The Panthers had to go back to ‘school’ to rule the NRL in 2021
The Panthers may be an attacking excitement machine but it’s their defence that sets them apart, a defence that’s been years in the making.
Opinion
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The first brick in the NRL’s toughest defensive wall in 49-years was laid in the summer of 2019.
Every Tuesday during the 2019 pre-season – and in every pre-season since – the Penrith players have arrived for class at their $22 million Academy behind Panthers Leagues Club.
‘Tackle School’, as it is called, lasts for 90-minutes.
Back on that first day of class in 2019, the players – or students – were told that everything they had learned about how to tackle was about to change.
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Rated one of the worst defensive teams in the NRL competition just three years ago, Penrith’s ‘Tackle School’ was born out of necessity.
“We needed a completely different system that had been here before,’’ Penrith coach Ivan Cleary explains.
The Panthers had suffered miserably in defence in 2018 and 2019, missing just under 30 tackles per game in both seasons.
So leaky were the Panthers, they were ranked 14th and 15th for the most missed tackles in the NRL.
It would be too much to heap rugby league’s greatest insult on the Panthers by labelling them ‘soft’.
Rather, they were without a confident tackle technique, process, communication or even a system that as players, they knew how to use in every single tackle.
Also, the problem was, the tackles that the Penrith players were making – weren’t being ‘won’.
And there’s a big difference.
The attacking player was on his knees, upright and playing the ball, even before the Panthers defender had lifted his body off the ground or squared-up in the marker position.
The Panthers spent most of the game running backwards, retreating and back-pedaling.
Enrolment into ‘Tackle School’ was the turning point.
As a collective, the Panthers literally went back to basics on learning how to tackle again.
Every single Panther was taken-through and shown how to perfect a legs tackle, a torso tackle and an upper-body tackle.
So stripped-back was the process, it has been explained that the Panthers were treated no different to how a group of under-6’s are taught how to make their first tackle.
“A lot of it was the details of tackling and not just being happy to make a tackle, but doing everything in that tackle,’’ Panthers backrower Kurt Capewell said.
“Breaking a tackle down, there’s contact, grips and communication in the tackle and then transition to ground.
“Practising each little part, was Tackle School.’’
Undefeated and aiming to extend their winning-run this year to 11 against the Rabbitohs this afternoon in Dubbo, the Panthers 72 points conceded is the fewest since St George in 1972 through the first 10 games.
And it all comes back to the bedrock to their defensive wall, which hasn’t changed since the summer of 2019.
“In 2019 when I came back (to the club from the Wests Tigers) we changed the way that the club would defend,’’ Cleary said.
“Cameron (Ciraldo) was going to lead that as the defensive coach, whereas before when he was the assistant (to former coach Anthony Griffin), his role was varied and different.’’
The overhaul was far from instant – highlighted by their flimsy 2019 defensive numbers.
The problem for Cleary was, making tackles in 2019 was the furthest thing from his players minds once the season got going amid a backdrop of chaos.
The young playing group had neither the maturity or leadership within to handle several off-field issues, including a sex tape scandal.
“It’s fair to say in 2019, the first year we did it (Tackle School), there were a lot of other things going on at the time, so it took a while to get (our defence) going,’’ Cleary said.
However, what the 2019 season did reveal to Cleary, was which players on his roster were capable of adjusting to the club’s defensive shift.
He needed to weed those players out who he felt couldn’t adjust.
“Whenever you change something, or a new coach comes in, some people pick up defensive changes quickly, or some people, like the older players, take a little bit longer and some never pick it up.
“So that takes a bit of roster adjustment.
“If you’re going to do things a certain way, you’ve got to make sure that the players are either capable or they’re on board, so that’s what we did.’’
From 15th for most missed tackles in 2019, the Panthers realised things were changing when they finished ranked third (22.6 missed tackles per game) in their grand final year of 2020.
They are currently ranked first in the competition for the least amount of missed tackles (6.7 per game).
“The thing is, it’s hard to have a good attack, if your defence isn’t good, it’s hard to have good defence, if your attack isn’t doing its job,’’ Cleary said.
“It’s not the NFL where there’s separate (defensive and attacking) units.
“It’s a culture as well. It matters to us and we put a lot of work into it.”
Capewell said he and his teammates are so in-tune defensively they have the ability to operate on autopilot.
“It becomes muscle memory, so it’s about getting the repetitions done in pre-season,’’ Capewell said.
“When your arse is hanging out, you don’t really have too much brain capacity to think about stuff, so it comes back to muscle memory and that’s when your good habits and your bad habits show.
“My defence has improved which is one of the things I wanted to improve in my game.
“I’ve got a lot of improvement left, but I’ve definitely improved.
“If everyone stays in our system, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be perfect.”
JOHNS: SIT BACK AND ENJOY A ONCE-IN-A-DECADE EXPERIENCE
Last Sunday, I saw something I’d rarely seen modern professional players do.
Just one hour before their kick-off time with the Gold Coast Titans, Penrith posed for photographs, signed autographs and mixed with fans in a manner which suggested they’d already won.
Me, being from the “game face” era, saw this has an opportunity for the Titans.
After nine wins in a row, it’s normal for a team to relax, take a breath and leave themselves vulnerable against an opponent they are expected to simply roll over.
Yet the Titans were never a chance. From the opening exchanges, you knew.
Then, as they had done before the match, they stayed on the pitch after the full-time for almost an hour, photos, autographs, selfies and all the things young whipper snappers like to do.
This team is one of the best things to happen in rugby league in the last decade.
I could watch the Panthers play every day and not get sick of them, their style and confidence with the football is a five-star advertisement for the game, but so is the way they are handling their success.
The young Panthers are a rolling stone, rolling through the competition, seemingly accelerating in momentum.
One of the great things about Magic Round was the connection it created.
Teams staying in the same hotels together, fans gathering in hotel foyers to get an autograph or photo, and the new stars of the game, meeting the retired players from an earlier era.
One such moment I enjoyed was introducing young hooker sensation Harry Grant to Penrith hooking legend Royce Simmons.
They chatted, a moment of mutual respect. When Harry walked away, Royce turned to me, “What a great young bloke … so down to Earth.”
I replied, “Just like you Royce, only 40 years younger.”
But then our conversation turned to the current crop of Panthers. In how one talks, walks and holds themselves, Royce and these youngsters couldn’t be more different.
“Are they good to you, Royce?”
“Matty, I could be a hundred yards away and they’ll come over, shake my hand and have a chat … great kids.”
I must add, on the Sunday night where we had Brian To’o and Jarome Luai as guest hosts on our Fox League program, they made a huge impression on all in the building.
Their style of football is fast and furious. They aren’t afraid to break some of the golden rules in attack.
They’ll push the football to one edge of the field and then immediately push it to the other.
At times they don’t earn the right to push the ball sideways but they will anyway.
At times the player in possession will pass the football to a teammate who is flat footed and going nowhere and then he’ll do the same. And all the while the defence chases and chases and chases and burns out.
They search the defence through ball movement, looking for the tired and vulnerable and most times they find them.
And as far as Nathan Cleary is concerned, I’ve stated before that he will be the player who’ll dominate the next decade in the manner Cam Smith ruled the previous, and other champions in their respective eras.
The game against Souths is shaping as the game of the season so far.
Two teams who aim to play fast and open will be able to do so on a 2pm Sunday afternoon, where the surface should be dry and hard.
After their belting at the hands of the Melbourne Storm, some immediately put a line through the Bunnies citing no team in history winning the title after a 50-point loss, but on the night they were without some of their most crucial players, so I don’t see that loss as anything terminal.
Rugby league is a momentum-based sport, but some rely on it more than others, Souths are one of those.
Two types of players generate great midfield momentum, the big, fast and powerful and the small and light footed.
There was a time when the Bunnies’ go forward was the domain of the Burgess brothers, whereas now they rely more on those light of foot.
But then there’s Latrell Mitchell, a player who has it all, size, speed, power and light feet.
Latrell’s kick returns will have a huge impact on this.
I don’t see Souths winning the forward battle but Dane Gagai, Josh Mansour and Alex Johnston will cause the Panthers forwards problems if Latrell can penetrate on kick returns.
If Souths can’t get rolling then it makes it very, very difficult for Cody Walker and Damien Cook to threaten the defence.
Souths need a fast ruck and the majority of that go forward needs to be generated from the outside backs, so as to allow the Bunnies’ middle men to preserve energy for the amount of attack Penrith will throw at them.
It’ll be a game which will live up to or exceed expectations, but Penrith’s ability to beat opponents in several different ways, as well as their forwards, will get them the win.
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