Penrith Panthers

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Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers.png
Club information
Full namePenrith Panthers
Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)Panthers, Mountain Men, The Riff, Chocolate Soldiers, Liquorice Allsorts
ColoursPrimary:
  Black
  Red
  Yellow
  Green
  White
Founded4 July 1966
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOBrian Fletcher
ChairmanDavid O’Neill
CoachIvan Cleary
CaptainIsaah Yeo & Nathan Cleary
CompetitionNational Rugby League
2021 season2nd
Home jersey
Home colours
 Away jersey
Away colours
Rugby football current event.png Current season
Records
Premierships2 (1991, 2003)
Runners-up2 (1990, 2020)
Minor premiership3 (1991, 2003, 2020)
Wooden spoons4 (1973, 1980, 2001, 2007)
Highest points scorer1,572 - Ryan Girdler

The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based 55 km west of the centre of Sydney and at the foot of the Blue Mountains.

The Panthers were admitted to the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition in 1967. The Panthers struggled for almost twenty years before finally reaching their first finals series. The club achieved its first Grand Final appearance in 1990 but were beaten by the Canberra Raiders 18–14. The following year the Panthers met the Raiders again in the 1991 Grand Final, this time winning the game 19–12.

The Panthers most recent premiership achievement was over the Sydney Roosters in the 2003 Grand Final where Penrith were considered underdogs but came out on top with an 18–6 victory. In 2020 the Panthers reached their fourth grand final but were beaten 26-20 by the Melbourne Storm.

Ivan Cleary was appointed head coach in October 2018. OAK Milk has been their major sponsor since 2012. Former Penrith premiership winning head coach Phil Gould was the club's general manager but departed in 2019.[1]

History[]

Main article: History of the Penrith Panthers

Varied Penrith teams had played for many years between 1912 and 1966 in the Western Districts League under the control of the Western Suburbs RLFC. In the Parramatta competition after Parramatta was admitted to the NSWRL in 1947, and also in a second-tier Sydney competition introduced by the NSWRL in 1962. By this time a single top level rugby league team had emerged in the Penrith area and in 1964 they became known as the Penrith Panthers. The Panther had been chosen as the Penrith emblem after a public competition won by a graphic artist from Emu Plains named Deidre Copeland.

In 1966 word was out that the New South Wales Rugby League in 1967 would introduce two new teams to the Sydney premiership. There were three teams vying for the two proposed slots, Penrith, Cronulla-Sutherland, and the Wentworthville Magpies. Cronulla-Sutherland had been assured of one place, leaving Penrith and Wentworthville to fight it out for the other place. The NSWRL eventually settled on Penrith due to their location and a win in the 1966 Second Division title.

1967 Season (First Season)[]

After admission to the competition in 1967, they promptly came second last on the competition ladder. Hopes were raised in 1968 under new Captain-Coach Bob Boland when they won the pre-season competition and finished 8th, but this improvement proved to be short lived.

1985 Season (First Finals Appearance)[]

Penrith had trouble attracting the sort of experienced players they knew they needed, and although they always had good junior talent coming through, they did not get the on-field leadership they needed. Penrith needed to wait until they could develop their own 'stars'. They consequently struggled for almost 20 years before finally reaching their first finals series in 1985 with a team boasting new local star Greg Alexander and captained by Royce Simmons.

1988-1991 Seasons (First Grand Finals)[]

Penrith developed a strong team in the late 80s and started to build momentum. They made their first Grand Final appearance in 1990 with a team boasting notable players the likes of Greg Alexander, John Cartwright, Brad Fittler and Mark Geyer only to be beaten by the Canberra Raiders 18–14. The next year Penrith met Canberra again in the Grand Final, this time winning 19 to 12, including two tries by Royce Simmons the former team captain in his last game. They went on to play Wigan in England for the 1991 World Club Challenge but were beaten by the British champions 21–4.[2]

1992-1995 Downfall[]

Their reign was short lived as in 1992 tragedy struck the club when the younger brother of Captain Greg Alexander, Ben, died in a car accident. Greg and close family friends Mark Geyer and Brad Fittler left the club soon after (Fittler left after the 1995 season as Penrith had signed with Super League) as well as coach Phil Gould left midway through the 1994 season.

Penrith were coached by former player and club captain Royce Simmons starting with the last six games in 1994 until the end of 2001.

1997-2000 Seasons[]

They made the finals during the 1997 Super League season and then again in 2000 in the re-united NRL competition where they were defeated 28-10 by the Parramatta Eels in the elimination semi-final.

2001-2004 Season (Build to a Premiership)[]

In the 2001 NRL season, Penrith came last on the competition ladder. The same year was Royce Simmons' last season as coach for Penrith, and he was replaced by John Lang from Cronulla in 2002, where they finished 12th. Their last game of 2002 showed hope as they proceeded to thrash the Northern Eagles, knocking them out of the final eight.

2002 showed the promise that was to come the next year. With the signing of Preston Campbell and Joe Galuvao, the side fired in 2003. Coming off 3 early season losses, they proceeded to lose only 3 other games for the rest of the competition with the local hero, Rhys Wesser scoring a new club record 25 tries. Penrith finished as Minor Premiers after convincingly accounting for the Parramatta Eels in the last round of competition. In the Finals series Penrith beat the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors to reach the 2003 NRL Grand Final. Entering the match as underdogs, Penrith defeated the Roosters 18–6, with winger Luke Rooney scoring two tries. Hooker Luke Priddis, the other try-scorer for the Panthers, received the Clive Churchill Medal. The game is also remembered for a spectacular tackle by Scott Sattler in the 2nd Half, where he ran down and tackled Roosters winger Todd Byrne, who was sprinting down the left wing for an almost certain try. Penrith lost the 2004 World Club Challenge in the following pre-season, with the Bradford Bulls defeating them 22–4 in sub-zero temperatures.[3] Penrith did however rally after that loss and once again qualified for the NRL semi-final series by finishing fourth and defeating St. George in the first week of the semi-finals before being knocked out by Canterbury-Bankstown in the Grand Final qualifier two weeks later.

2005-2007 Season[]

Penrith then just failed to qualify for the Top 8 in 2005 finishing two points out and in 10th spot on percentages. They endured another below-par season in 2006 this time falling well short of the finals finishing the year in 12th position. The 2007 season turned out to be a poor one for the Panthers, they won only eight games, finished last and "won" the wooden-spoon for the second time in six years after losing to the New Zealand Warriors in the last round of the regular season competition.

2008 Season[]

In 2008, Penrith improved four spots on their 2007 performance by finishing in 12th spot out of 16 teams in the NRL competition with 10 wins, one draw and 13 losses. In 2009 they finished the season in 11th spot out of 16 teams in the NRL competition with 11 wins, one draw and 12 losses.[citation needed]

2009 Season[]

In 2009, Penrith finished 11th. In round 21 of the 2009 NRL season, Penrith drew with the New Zealand Warriors 32-32 the 2nd highest drawn NRL game of all time.

2010 Season[]

In 2010, Penrith had an excellent season, finishing in 2nd place in the ladder out of the 16 teams, with 16 wins and 9 losses. However, in the first round of the Finals series, they lost 24-22 at home to the Canberra Raiders and were knocked out in the second round when they lost 34:12 to the Sydney Roosters.

Michael Gordon played very well in that year, setting two new club records. In round 24, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, he set a new club record for most points scored in one game: 30. By the end of the final game of the regular season, game 24, round 26, he had also set a new club record for the most points scored in one season at 270.

2011 Season[]

After a 2010 season where the club went above and beyond expectations, they were looking to starting the new season on a high. It wasn't to be, however, when they were thumped by Newcastle at the newly named Centrebet Stadium, 42-8. While round 2 went a lot better for the team, beating rivals the Eels at Parramatta Stadium 20-6, the year was marked by inconsistency as they finished 12th on the ladder.

In 2011, following another terrible start to the season, the Penrith board decided to sever ties with coach Matthew Elliot at season's end. On 20 June 2011 he stepped down as coach and that same day Steve Georgallis was appointed caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. On 29 June Ivan Cleary was announced as coach for the next 3 seasons, with Georgallis staying as assistant coach for the remainder of the season.

2012 Season[]

2012 was again a disappointing year for Penrith, finishing second last with an 8-16 record. However, the club discovered some new talent in the form of winger Josh Mansour, a candidate for Rookie of the Year, as well as fullback Lachlan Coote's successful move to five-eighth.

2013 Season[]

2013 began poorly for the Penrith; after a first up win against the Canberra Raiders, they went on to lose their next five games. However, a more inspired performance against the Parramatta Eels in round 7, where they won 44-12, was a trigger for a strong run; four wins from five games to see Penrith move into the top eight of the competition. The four wins included a 12-10 victory over the reigning premiers, Melbourne Storm, and a 64-6 thrashing of the New Zealand Warriors. However, after a year with mixed results, Penrith finished in tenth position, one win out of the top eight. At the end of the season, the likes of Luke Walsh, Lachlan Coote, Mose Masoe and Brad Tighe departed.

A playing roster overhaul saw the arrival of big name players such as Jamie Soward, Peter Wallace, Jamal Idris, Tyrone Peachey and Elijah Taylor at Penrith, while Matt Moylan took the vacant fullback role left by the departed Lachlan Coote.

2014 Season[]

The 2014 NRL season was a good year for Penrith as they qualified for the finals and made it to the preliminary final before losing to Canterbury 18-12.[4]

2015 Season[]

In the 2015 NRL season, Penrith endured a horror year on the field finishing second last. Penrith defeated bottom placed Newcastle in the final game of the season to avoid the wooden spoon.[5]

2016 Season[]

The Penrith Panthers celebrated their 50th year in the NRL in 2016. Penrith started the season with 7 wins and 9 losses, they then finished the season winning 7 from 8 games to finish in 6th. In week 1 of the finals they defeated Canterbury 28-12, the next week Penrith were knocked out by Canberra losing 12-22.

2017 Season[]

In 2017, Penrith finished 7th on the NRL Premiership table and qualified for the finals. Penrith defeated Manly in week one of the finals 22-10 and then were defeated by Brisbane the following week 13-6 at Suncorp Stadium thus eliminating them from the competition.[6][7] The Penrith reserve grade side fared much better, firstly winning the Intrust Super Premiership by defeating Wyong 20-12 and then defeating the PNG Hunters the following week in the NRL State Championship final 42-18.[8][9]

2018 Season[]

In 2018, Penrith finished 5th on the table at the end of the regular season during which coach Anthony Griffin was sacked four weeks before the finals series after falling out with Phil Gould. Griffin was then replaced by Cameron Ciraldo for the remainder of the season. In week one of the finals, Penrith easily accounted for the New Zealand Warriors to set up a clash with Cronulla. Although both clubs were admitted into the competition in 1967 this would provide the first meeting between the two clubs in a finals match. In a tight game, Cronulla defeated Penrith 21-20 ending their season.[10][11]

2019 Season[]

Before the commencement of the 2019 NRL season, Penrith were predicted by many to challenge for the premiership and reach the finals. Penrith got off to a bad start with the club winning only 2 of their first 10 matches leaving the team bottom of the table. Penrith would then go on to win their next 7 games in a row leaving them just outside the finals places. In a must win game against the Sydney Roosters in round 24, Penrith lost the match 22-6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground which meant that the club would miss out on the finals series for the first time since 2015.[12]

2020 Season[]

Penrith started the 2020 NRL season with three wins and a draw before suffering a 16-10 loss to Parramatta. The club then went on a 15-game unbeaten run to claim the 2020 Minor Premiership, only the third time in the club's history they had achieved this feat.[13]

Penrith would go on to reach the 2020 NRL Grand Final after going 17 games unbeaten throughout the year and in the finals. The opponents in the grand final were Melbourne who raced out to a 22-0 lead at half-time. Penrith came back in the second half of the game but lost the grand final 26-20 at ANZ Stadium.[14]

2021 Season[]

At the start of the 2021 NRL season, Penrith became the first team in Rugby League History to win their opening two games without conceding a point as they beat North Queensland 24-0 and then defeated Canterbury 28-0.[15]

In round 4 of the 2021 NRL season, Penrith defeated Manly-Warringah 46-6 at Brookvale Oval inflicting Manly's worst ever home defeat. The win also meant that Penrith had their best start to a season since 1997 when they won their opening four games in that year. It extended Penrith's longest away winning streak to 10 which is tied in 1st all time in the NRL. [16]

In round 5 of 2021 NRL season, Penrith defeated Canberra 30-10 at BlueBet Stadium. It was Penrith's best start to a season in their history. Penrith also became the first team to win 20 straight regular season games. [17]

In round 6 of 2021 NRL season, Penrith defeated Brisbane 20-12 at Suncorp Stadium. It continued Penrith's best start to a season, And also became the first team to win 21 straight regular season games. This win also made Penrith hold the record for most consecutive away wins (11).

Sponsorship[]

Throughout their history, the Panthers have gone through 10 major sponsors (These sponsors appear on the chest of the jersey).

  • (1977)
  • Alpha Micro (1984–85)
  • Radio 2KA (1986–87)
  • Penrith City (1988)
  • (1989)
  • (1990-1993)
  • Prospect Electricity (1994-1995)
  • Classifieds (1996)
  • Sanyo (2000-2011)
  • OAK Milk (2012–present)

Kit suppliers[]

  • (19??-1996)
  • Nike (1997-1998)
  • Classic Sportswear (1999-2003)
  • ISC (2004-2012)
  • Asics (2013-2017)
  • Classic Sportswear (2018-2019)
  • O'Neills (2020-present)

Name and colours[]

  • Penrith Panthers Logos

  • 1979–1990

  • 1991–1999

  • 2000-2012

  • 2013–2018

  • 2019–present

Penrith Panthers square flag icon with 2017 colours.svg

Penrith's uniform colours in the 1966 NSWRL Second Division and earlier years were blue and white but due to the Cronulla-Sutherland side registering a predominantly blue jersey design first, and with Newtown, Canterbury, Eastern Suburbs and Parramatta also displaying various shades of blue, Penrith went in search of an alternative. A decision was made to change their colours to Brown with a white V.[18] This decision subsequently earned them the affectionate name of the "Chocolate Soldiers" thanks to radio commentator Frank Hyde who wrote in the Penrith Club journal "these chocolate soldiers from out west – they don't melt!".

The team had been referred to as the 'Panthers' as early as 1970.[19]

In 1974 Penrith changed their strip to a jerseys with brown and white vertical bars and again in 1991 they changed the colours to Black with White, Red, Yellow and Green stripes (drawing another confectionery-related nickname, the Liquorice Allsorts) until 1997 when Super League had all new jerseys made by Nike. The yellow was all but removed from the jersey at this stage. Then in 2000 they changed the colours once more to Black, Rust red, Teal green and White. In 2004 the design of the jersey changed once more to its current design. On Thursday, 23 November 2006 the club launched a new 'alternate/away' jersey predominately white in colour as a stark contrast to its main design.

Penrith colours.svg

Just before Christmas 2007 the Panthers launched a new 'home' jersey which is predominately black with light grey claw marks on either side at the front and back. For Season 2010, the Panthers have launched a new predominantly teal away jersey, this teal jersey connect with the away jersey from their 03 and 04 season's. With their official colours still Black, Teal green and rust red the alternate jersey was chosen to represent their secondary colour. The inception of Teal into the colour palet of Panthers links directly back to the unique colour their 2nd division jerseys had before brown and white.

In late October, 2010, the Panthers announced that rust would no longer be a secondary colour for the club. A new jersey was also launched, black with grey claw marks on either side. The club's teal jersey was also scratched in Round 4, 2011, when a new white jersey with grey claw marks and teal and black stripes was announced the club's new alternate jersey.

For the 2014 season the Panthers wore a redesigned black home jersey while the white away jersey prominently displays the new club logo. The Pink Jersey was also retained as a 3rd alternate strip, and used for Women in League and Breast Cancer Awareness rounds, or when both strips would clash with the opposing side. There was also a special Indigenous Jersey, worn in round 23 for the Indigenous Awareness round.

The Penrith Panthers unveiled a 50th anniversary logo to be used in 2016.[20]

In 2017, Penrith decided to revert to their Liquorice Allsorts jersey from The 1990s. The club had asked the fans in 2016 what jersey design they wanted and the majority voted for a return of the jersey the club won its first premiership in. Panthers executive general manager Phil Gould said "This is the jersey you wanted, We will respect our past as we set about creating our future – and this is the jersey that will carry us forward, You know in 50 years here at Panthers we’ve had over 50 jerseys, Now wouldn't it be nice to have just one jersey for the next 50 years? I don't know if that is possible but this is where we need to start".[21]

Following their elimination from the 2018 finals, on 26 September 2018, the Panthers introduced a re-coloured logo to take effect in 2019.[22] The Panthers have now completely ditched teal and brought back the 'Liquorice Allsorts' colour scheme that has already featured in their jerseys since 2017.

Primary jerseys[]

  • Primary (1991–1996)

  • Primary (1997–1999)

  • Primary (2000–2003)

  • Primary (2004–2007)

  • Primary (2008–2010)

  • Primary (2016)

  • Primary (2017–2018)

  • Primary (2019-present)

Alternate jerseys[]

  • Alternate (1991–1994)

  • Alternate (1995–1996)

  • Alternate (2000–2002)

  • Alternate (2007–2009)

  • Alternate (2016)

  • Alternate (2017–2018)

  • Alternate (2019)

  • Pink Panthers (2021)

Heritage jerseys[]

  • Heritage (2011)

  • Heritage (2012)

  • '1967' Heritage (2016)

  • '1991' Heritage (2016)

  • '2003' Heritage (2016)

Special jerseys[]

  • 40th Anniversary (2006)

  • Pink Panthers (2009-2011)

  • Pink Panthers (2013-2015)

  • Pink Panthers (2016)

  • Pink Panthers (2017)

Nines jerseys[]

  • NRL Nines (2017)

  • Pink Panthers (2020)

Penrith Panthers Leagues Club[]

Aerial photograph of the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club complex, in Penrith

The Penrith Panthers Rugby League Football Club is the major financier the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club (of the Panthers Entertainment Group).

The Panthers Entertainment Group has 6 licensed club sites in NSW – Penrith, Port Macquarie, Bathurst, North Richmond, Glenbrook and Wallacia. The clubs cater for a wide range of activities for members, their families and guests.

Rivalries[]

Parramatta Eels[]

Main article: Western Sydney Derby

Parramatta entered the NSWRL now NRL competition in 1947, meanwhile Penrith entered 20 years later in 1967. Parramatta are the closest NRL team to Penrith geographically.

Former Penrith player Reagan Campbell-Gillard spoke about Penrith and Parramatta saying "As a Penrith junior, you come through the system to hate them. “I also don't like that word but it is. It doesn't matter what form you're in, it's a game you get up for".[23]

In 2002, Parramatta thrashed the Penrith 64–6, this coming after a season in which Parramatta finished first on the ladder and Penrith last. But they would not meet again until Round 26, 2003, when Penrith, in front of a then-record crowd defeated Parramatta 40–22 denying the Eels a place in the finals (Parramatta had to win by 28+ points). Penrith went on to win the premiership that year. Round 17, 2009 saw a Penrith win by 38–34 in which the lead changed several times, before Parramatta recorded a huge 48-6 win in the penultimate round of the 2009 NRL season.[24]

In the 2010 NRL season, Parramatta came from 22-0 down at half-time against Penrith to win 34-28 at Penrith Park with Parramatta player Jarryd Hayne starring with a man of the match performance.[25]

Since Penrith entered the competition in 1967, the two clubs have only met in finals twice. The last being in the 2000 season where Parramatta defeated Penrith 28-10 in the elimination final. In round 5 of the 2020 NRL season, Parramatta came back from a 10-0 deficit at the 61st minute to beat Penrith 16-10, that would be Penrith's only loss in the 2020 NRL regular season that year as Penrith finished as minor premiers.[26]

Players[]

See also: List of Penrith Panthers players

2021 squad[]

Penrith Panthers 2021 Squad
  • view
  • talk
Top 30 Squad - 2021 Season Development Players Coaching Staff
  • - HB
  • - HK, HB
  • - CE, SR
  • - FB, CE

Head coach

Assistant coaches

  • Andrew Webster
  • Cameron Ciraldo
  • Peter Wallace (ISP NSW coach)
  • Ben Harden (Jersey Flegg coach)
  • Hayden Knowles (Head of Performance)
Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice captain(s)

Updated: 22 July 2021
Source(s): Panthers Team Profiles

2021 player transfers[]

Notable players[]

Representative players[]

Main article: List of Penrith Panthers representatives

Panthers Team of Legends[]

On 4 October 2006, a 40th anniversary Panthers Team of Legends was selected by a committee of experts and named at the Panthers' annual gala evening.[27]

No. Position Player
399 Australia FB Rhys Wesser
7 Australia WG Bob Landers
14 Australia CE Grahame Moran
337 Australia CE Ryan Girdler
280 Australia WG Alan McIndoe
286 Australia FE Brad Fittler
228 Australia HB Greg Alexander
50 Australia PR Terry Geary
181 Australia HK Royce Simmons
No. Position Player
62 Australia PR Tim Sheens
248 Australia SR John Cartwright
100 England SR Bill Ashurst
260 Australia LK Colin van der Voort
383 Australia RE Craig Gower
196 Australia RE Brad Izzard
262 Australia RE Mark Geyer
393 New Zealand RE Tony Puletua

Hall of Fame[]

On 25 June 2016, the Panthers inducted the four inaugural members of its Hall of Fame - Grahame Moran, Royce Simmons, Greg Alexander, and Craig Gower.[28][29]

Head to Heads Records[]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
Gold Coast Titans 22 15 0 7 68.2
Wests Tigers 38 24 0 14 63.2
New Zealand Warriors 47 28 1 18 59.6
North Queensland Cowboys 42 23 0 19 54.8
Canberra Raiders 78 40 1 37 51.3
South Sydney Rabbitohs 88 40 1 47 45.5
Newcastle Knights 51 23 4 24 45.1
St George Illawarra Dragons 36 16 0 20 44.4
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 97 42 3 52 43.3
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 98 42 3 53 42.9
Parramatta Eels 103 44 1 58 42.7
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 92 39 1 52 42.4
Sydney Roosters 95 38 1 56 40.0
Brisbane Broncos 57 22 1 34 38.6
Melbourne Storm 38 10 0 28 26.3
Total 1,302 579 29 694 44.5

Discontinued Teams[]

Win-loss Rates Against All Discontinued Teams (2021)
Teams Played Wins Draws Losses Win%
Gold Coast 12 9 1 2 75.0
Illawarra 24 13 1 10 54.2
Hunter Mariners 2 1 0 1 50.0
South Queensland 4 2 0 2 50.0
Western Reds 4 2 0 2 50.0
North Sydney 58 27 2 29 46.6
Western Suburbs 57 26 1 30 45.6
Newtown 34 13 3 18 38.2
Balmain 62 22 3 47 35.5
Northern Eagles 6 2 0 4 33.3
St George 54 16 1 37 29.6
Adelaide Rams 4 1 0 3 25.0

Finals Appearances[]

16 (1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021)

Coaches[]

There have been 19 coaches of the Panthers since their first season in 1967. The current coach is Ivan Cleary.

No Name Seasons Games Wins Draws Losses Win % Premiers Runners-up Minor premiers Wooden spoons Notes
1 Leo Trevena 1967, 1973 44 10 2 32 22.7 — — — 1973 —
2 Bob Boland 1968-1972 110 39 3 68 35.5 — — — — —
3 1974 22 9 0 13 40.9 — — — — —
4 Mike Stephenson 1975 16 6 0 10 37.5 — — — — As captain-coach
5 Barry Harris 1975-76 28 9 2 17 32.1 — — — — —
6 Don Parish 1977-78 44 10 3 31 22.7 — — — — —
7 Len Stacker 1979-81 66 16 3 47 24.2 — — — 1980 —
8 John Peard 1982-83 52 16 1 35 30.8 — — — — —
9 Tim Sheens 1984-87 98 43 4 51 43.9 — — — — Club's first finals appearance in 1985
10 Ron Willey 1988-89 47 31 0 16 66.0 — — — — —
11 Phil Gould 1990-94 109 61 4 44 56.0 1991 1990 1991 — —
12 1992 1 0 0 1 0.0 — — — — Caretaker coach
13 Royce Simmons 1994-2001 177 76 4 97 42.9 — — — 2001 —
14 John Lang 2002-06 125 65 0 60 52.0 2003 — 2003 — —
15 Matthew Elliott 2007-11 111 49 2 60 44.1 — — — 2007 Sacked Mid Season 2011
16 Steve Georgallis 2011 11 4 0 7 36.4 — — — — Caretaker coach
17 Ivan Cleary 2012-15, 2019- 165 91 1 73 55.3 — 2020 2020 — Incumbent
18 Anthony Griffin 2016-2018 72 42 0 30 58.3 — — — — Contract terminated 6 August 2018
19 Cameron Ciraldo 2018 6 3 0 3 50.0 — — — — Caretaker coach

Records[]

Main article: Penrith Panthers records
  • Most points in a match: 34 by Nathan Cleary in Round 25, 2019 NRL season.
  • Largest win: 72-12 against Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, 7 August 2004

Supporters[]

Notable fans

Season by Season statistics[]

Season Pos Pld W D L B F A +/- Pts P R M F W Top Tryscorer Top Pointscorer Crowd*
1967 11th 22 5 2 15 0 203 352 −149 12 Bob Landers (6)
David Applebee (6)		 Bob Landers (88) 7,505
1968 8th 22 11 0 11 0 298 352 −54 22 Bob Mara (9) Bob Landers (90) 10,628
1969 10th 22 6 1 15 0 311 398 −87 13 Mal McMartin (7) Bob Landers (158) 4,974
1970 10th 22 7 1 14 0 292 406 −114 15 (11) Bob Landers (92) 7,180
1971 8th 22 10 0 12 0 283 372 -89 20 Grahame Moran (8) (85) 6,404
1972 11th 22 5 1 16 0 278 490 -212 11 (7) (43) 4,959
1973 12th 22 5 0 17 0 272 525 -253 10 W Ron Lynch (7) (39) 5,020
1974 9th 22 9 0 13 0 353 465 -112 18 Glenn West (14) (136) 7,594
1975 11th 22 7 1 14 0 312 452 -140 15 (8) Bill Ashurst (91) 9,087
1976 9th 22 8 1 13 0 352 333 +19 17 John King (10) Ken Wilson (130) 9,429
1977 10th 22 6 1 15 0 319 408 -89 13 Kevin Dann (9) Ken Wilson (97) 7,400
1978 10th 22 4 2 16 0 206 463 -257 10 Ross Gigg (7) Phil Gould (77) 6,143
1979 10th 22 6 2 14 0 311 473 -162 14 Steve Martin (13) Kevin Dann (61) 8,540
1980 12th 22 2 1 19 0 294 556 -262 5 W (12) Peter Schofield (81) 7,674
1981 11th 22 8 0 14 0 305 350 -45 16 Kevin Dann (9) Kevin Dann (89) 8,876
1982 12th 26 7 1 18 0 375 441 -66 15 Brad Izzard (9) Kevin Dann (66) 7,263
1983 11th 26 9 0 17 0 476 647 -171 18 (10) Mark Levy (74) 4,959
1984 7th 26 12 1 11 2 409 401 8 29 Brad Izzard (11) Mark Levy (142) 8,564
1985 5th 24 13 1 10 2 460 379 +81 31 F Greg Alexander (13) Greg Alexander (192) 7,520
1986 8th 24 11 1 12 2 446 394 +52 27 Greg Alexander (11) Greg Alexander (183) 7,520
1987 12th 24 6 1 17 2 274 399 -125 17 Mark Robinson (7) Greg Alexander (57) 6,922
1988 5th 22 15 0 7 0 394 258 +136 30 F David Greene (12) Neil Baker (141) 9,079
1989 2nd 22 16 0 6 0 438 241 +197 32 F Greg Alexander (15) Neil Baker (131) 8,935
1990 3rd 22 15 1 6 0 415 286 +129 31 R F Alan McIndoe (14) Greg Alexander (170) 10,025
1991 1st 22 17 1 4 0 483 250 +233 35 P M F Graham Mackay (16) Greg Alexander (139) 11,844
1992 9th 22 11 0 11 0 274 309 -35 22 Brad Fittler (6) Andrew Leeds (94) 10,967
1993 12th 22 7 0 15 0 314 428 -114 18 Ryan Girdler (8) Greg Alexander (88) 9,463
1994 8th 22 10 2 10 0 404 448 -44 22 Graham Mackay (15) Graham Mackay (108) 11,021
1995 14th 22 9 0 13 0 481 484 -3 18 Robbie Beckett (10)
Ryan Girdler (10)		 Ryan Girdler (150) 8,022
1996 15th 21 7 1 6 0 363 464 -101 15 Robbie Beckett (9) Ryan Girdler (162) 5,351
1997 5th 18 9 0 9 0 431 462 -31 18 F Ryan Girdler (11) Ryan Girdler (197) 7,673
1998 14th 24 8 2 14 0 525 580 -55 18 Robbie Beckett (12) Ryan Girdler (134) 9,272
1999 10th 24 11 1 12 2 492 428 +64 27 Ryan Girdler (18) Ryan Girdler (229) 12,495
2000 5th 26 15 0 11 0 573 562 +11 30 F Ryan Girdler (13) Ryan Girdler (210) 14,305
2001 14th 26 7 0 19 0 521 847 -326 14 W Chris Hicks (13) Ryan Girdler (124) 14,353
2002 12th 24 7 0 17 2 546 654 -108 18 Rhys Wesser (19) Ryan Girdler (100) 11,008
2003 1st 24 18 0 6 2 659 527 +132 40 P M F Rhys Wesser (25) Preston Campbell (164) 17,771
2004 4th 24 15 0 9 2 672 567 +105 34 F Amos Roberts (23) Amos Roberts (156) 17,587
2005 10th 24 11 0 13 2 554 554 0 26 Rhys Wesser (14) Preston Campbell (190) 15,576
2006 12th 24 10 0 14 2 510 587 -77 24 Rhys Wesser (19) Preston Campbell (163) 11,579
2007 16th 24 8 0 16 1 539 607 -68 18 W Michael Jennings (15) Michael Gordon (150) 12,035
2008 12th 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 -107 25 Michael Jennings (12) Michael Gordon (120) 10,899
2009 11th 24 11 1 12 2 515 589 -74 27 Michael Jennings (17) Michael Gordon (126) 13,719
2010 2nd 24 15 0 9 2 645 489 +156 34 F Lachlan Coote (17) Michael Gordon (270) 13,056
2011 12th 24 9 0 15 2 430 517 -87 22 Lachlan Coote (12)
David Simmons (12)		 Michael Gordon (66) 12,299
2012 15th 24 8 0 16 2 409 575 -166 20 Michael Jennings (10) Luke Walsh (97) 10,858
2013 10th 24 11 0 13 2 495 554 -59 26 David Simmons (19) Luke Walsh (159) 10,337
2014 4th 24 15 0 9 2 506 426 +80 34 F Josh Mansour (15) Jamie Soward (155) 11,462
2015 11th 24 9 0 15 2 399 477 -78 22 David Simmons (9) Matt Moylan (50) 11,544
2016 6th 24 14 0 10 2 563 463 +100 32 F Josh Mansour (16) Nathan Cleary (118) 13,567
2017 7th 24 13 0 11 2 504 459 +45 30 F Nathan Cleary (11) Nathan Cleary (228) 12,922
2018 5th 24 15 0 9 1 517 461 +56 32 F Waqa Blake (13) James Maloney (126) 14,204
2019 10th 24 11 0 13 1 413 474 -61 24 Nathan Cleary (10) Nathan Cleary (157) 12,437
2020 1st 20 18 1 1 0 537 238 +299 37 R M F Stephen Crichton (15) Nathan Cleary (171) 10,160
2021 2nd 24 21 0 3 1 676 286 +390 44 F Matt Burton (16) Nathan Cleary (213) 15,968
P=Premier, R=Runner-Up, M=Minor Premier, F=Finals appearance, W=Wooden Spoon
Premiers Runners-up Finals Appearance Wooden Spoon

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ "Phil Gould confirms Penrith exit but denies Cleary falling out". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Super League Europe – World Club Challenge 1991 Archived 6 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Super League Europe – World Club Challenge 2004 Archived 6 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Canterbury hold out Penrith to book grand final berth". ABC.
  5. ^ "Panthers hand Knights the wooden spoon". NRL.
  6. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-09/nrl-finals-storm-edge-eels-manly-beat-panthers/8883626
  7. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/nrl-scorecentre-brisbane-broncos-v-penrith-panthers/8940498
  8. ^ http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2017/09/24/report_intrust_super.html
  9. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-match-report/nrl-grand-final-2017-penrith-panthers-far-too-strong-for-png-hunters-in-state-championship-20171001-gys7zm.html
  10. ^ "Anthony Griffin sacked". ABC.
  11. ^ "Cronulla eliminate Penrith in semi final showdown". WWOS.
  12. ^ "Panthers torch $3 million in dud investments … to go backwards". Fox Sports.
  13. ^ "Penrith scored a try for the ages. What's scary is how easy they made it look". foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  15. ^ "South Sydney opens NRL winning account against Manly Sea Eagles, Ben Hunt and Dragons bounce back against Cowboys". www.abc.net.au.
  16. ^ "Kikau, Luai star as Panthers bury Manly at Lottoland". www.nrl.com.
  17. ^ "Penrith fans viking clap mockery ignites heated match". www.news.com.au.
  18. ^ "NRL 2016: Penrith Panthers celebrate 50 years; the moments and people that shaped the club". Daily Telegraph. 10 March 2016.
  19. ^ Alan Clarkson "Eight tries in Souths' 38-5 victory" (29 March 1970) The Sun-Herald p. 46
  20. ^ "Penrith Panthers". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  21. ^ http://westernweekender.com.au/2016/11/panthers-return-to-fan-favourite-for-2017-jersey/
  22. ^ https://www.penrithpanthers.com.au/news/2018/09/26/panthers-reveals-renewed-logos-for-2019/
  23. ^ "Parramatta Penrith like chalk and cheese". www.7news.com.au.
  24. ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "NRL 2009 - Round 25 - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Hayne leads Parramatta comeback over Penrith". i.stuff.co.nz.
  26. ^ "Friday Night Results". www.abc.net.
  27. ^ "A Team of Legends". panthers.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Four Panthers enter Hall of Fame". penrithpanthers.com.au. 25 June 2016.
  29. ^ "Panthers celebrate season 50 with gala dinner". Daily Telegraph. 29 June 2016.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Riccio, David (28 February 2010). "NRL wants fans to feel alive". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia: Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b "Panthers pack pre-season punch". Daily Telegraph. Australia. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  32. ^ "Patrick Cummins seals famous Aussie Victory". Daily Telegraph. Australia. 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  33. ^ Nicolussi, Christian (16 January 2019). "Josh Mansour lookalike ready to do west proud in Big Bash". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  34. ^ Rakic, Josh (8 January 2010). "Year of the Cat? It's no Pipe dream, says Fanning". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  35. ^ "Celebrity tipping for NRL grand final". Australia: AAP Sports News. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2009.[permanent dead link]

References[]

  • Collis, Ian & Whiticker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. New Holland Publishers (Australia). Frenchs Forest, New South Wales. p. 400. ISBN 1-74110-075-5.

External links[]

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