Penrith Panthers leapfrog fierce rivals Parramatta Eels into top spot
It’s been 17 years since the Penrith Panthers won a grand final. And now, with Nathan Cleary steering the ship, it’s time to start believing again.
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Leading the gruelling NRL competition halfway through this strange season is a special achievement – and it’s even sweeter when leapfrogging your fierce Western Sydney enemy to get there.
Inspired by halfback Nathan Cleary, Penrith slipped past Parramatta to secure top position on the NRL ladder with an important yet difficult 22-10 win over North Queensland.
While the win didn’t come as easily as many predicted, the Panthers are now one competition point clear of the Eels and Melbourne Storm.
It’s been 17 years since the Panthers won a grand final — Penrith, it’s time to get excited again.
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Penrith last led the NRL premiership at the halfway mark back in 2018 but exited in week two. This year’s side might not be eliminated so meekly.
Could this be a repeat of 2003? Or even 1991?
This is just the second time the Panthers have at least eight wins after 10 games — they have the same 8-1-1 record as that magical 1991 season.
Asked about leading the competition at halfway, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said: “There are no prizes but we have earned that spot with how we’ve played. It does set us up.”
Victory over North Queensland was Penrith’s fifth in a row..
It had been 127 days since Penrith last played at home but 2891 fans left dreaming big. They roared long and loud when told by the ground announcer the club had assumed top spot on the ladder.
Nathan Cleary was exceptional again, scoring a try right on full time along with two try assists, seven tackle busts and even a post-try celebration that involved shooting some imaginary bullets into the air.
“He led the way in terms of refusing to lose,” Ivan Cleary said. “He changed momentum in a number of different ways. It was Origin-like I suppose. I was really proud of him.”
Cowboys coach Paul Green also praised Cleary, saying: “He controlled the game very well and took his chances. Them, as a team, upped the ante when they needed to.”
Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris continued his brilliant form with 179 running metres and 43 tackles.
North Queensland did well to restrict Penrith to just six points after 27 minutes given the Panthers enjoyed 64 per cent of possession. The Panthers opened up in the second half and, despite bombing several opportunities, recorded a tough win.
There were some injury concerns for Penrith with centre Dean Whare (groin) and fullback Dylan Edwards (hamstring) leaving the field.
COURAGEOUS COWBOYS
North Queensland conceded 42 points against the Roosters in round nine and another 42 against Parramatta in round eight.
On Sunday, the Cowboys showed more grit and resilience.
North Queensland fielded a young side which included fullback Hamiso ‘The Hammer’ Tabuai-Fidow, who showed his brilliance by slipping past six defenders to score a stunning first half try. Another rookie, Daejarn Asi, also scored a try.
Tabuai-Fidow, Asi and Tom Gilbert played together on Sunday for the first time since their GPS rugby union days in 2017.
“It was a good lesson for some of our younger guys tonight,” Green said.
“We turned up ready to play. We had three teenagers playing tonight. I was proud of their effort – we turned up with a lot more intent.”
Cowboys forward Josh McGuire was placed on report for a high tackle of Fisher-Harris.
CALM BAZ
Panthers assistant coach Trent Barrett appears relaxed and calm before his expected shift to Canterbury next year.
He stood and chatted with Penrith players on-field pre-game – but for how much longer?
Munching on a sandwich while heading back to the coach’s box after halftime, Barrett even gave The Daily Telegraph a friendly wave.
The Bulldogs may even be in a position to announce Barrett’s signing in the next two days.
Penrith management has no plans to push Barrett onto gardening duty after signing with a rival side while still involved with an existing club.
Why Panthers revelation turned back on Cowboys
The Cowboys have hit back at suggestions they botched the retention of Viliame Kikau as they prepare to face Penrith’s forward destroyer in Sunday’s clash at Panthers Stadium.
North Queensland have been pilloried for their recruitment-and-retention with the club having lost Kikau, superstar Kalyn Ponga and Storm dynamo Brandon Smith in the wake of the Cowboys’ premiership win in 2015.
Kikau scored 32 tries from 42 games in the Cowboys’ under-20s side and his departure will haunt North Queensland again when the 118kg back-rower looks to torment his former club in Penrith colours.
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The Fijian monster has gone on to play 61 NRL games for the Panthers, forging a reputation as a damaging ball-runner on the edges, but Cowboys football boss Peter Parr has explained why Kikau quit the club.
“To suggest we didn’t want Viliame Kikau is simply not right,” Parr said.
“The truth is we offered Kikau a three-year deal in 2015, so we had big plans for him.
“When Viliame was with us, he was actually a prop, not a back-rower, and he played in our under-20s side as a front-rower.
“We believed Kikau would play NRL and we felt he would develop nicely as a middle forward with our starting props, Matt Scott and James Tamou, as his mentors.”
There was just one major problem.
“His agent relayed to us that Viliame saw Matt Scott and James Tamou as roadblocks, not people he wanted to do an apprenticeship under,” Parr said.
“He saw them as an impediment to playing first grade rather than possible mentors who could help him in his apprenticeship.
“At the time he decided to leave, Matt and Jimmy were the Australian front-rowers in 2015 and ironically, just 12 months later, Tamou quit to join the Panthers.
“Penrith deserve some praise for turning him into an edge back-rower. They have done an outstanding job in that regard, but as a club, we are comfortable we did everything possible to give Kikau a pathway at the Cowboys.
“Unfortunately, you can’t keep them all.”
Kikau’s Panthers are in red-hot form and the towering back-rower can help cement Penrith’s place in the top three by inflicting the embattled Cowboys’ seventh loss from 10 games.
The Cowboys have conceded 84 points in the past fortnight in losses to the Roosters (42-16) and Parramatta (42-4) and coach Paul Green urged his injury-ravaged squad to show some heart against Penrith.
“You never like seeing scores like the last few weeks,” he said.
“Of course it’s about winning and losing but if you lose, it’s about how you lose and that’s a bit frustrating at the moment.
“The difference between our good and our bad performances is just massive.
“I can’t blame it all on inexperience, but when we have players who have played less than 50 games, when they get into the heat of a tough NRL game against a decent side, they haven’t experienced what it’s like to fight their way out of that.
“That’s what we are up against. We are learning some hard lessons at the moment.”
— Michael Carayannis
‘Slow’ secret behind star Panthers recruit’s rapid rise
Api Koroisau has slowed himself down in a bid to quicken up his game.
Penrith’s hooker will take his place in the Panthers dressing room on Sunday ahead of the clash against the Cowboys and sit quietly.
For 15 minutes before kick-off he will have his headphones on and ignore everything that is around him. He will turn his focus to his breathing. Staying calm.
“There are so many distractions happening in the dressing room so it’s the best way for me to ignore them and centre myself,” Koroisau said. “I take my time and get back into rhythm.”
Meditation is now a crucial part of the 27-year-old’s match-day ritual. He will do it three times on game-day — once before he naps hours out from a game, when he gets to the ground and just before the team warms up.
It’s the same at training, where the Panthers do breathing exercises as a team but Koroisau does more alone.
“I use different relaxation stories on an app, which help me to slow things down,” Koroisau said.
“I have always wanted to take things a play at a time and really focus on what’s happening in that present time.
“Before, I used to just like rolling in, playing footy and running as fast as I could and tackling as hard as I could. It’s more sophisticated now.
“You want to play what’s in front of you. You can sometimes miss the game because everything has gone so quick. You have to be aware of how you’re feeling and how the team is feeling, the energy and the vibe.”
This time last year Koroisau was at the crossroads of his career. He had been told he was unwanted at Manly, the Sea Eagles preferring Manase Fainu after the pair split the hooking duties during the 2019 season.
Koroisau came close to signing with the Bulldogs before an off-season meeting with Ivan Cleary at Penrith. It was Koroisau who had to convince Cleary to take a punt on him returning to the foot of the mountains after four years at Manly.
“There has always been question marks if I can play the 80 with my fitness,” Koroisau said. “When I did come, (Cleary) was more than accommodating. He had faith. It was nice to have his backing and confidence.
“You always want to play for a good coach and a people person. He makes it that much easier to be part of the team.
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“I was a bit younger when I started playing 80 minutes, and that workload in the middle I wasn’t used to because I played all my junior footy in the halves.”
An injury-free off-season has helped Koroisau. So have the rule changes that have opened up the ruck, where Koroisau does his best work.
“The game has became a lot quicker,” he said.
“For someone like myself, it couldn’t have been a better rule change. I can just see so much space.”