maroons on home soil? There's only one way to find out.
