Panthers make mockery of calls to suspend 'unfair' NRL comp as Cleary's heir shines
Ivan Cleary was left stunned and proud of his Penrith Panthers outfit after defeating the Warriors, despite missing his State of Origin stars, as fans urge the NRL to stop the competition during the rep schedule. There have been growing calls for the NRL to come up with a solution during the Origin period with a number of teams ravaged by injuries and selection issues.
In the first bye round, the Panthers were decimated with five representatives ruled out. The Newcastle Knights hammered Penrith in their clash, which led to frustration over the quality and depth of teams forced to play during the Origin period.
Coach Cleary was also left fuming prior to the clash against the Warriors knowing Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o and Liam Martin would not fly from Perth to New Zealand and play against the Warriors. The coach was obviously fearing a similar result to the one against the Knights a few weeks ago considering he was fielding a similar said.
Speaking last weekend, Cleary labelled the situation "unfair". He said: "The Origin players won't be playing because they can't. I don't think it's fair that we can't play... we should be able to make that decision. Through flights, we just can't get them there."
The Warriors were flying-high and many predicted the home side to put another cricket score on the Panthers missing all their representatives. However, the Panthers showed pride in the jersey and their performance having defeated the Warriors 28-18.
"Obviously the context is important, but just the way the boys went about it. Every time there wasn't something great, they got on with it and made up for it," Cleary said when asked about the win missing his Origin stars. "Just very happy for the boys and hopefully something we can build on.
"I should mention the leadership, Scott Sorensen...when you lose the calibre of the guys we had you need that leadership to step up. And it just helps the younger guys. Our leaders tonight were outstanding."
When asked about the loss to the Knights a few weeks back, Cleary admitted it was on their mind. "I definitely think that was probably the starting point - they just wanted to prove to themselves and everyone that we're certainly better than what we showed that night," he added. "We've tried to build a culture here where it doesn't matter who's playing and you deliver a certain standard and whether you win or not."
Fans were stunned at the Panthers win after so much was made of their missing stars. The depth of the Panthers made a mockery of the competition, but it was also a worrying loss for the Warriors who have been carrying so much momentum in recent weeks.
Brave win by the Panthers tonight without their Origin stars. The Warriors had some big moments but they were matched by even bigger plays by the Panthers. There's a further blow for the Wahs with DWZ (ankle), Niukore (HIA) failing to finish while Metcalf (quad) limped off.
— The League Scene (@LeagueScenePod) June 21, 2025
Origin depleted Panthers on the road against a near full strength(?) Wahs team in front of a packed out home crowd.We may still fall short at the end of Round 27 but this will be no doubt one of the best, if not the best win of the season. #NRLWarriorsPanthers #pantherpride
— Parra Panthers (@letsgopenrith) June 21, 2025
No origin players.. Okaaayyy Panthers 👏🏽 I just know they're gonna make the 8 😑😂
— . (@__seraphinatee) June 21, 2025
The Warriors seemed to go in overly confident tonight being at home and Panthers having their origin stars out— but man the panthers should be proud of themselves. 👏🏻 Their senior players really stepped up aswell.
— Chloe Jones (@FinalGirlChloe) June 21, 2025
Sorensen was player-of-the-match with two tries for his side. But it was also the performance of young recruit Blaize Talagi that had fans excited. Without the influence of Nathan Cleary in the halves, Blaize Talagi enjoyed one of his best games in the jersey. The 20-year-old didn't start the beginning of the season with coach Cleary looking at Jack Cole to partner his son Nathan.
Talagi was expected to slot right in after his move from the Parramatta Eels, but bided his time. But the Panthers five-eighth was instrumental for his side with his chief playmaker missing.
Talagi scored a stunning solo try, but also assisted another when he took advantage of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak limping in the defensive line. And fans are feeling the Panthers team are starting to hum in time to make a late run to finals footy. Although Cleary made no excuse and claimed the team will finish where they deserve. "We'll finish where we deserve ... we're playing a bit of our brand of footy so at least we give ourselves a chance."
Blaize Talagi is starting to show why Penrith brought him to the club. He's developing slowly but nicely. Great try here plus a nice pass to put Sorensen through for one of his tries as well.#PantherPride pic.twitter.com/ZYoZZbuH6H
— Peter Lang (@PeterVLang) June 21, 2025
Warriors coach Andrew Webster was left shellshocked at his team's performance having entered the clash as heavy favourites. "I don't look at the personnel of the opposition, I look at the way we play, our style," Webster said.
"If we played our best game tonight, and they played their best game, and we got beaten by that scoreline, then I'd be upset but we didn't play well. I think we beat ourselves tonight, and they were very good, the Panthers, but we just didn't get our game on at all."
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