The dirt didn’t just feel different at the foot of the mountains in early 2025, it was.
The Penrith Panthers were nomads — playing on a strange field while their spiritual
home at Blue Bet Stadium sat behind construction fences, a skeleton of steel and
dust.
It was an unstable footing that saw the champions looking uncharacteristically mortal
by Round 6, struggling to find the superiority they had become accustomed to.
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In the post-match press conferences, the change was striking.
We were used to seeing Ivan Cleary and his captains dissecting a win with clinical precision, but as the losses mounted to five straight, the tone shifted.
You’d hear Ivan use words like ‘uncharted waters,’ admitting he was seeing mental
errors that were once unthinkable.
There was a raw honesty from the players, talking about a lack of resilience and the struggle to ‘stop the bleeding’ as the defensive wall began to leak.
It was the sound of a group finally acknowledging that what once came naturally was
now making them look, well, normal.
By the time they sat at the bottom of the ladder, the narrative was that the talent and
The theory that the production line had stalled was backed by a roster held together
by tape and hope. Losing James Fisher-Harris and Jarome Luai felt like the removal
of the team’s snarl and creative spark in one swoop. Without them, and with Nathan
Cleary sidelined for long stretches with a concussion and a groin injury, the clinical
identity of the club vanished. Dylan Edwards was navigating a dodgy groin of his
own, Mitch Kenny was playing through shoulder instability, and the middle-third was
feeling the physical toll of four years at the top of the heap. By Round 12, as they sat
among the also-rans, it looked like the empire was turning to dust.
THE CHAMPION’S CLAW
In true champion fashion, the Panthers began to claw their way back, starting with a
gritty win over the Eels that triggered an incredible nine-game winning streak. At first,
the teams sitting comfortably in the top four were not alarmed. But as the winter chill
set in and the Panthers climbed from the bottom back into the top eight, the mood
across the league shifted. Toward finals time, every coach in the competition was
doing the maths, desperately hoping they weren’t going to be the ones to meet a
battle-hardened Penrith in September.
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For forty minutes, it looked like the Panthers had summoned their old perfection to
lead 14-0 at the break. But the weight of the season and the brilliance of Reece
Walsh finally took their toll. In a frantic second half, the Broncos stormed back to
steal a 16-14 victory.
It was a heart-wrenching exit, but as it turned out, nobody was beating Brisbane and
Walsh in that series. The reign was over, but the manner of the defeat proved the
Panthers were still heavyweights who had simply run out of time.
THE UNBROKEN CHAIN
For the first time in years, the ‘Penrith Tax’ hasn’t been collected on the starting
team. In every previous off-season, the club was forced to watch superstars walk out
the door — from Koroisau and Kikau to Crichton, Fisher-Harris, and Luai. But heading
into 2026, the core that dragged the club back to that Preliminary Final remains
entirely intact. For once, Ivan Cleary doesn’t have to spend the summer teaching a
new spine the ‘System.’
The main 1-17 is staying right at the foot of the mountain.
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Amidst the talk of rosters, Ivan Cleary remains the most understated figure in the
game. He has proven himself as one of the greats, yet like many things in life, he is
often taken for granted. While the world focuses on louder personalities, Ivan has
managed a relentless five-year run under intense pressure. He is undervalued
because he doesn’t seek the spotlight; he simply understands the people behind the
stats. He instils the value of knowing your role within the team and rewards those
Success in 2026 is a return to ruthlessness. The ‘maths’ the rest of the league feared
in 2025 is now the baseline.
This is a bloody tough start to the year, but that’s what Penrith is built for. The first month of the draw is as straight as it gets:
Penrith didn’t go anywhere. They’ve regrouped, the roster is settled, and the lead is
out of their boots.
The rest of the league had their chance in 2025; now, they’d better beware of the Panther.
The spine. It’s a consistently discussed topic in rugby league and the pivotal building blocks for success in the NRL. Having quality players at hooker, fullback, halfback, five-eighth and lock allows coaches to build out the rest of their roster however they please, adding players who strengthen the best aspects of their playmakers and ball-handlers. The Panthers have one of the NRL’s most embedded spines, with a host of the best players in the competition. Any team who has the likes of Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo and Mitch Kenny in their ranks will find success — even though their fifth-straight premiership eluded them in 2025. But with a proper pre-season alongside rising star Blaize Talagi, the Penrith powerhouse will only improve, especially when you consider Cleary, Kenny and Talagi all had disrupted pre-seasons leading into their last campaign. Talagi specifically shapes as an interesting prospect again in 2026, having landed at the Panthers last year. The 21-year-old made the left edge his own, and there’s genuine potential for the gun five-eighth to take another leap this season and become one of the game’s best five-eighths. His pedigree is clear and his athletic ability is impressive.
Not having a foil for Mitch Kenny. Yes, Kenny is an 80-minute hooker. Yes, he can defend until the cows come home. But beyond him, the Panthers are thin in their hooking ranks and have been unable to lock down a quality option in the 14 jersey. Soni Luke and Luke Sommerton have deputised for Kenny in the past, but neither set the world alight. Arguably the best option the Panthers have utilised off the bench in the past has been Jack Cogger and he has returned to the foot of the mountain. So Cleary may have solved his biggest issue with an astute signing, meaning Kenny can also shift into the middle and play in a role where he has had success in the past.
Dylan Edwards. Penrith’s superstar fullback was out of form to close out the season — there’s no denying that and even Ivan Cleary admitted Edwards had been off during the finals series. The off-season couldn’t come quicker for Edwards, and if there’s anything we know of the gun No.1 it’s that he is one of the best on the training paddock. Edwards will be doing everything he can to rediscover the form that won him the Blues’ No.1 jersey, especially considering there’s mounting pressure from the reigning Dally M Medallist James Tedesco to reclaim it in 2026. The Panthers need Edwards to be the reliable, tough and hard-working star he has built his game on this season if they are to push for yet another premiership after being knocked out of the competition in 2026.
Paul Alamoti. It’s not that Alamoti played poorly to close out the season, he simply has Tom Jenkins breathing down his neck. The former Bulldogs flyer was dropped during the season, but recalled in the finals before he scored a double in his side’s preliminary finals loss. During his time sidelined, it was Jenkins who made a spot on the wing his own and there’s no doubt there’s pressure on Alamoti to keep his spot. Even Alamoti admitted he believed Jenkins deserved to keep his spot for the finals last season. “There was a lot of joy (when Ivan told me I was back in the team),” he said. “I honestly didn’t expect it because Milky (Jenkins) has been playing amazing footy since he first came in. Almost every game he’s pretty much been the best player on the ground.” It’s a good problem for the Panthers to have, while Casey McLean, Brian To’o and to an extent Izack Tago have locked their spots in. Pre-season will likely determine who gets the first crack, but history has shown Cleary isn’t afraid to swing the axe.
Billy Scott. As mentioned above, the Panthers have in the past struggled to fill their reserve hooker slot. But Scott is a dummy-half on the rise and is currently contracted until the end of the 2027 season, likely being the heir to Kenny’s throne long-term. Scott has played for NSW’s under 19s team and also has 33 NSW Cup appearances to his name, 17 of which came in 2025. This year he forced two drop outs, made two try assists, averaged 32.3 kicking metres and made a solid 524 tackles at a 97 per cent efficiency rate. While he is unlikely to get the first crack in the No.14 jersey, such is Cogger’s utility, expect Scott to get a chance at some point this season behind the ruck.
Billy Scott (2027), Blaize Talagi (2027), Brian To’o (2027), Casey McLean (2028), Dylan Edwards (2028), Freddy Lussick (2026), Isaah Yeo (2027), Isaiah Papali’i (2027), Izack Tago (2028), Jack Cogger (2028), Jack Cole (2026), Jaxen Edgar (2028), Jesse McLean (2028), Kalani Going (2026), Liam Henry (2026), Liam Martin (2027), Lindsay Smith (2026), Luke Garner (2026), Luron Patea (2027), Matt Eisenhuth (2026), Mitch Kenny (2027), Moses Leota (2027), Nathan Cleary (2027), Paul Alamoti (2027), Scott Sorensen (2026), Sione Fonua (2027), Toma Ale (2026), Tom Jenkins (2026)
Development players: Billy Scott (NRL – 2027)
2026 gains: Jack Cogger (Knights), Tom Ale (Warriors), Kalani Going (Warriors), Freddy Lussick (Warriors)
2026 losses: Mavrik Geyer (Wests Tigers), Brad Schneider (Dolphins), Luke Sommerton (Titans), Daine Laurie (Raiders), Trent Toelau (Storm), Soni Luke (Cowboys)
