Each night before the grand final, Ivan Cleary sits down his Penrith players and presents them with their jersey for the biggest match of the year.
Last time, he tried a few jokes.
As he gushed about hooker Mitch Kenny’s improvement and how he was loved by his teammates, how son Nathan was continuing to evolve, and how he couldn’t wait to see what Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu could do in their last games for the club, Cleary turned his focus to Isaah Yeo.
“Another one of our unbelievable leaders,” Cleary told the group. “Again, I think the family thing is helping you. You were so wild before … and now you’ve settled down.”
Cue roars of laughter from the entire squad.
Yeo is the NRL’s human metronome in the best side of the modern era: straight, saintly and the silent heartbeat of a team about to embark on another title quest.
Penrith Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo.Credit: Ben Symons
While Nathan Cleary pulls the on-field strings, his co-captain Yeo, 29, has been everything good about the Panthers during their record-breaking run, now trying to join St George great Johnny Raper as the next lock winning four straight premierships.
“We’re certainly not Dad’s Army,” Yeo said. “It’s a good thing, too. Every time we talk to the coaches about what we want from a season, every player says, ‘I want to be better’. That’s honest and truthful, so it’s going to hold us in good stead.
“A lot of the boys are in their sweet spot at the moment.”
The Panthers will open their campaign against Craig Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday night, trying to end another remarkable NRL streak. Melbourne hasn’t lost a round one game under Bellamy, winning 21 straight season openers.
But the Panthers will do so not basking in the glow of their insane grand final comeback against the Broncos, but with a new challenge on the horizon.
Asked whether there’s more to come, Nathan Cleary said: “I don’t see why not. It’s great what we’ve been able to do, but they’re memories we can look back on when we’re done. But they’re done. It’s about the next one and trying to create more memories and success.
“Just winning one again [is the goal]. It doesn’t matter about the three before. I’m doing my best to win another one and have that one in a row mentality.”
Said Kenny, who will miss the Storm clash through suspension over a social media post: “The grand final is still pretty surreal. Watching it back, it’s still a “pinch yourself” moment.
“But I’ve had a bit of time to reflect on it and I wouldn’t say I’ve completely moved on. It’s part of history now. But we’re ready to take on another challenge, you don’t want to hang onto that last 20 minutes too long.”
Cameron Munster will miss the match for the Storm with a groin injury he aggravated by slipping in the shower, but Penrith opposite Jarome Luai is on course to play his first game since the grand final.
“We don’t think he’s going to play,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said of Munster. “He did a little bit earlier, but unless something drastic happens overnight, that’s what it’s looking like and that’s probably what’s going to happen.”
Says Luai of his effort to return from a dislocated shoulder in the finals: “I know playing with injury, playing through injury and playing while hurt is something we’ve been built in this culture here.
“It’s pretty normal around here. You don’t really get put on a pedestal around here. You want to pass it down to the next generation as well.”
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with Christian Nicolussi
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