‘We are the underdogs’: Bruised and bloodied Panthers dealt GF rematch blow

A 38-8 loss to North Queensland in 2022 came with 12 of Penrith’s first-choice starting side rested leading into the finals.

Otherwise, not since Anthony Griffin was in charge and Penrith were thrashed 50-18 by the Broncos in July 2018, has one of the best defences in rugby league history been so easily dismantled.

“It was weird, it wasn’t us and I don’t think we’ve defended like that for a long time,” Nathan Cleary told this masthead after going down to the Roosters.

“It wasn’t good enough and there was a lack of resilience from us. But maybe that’s what we needed too, a kick up the bum to sort ourselves out and address that.”

Storm enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona returns from suspension and plays alongside marquee signing Stefano Utoikamanu for the first time against the Panthers.

Utoikamanu’s addition to a star-studded roster had rival NRL captains tipping Melbourne as premiers before the season began, and Cleary said they deserved to be favourites against his side.

“Based off the starts to the season – what we dished up against the Roosters and how Melbourne played in round one – I’d say we are the underdogs,” Cleary said.

“Melbourne were 10 out of 10 to start the year, it doesn’t get much better than how they played in round one [thumping Parramatta 56-18].

“They’ll come back with a vengeance after the grand final but it’s about us and improving on what we’ve dished up against the Roosters; we need to be better.”

Last year’s grand final was one of the most physically taxing games in recent memory given the ball was in play for extensive stretches and an unprecedented 38 minutes of the first half.

Even Origin clashes rarely reach such high levels of non-stop play and the Panthers eventually ground out a 14-6 triumph against an exhausted Storm outfit.

While Melbourne go into this clash after a round two bye and will be at full-strength, Penrith are on a six-day turnaround from the Roosters loss after the added travel of the Las Vegas season-opener.

“That grand final was up there with Origin and it’s up there with one of the toughest games I’ve ever played at any level,” Cleary said.

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“It was absolute exhaustion afterwards, like I’ve rarely felt. But that’s what you get when you get the two best teams up against each other. We’ve both got pretty similar styles in trying to grind teams down and backing our fitness to get teams at the back end of the game.

“I think we’ll get more of the same and I think that’s exactly what we need. It’ll be a short turnaround and they’re the toughest team to play like that. [The Roosters loss] was a wake-up call and we’ll take that with us down to Melbourne.”

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