After three straight grand finals, consecutive NRL titles and three minor premierships in four seasons, Penrith’s golden era notched a new chapter as another Nathan Cleary masterclass helped crush the Warriors 32-6 at BlueBet Stadium and propelled this incredible Panthers side into another preliminary final in a fortnight.
It keeps alive the dream of coach Ivan Cleary’s men being the first team in the NRL era to win three premierships in a row, and become the first rugby league team in 40 years to achieve the fabled ‘three-peat’ since Parramatta’s run of 1981-83 titles.
With Dally M medal favourite Shaun Johnson a late scratching with injury, this was always going to be a mission: improbable for a New Zealand side in their first finals campaign since 2018. The Warriors had lost their halfback, talisman and goal-kicker but rookie coach Andrew Webster still filled his men with high hopes of an upset.
But it was a hot start from the home side. The game was five minutes old when Cleary stabbed into the line and fended Mitch Barnett before crabbing cross-field to evade another three. He then sucked in Dylan Walker and Jackson Ford before flicking a ball out the back to Moses Leota. Fast hands found winger Brian To’o waiting. He stepped inside and crawled to the stripe for his seventh try in his sixth finals game.
The Warriors looked to have hit back within minutes when Dylan Walker crossed out wide. But it looked too easy and it was, a crude obstruction cancelling the equaliser. It was to be the story of the day for the visitors as more panicked mistakes ensued.
Playing just their second finals game since losing to Manly in the 2011 grand final, the Warriors continued to defend stoutly as Te Maire Martin and Rocco Berry tried to threaten. But this is Penrith, and every time the Warriors got close, the premiers methodically repelled each wave of attack then ruthlessly launched their own.
In the 20th minute Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards snapped the blue line and streaked upfield. Barnett lunged like a gully fielder to catch the Cleary kick that threatened the try. But Penrith came again. Cleary’s fourth-tackle play-the-ball was so quick he lost a boot. Yet even shoeless he wasn’t clueless. Skipping back into the line in his socks, he popped a sublime short ball in the next play to send Liam Martin over.
At 12-0, with the huge home crowd in raptures, Cleary kicked it up a couple of gears. His quick shift to the left exposed the Warriors and a neat tap-on pass from Stephen Crichton gave left winger Sunia Turuva the time and space to spear into the corner. Even from the sideline, Cleary’s perfect boot didn’t fail him and he made it 18-0.
With three from the tee already, former Warriors ball boy Cleary then coolly made it four from four, splitting the sticks with a penalty goal on halftime to make it 20-blot.
With 64% possession in the half, seven line breaks to nil and three times the yardage, Penrith looked imperious. The Warriors coughed the ball up in the first set after the break and continued to be their own worst enemies with dumb mistakes and rushed passes gifting the Panthers possession and territory time and again.
But the Warriors stayed in the fight. And just before the hour-mark the “Wahs” showed why they’re everyone’s second NRL team. A Barnett offload sent centre Rocco Berry down the right sideline before Dallin Watene-Zelezniak looped a miracle pass infield for former Panther Wayde Egan to cross under the posts and make it 20-6.
But the Panthers simply absorbed the counterpunch and delivered their own. Again it was their lethal left side that did the damage. Isaah Yeo went to Cleary and he double-pumped, drew the overlap and passed to Stephen Crichton who swung it into the hands of Turuva who went over for his double.
Cleary’s magic show had one last showstopper. The 25-year-old’s stats sheet already read: one try, one try assist, two line breaks and five goals from five attempts. But with six minutes left and Penrith in cruise mode, he floated into space then surged, showing Adam Pompey and Marcelo Montoya a clean pair of heels to score himself.
Cleary’s conversion from the sideline skimmed the crossbar but landed truly for 32-6. It was Penrith’s seventh-straight finals win and their fourth-consecutive preliminary final. It was a statement victory from a superlative team who had clearly watched the Brisbane Broncos demolish the Melbourne Storm last night and decided to put the competition back on notice: the Panthers are on the prowl for premiership No 3.
In Saturday’s elimination final, Sam Walker kicked a late field goal to help the Sydney Roosters to a gripping 13-12 win over Cronulla. With Joey Manu and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii injured and James Tedesco sin-binned in the second half, the Roosters twice fought back from behind to keep their season alive.
The win sets up a semi-final against an equally battered Melbourne, likely to be on Friday night at AAMI Park. The Roosters will have to do it without Suaalii after he suffered his second concussion in three months in the win, while Manu will also be in serious doubt following his second hamstring injury in three weeks.
