History of the Penrith Panthers
Encyclopedia
The history of the Penrith Panthers
stretches back to the 1960s when a team from Penrith
entering Sydney's elite competition was first mooted. After admission to the NSWRFL premiership in 1967, the club struggled on-field until reaching the finals for the first time in the 1980s, and reaching the grand final in the 1990s. The Panthers were a part of 1997's Super League
competition before continuing in the re-unified NRL competition. To date they have won two premierships: 1991 and 2003.
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 NSWRFL 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 Football League would introduce two new teams to the Sydney premiership for the 1967 season. 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. The team played its first pre-season trial against Cronulla-Sutherland on February 24. Penrith won 18-12 in front of a crowd of 18,768.
The first premiership team was: Bill Tonkin, Bob Landers
, Dave Applebee, Ern Gillon, Wayne Peckham, Maurie Raper, Laurie Fagan
, Tony Brown (captain), Wal Crust, Bill McCall, Geoff Waldie, Barry Harris and Ron Workman. They played their first premiership match was against Canterbury on April 2 and Penrith led 12-10 until the final 15 minutes. Canterbury won 15-12.
On April 23, 1967 Penrith Park was officially opened with a match between the Panthers and the reigning premiers, St George. The Panthers won 24-12 in front of 12,201 spectators.
Penrith finished the season in 11th place, with 12 points from five wins, two draws and 11 losses. In 1968 under new captain coach Bob Boland, the team showed improvement. Penrith surprised everyone by winning the pre-season competition, the Wills Cup, and finished in 8th place. It was hoped they would continue to improve but this hope was short lived. The new club would struggle for almost 20 years before finally reaching their first finals series in 1985
.
and Bill Ashurst
for the 1974 season. It's important to remember that there was some logic to this. The early 70's were the last 'Glory Days' for Great Britain in Rugby league. In mid 1973 Great Britain held the Rugby League Ashes
and were reigning Rugby League World Cup
Champions. The problem was not the players abilities. Stephenson was a tough hooker and could be a very effective playmaker. Ashurst in particular was a brilliant player on his day, he had great acceleration, could chip and chase and was also the first person to use the "around the corner" style of goalkicking in Australia, months before John Gray
demonstrated this in the 1974 Test series. However Stephenson and Ashurst did not get on personally and this inhibited any development of a strong team.
Penrith had a crop of exciting young stars come through in the 70's. Players such as Kevin Dann, Ross Gigg
, Paul Merlo
, Tim Sheens
, Zac Olearnik, Glenn West and Phil Gould
showed great potential and it's interesting to think what could have happened if they had the right sort of on-field leadership and direction. One of the highlights from the 70's was beating the 1974 premiers, Eastern Suburbs, to make the final of the 1974 Amco Cup
. However, unused to being favourites they were beaten in the final by Western Division. Their best regular seasons were 1971 - 8th place and 1974 & 76 - 9th place.
took over as coach and they had their best season ever, finishing 6th, one point outside the five. Sheens was able to instill in Penrith something they had never possessed before, consistency. At one stage they won a record (for Penrith) 5 straight games. They seemed assured of making history but at the most critical time of the season suffered a drop in form, winning only 1 of their last 4 games. This was the year that saw the debut of Greg Alexander
.
They went one better in 1985, when they defeated Manly 10-7 at the SCG in a play off for fifth spot. Their joy was short lived however as they were comprehensively defeated 38-6 by a star studded Parramatta team the following weekend in the qualifying final. The team finished 8th in 1986 but plummeted to 2nd last in 1987.
The late 1980s saw the first grade debut of future stars such as Mark Geyer
, John Cartwright
, Steve Carter
and Brad Fittler
. Added to now established veterans such as Greg Alexander
, Brad Izzard
and Royce Simmons
, a team was starting to develop that finally lived up to the potential of a club with the biggest junior league nursery in the world.
Former player and now assistant football club manager, Ross Gigg
, made what some have regarded as the best ever signings in Penrith's history prior to the 1988 season. Established stars Peter Kelly
and Chris Mortimer
were signed along with a new coach, the veteran Ron Willey
. These people knew what it took to win a premiership and they added the experience and attitude needed to be a true contender. In 1988 and the team finished equal 5th, losing the play off with eventual Grand Finalists Balmain. In 1989 Penrith finished 2nd in the regular season. However two successive losses saw them exit the play offs early. Player dissatisfaction with Ron Willey's coaching style saw Phil Gould
appointed to the role for 1990.
Continuing the momentum gathered in the late 80's, the 1990 team finished 3rd on the regular season points table. Going into the finals the Panthers, having never previously won a play off game, reversed the trend and won both their qualifying and semi final games to qualify for their first ever Grand Final appearance in 1990. With a team boasting notable players such as Greg Alexander
, Brad Fittler
, Chris Mortimer
and Mark Geyer
Penrith were clearly overawed by the occasion, but they had their chances and were somewhat unlucky to be beaten by the Canberra Raiders
18-14. The next year the Panthers were Minor Premiers and met the Raiders 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.
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 in late June. This eventually led to the breakup of the strong combination that had look set to dominate for the next few years. Penrith's form had been very good in 1992 up to this point, they had comprehensively beaten eventual premiers Brisbane 24-10 in round 4 at Lang Park, one of only two home losses they suffered that year, and were firmly entrenched in the top 3, having won 9 of their 13 games. However after the accident they would only win 2 out of their next 9 games, finishing 9th (still only 3 points ouf of the top five). 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 mid-way through the 1994 season, to be replaced by Royce Simmons
.
The Panthers were coached by former player and club captain Royce Simmons
starting with the last six games in 1994 until the end of 2001.
During the Super League war
Penrith aligned themselves with the breakaway competition. Playing in Super League's 1997 Telstra Cup, they reached the finals. They continued to compete the following year in the re-united National Rugby League
.
' last season as coach for the Panthers, 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.
This showed the promise that was to come the next year. With the signing of Preston Campbell
and Joe Galuvao
, their 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 Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters
.
Penrith, entering the match as underdogs, defeated the Roosters 18-6, with winger Luke Rooney
scored two tries. Hooker Luke Priddis
received the Clive Churchill Medal
. The game is also remembered for a spectacular tackle by Scott Sattler in the 2nd Half Roosters winger Todd Byrne, who was sprinting down the left wing for an almost certain try.
Penrith lost the World Club Challenge
in early 2004, with Bradford defeating them 22-4 in sub-zero temperatures.
They did however rally after that loss and once again qualified for the NRL semi-final series by finishing fourth and defeating St George Illawarra in the first week of the semi-finals before being knocked out by the Bulldogs in a controversial Grand Final qualifier two weeks later.
The Panthers then just failed to qualify for the Top 8 in 2005 finishing two points out and in 10th spot on percentages before enduring 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.
In 2008 the Panthers 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, the Penrith Panthers had a strong season up until the final rounds, but towards the end of the season lost 4 of their last 5 games to just miss out on a top 8 place.
, Nigel Plum
, Daine Laurie
, Dave Simmons and Sandor Earl
.
The Panthers wrapped up second spot on the ladder with a team led by veteran Petero Civinoceva, with players such as Lachlan Coote
, Michael Gordon
, Luke Lewis
, Michael Jennings
and Luke Walsh
in particular having strong seasons. This was the first time that the Panthers have made the playoffs since 2004.
Their season ended with a 34-12 loss to Sydney Roosters.
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
stretches back to the 1960s when a team from Penrith
Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
entering Sydney's elite competition was first mooted. After admission to the NSWRFL premiership in 1967, the club struggled on-field until reaching the finals for the first time in the 1980s, and reaching the grand final in the 1990s. The Panthers were a part of 1997's Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
competition before continuing in the re-unified NRL competition. To date they have won two premierships: 1991 and 2003.
1960s
Various Penrith rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
teams had played for many years between 1912 and 1966 in the Western Districts League under the control of the Western Suburbs RLFC
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
, in the Parramatta competition after Parramatta was admitted to the NSWRL in 1947, and also in a second-tier Sydney competition introduced by the NSWRFL 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 Football League would introduce two new teams to the Sydney premiership for the 1967 season. There were three teams vying for the two proposed slots, Penrith, Cronulla-Sutherland
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
, and the Wentworthville Magpies
Wentworthville Magpies
The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as Wenty, are a Rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963, the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions and, since 2003, the semi-professional NSWRL Jim Beam Cup competition...
. 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. The team played its first pre-season trial against Cronulla-Sutherland on February 24. Penrith won 18-12 in front of a crowd of 18,768.
The first premiership team was: Bill Tonkin, Bob Landers
Bob Landers
Bob Landers was a rugby league player in Australia’s New South Wales Rugby League competition for the Eastern Suburbs and the Penrith Panthers clubs.-Biography:...
, Dave Applebee, Ern Gillon, Wayne Peckham, Maurie Raper, Laurie Fagan
Laurie Fagan
Laurie Fagan was a rugby league player for the Balmain Tigers and the Penrith Panthers between 1958 and 1970. He played no rep footy but was still a great player....
, Tony Brown (captain), Wal Crust, Bill McCall, Geoff Waldie, Barry Harris and Ron Workman. They played their first premiership match was against Canterbury on April 2 and Penrith led 12-10 until the final 15 minutes. Canterbury won 15-12.
On April 23, 1967 Penrith Park was officially opened with a match between the Panthers and the reigning premiers, St George. The Panthers won 24-12 in front of 12,201 spectators.
Penrith finished the season in 11th place, with 12 points from five wins, two draws and 11 losses. In 1968 under new captain coach Bob Boland, the team showed improvement. Penrith surprised everyone by winning the pre-season competition, the Wills Cup, and finished in 8th place. It was hoped they would continue to improve but this hope was short lived. The new club would struggle for almost 20 years before finally reaching their first finals series in 1985
New South Wales Rugby League season 1985
The 1985 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-eighth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen teams competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Canterbury-Bankstown and St....
.
1970s
In this period Penrith repeatedly tried to attract the star Australian players they knew they needed. They were consistently unsuccessful in this. This was primarily due to Penrith's poor reputation and it's seemingly remote location, the M4 Freeway was still only a distant dream! Unable to attract local players, in mid 1973 Penrith looked overseas and signed the Great Britain internationals Mike StephensonMike Stephenson
Michael "Mike" Stephenson, also commonly known as Stevo, is an English Rugby League World Cup winning Rugby League, and presenter/commentator on British satellite television channel Sky Sports who also represented Great Britain in the sport.Stevo, the nickname that he is commonly known as on TV...
and Bill Ashurst
Bill Ashurst
William "Bill" F. Ashurst is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s, and coach of the 1980s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and at club level for Wigan , Penrith Panthers, Wakefield Trinity, and Runcorn Highfield, playing at , i.e...
for the 1974 season. It's important to remember that there was some logic to this. The early 70's were the last 'Glory Days' for Great Britain in Rugby league. In mid 1973 Great Britain held the Rugby League Ashes
Rugby League Ashes
The Ashes is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of a best-of-three series of rugby league football test series between Great Britain and Australia...
and were reigning Rugby League World Cup
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...
Champions. The problem was not the players abilities. Stephenson was a tough hooker and could be a very effective playmaker. Ashurst in particular was a brilliant player on his day, he had great acceleration, could chip and chase and was also the first person to use the "around the corner" style of goalkicking in Australia, months before John Gray
John Gray (rugby league)
John D. Gray is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1970s and '80s who at representative has played level for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Wigan, North Sydney Bears , and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, playing at , or /, i.e...
demonstrated this in the 1974 Test series. However Stephenson and Ashurst did not get on personally and this inhibited any development of a strong team.
Penrith had a crop of exciting young stars come through in the 70's. Players such as Kevin Dann, Ross Gigg
Ross Gigg
Ross Gigg is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played with the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. Gigg's playing career spanned 1974-1979 and 1982-84. He made 110 first grade appearances, scoring 31 tries and six goals for a career total of...
, Paul Merlo
Paul Merlo
Paul Merlo is an Australian former professional rugby league player in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. Merlo played for the Penrith Panthers, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Cronulla Sharks as well as representing New South Wales...
, Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He currently coaches the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League and in 2009 was appointed coach of the Australian national team, the Kangaroos...
, Zac Olearnik, Glenn West and Phil Gould
Phil Gould
Phil Gould is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and former player and coach. Since the 1990s he has had a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, as a commentator on their match-day coverage, and appears on The Sunday Footy Show and The Sunday Roast...
showed great potential and it's interesting to think what could have happened if they had the right sort of on-field leadership and direction. One of the highlights from the 70's was beating the 1974 premiers, Eastern Suburbs, to make the final of the 1974 Amco Cup
Amco Cup
The Amco Cup was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usually a straight knock-out, but various group formats were used between 1979 and 1982...
. However, unused to being favourites they were beaten in the final by Western Division. Their best regular seasons were 1971 - 8th place and 1974 & 76 - 9th place.
1980s
The 1980s was a decade of highs and lows for Penrith. 1980-83 saw Penrith finish at, or near, the bottom of the table. In 1984 Tim SheensTim Sheens
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He currently coaches the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League and in 2009 was appointed coach of the Australian national team, the Kangaroos...
took over as coach and they had their best season ever, finishing 6th, one point outside the five. Sheens was able to instill in Penrith something they had never possessed before, consistency. At one stage they won a record (for Penrith) 5 straight games. They seemed assured of making history but at the most critical time of the season suffered a drop in form, winning only 1 of their last 4 games. This was the year that saw the debut of Greg Alexander
Greg Alexander
Gregory Peter Stephen "Greg" Alexander is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has since become a commentator. A goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country...
.
They went one better in 1985, when they defeated Manly 10-7 at the SCG in a play off for fifth spot. Their joy was short lived however as they were comprehensively defeated 38-6 by a star studded Parramatta team the following weekend in the qualifying final. The team finished 8th in 1986 but plummeted to 2nd last in 1987.
The late 1980s saw the first grade debut of future stars such as Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-rower, he is currently a rugby league media identity...
, John Cartwright
John Cartwright
John Cartwright may refer to:* Major John Cartwright , supporter of American independence and British political reform* John Robert Cartwright , Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada...
, Steve Carter
Steve Carter
Steve or Steven Carter may refer to:*Steve Carter , Attorney General of Indiana, U.S.A.*Steve Carter , English footballer who played for Notts County, Derby County, Torquay United and Minnesota Kicks...
and Brad Fittler
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
. Added to now established veterans such as Greg Alexander
Greg Alexander
Gregory Peter Stephen "Greg" Alexander is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has since become a commentator. A goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country...
, Brad Izzard
Brad Izzard
Brad Izzard was an Australian rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia as well as playing four games for the New South Wales State of Origin side...
and Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player, currently the head coach of St Helens RLFC in the European Super League...
, a team was starting to develop that finally lived up to the potential of a club with the biggest junior league nursery in the world.
Former player and now assistant football club manager, Ross Gigg
Ross Gigg
Ross Gigg is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played with the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. Gigg's playing career spanned 1974-1979 and 1982-84. He made 110 first grade appearances, scoring 31 tries and six goals for a career total of...
, made what some have regarded as the best ever signings in Penrith's history prior to the 1988 season. Established stars Peter Kelly
Peter Kelly
Peter Kelly may refer to:*Peter Kelly , Irish Fianna Fáil politician and TD for Longford-Roscommon*Peter J. Kelly, current mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada...
and Chris Mortimer
Chris Mortimer
Chris Mortimer is an Australian former professional rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, New South Wales and for the Australian national side....
were signed along with a new coach, the veteran Ron Willey
Ron Willey
Ron Willey was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative for the Australian national side. Post-playing, Willey had a long and successful first grade and State representative coaching career.-Club career:...
. These people knew what it took to win a premiership and they added the experience and attitude needed to be a true contender. In 1988 and the team finished equal 5th, losing the play off with eventual Grand Finalists Balmain. In 1989 Penrith finished 2nd in the regular season. However two successive losses saw them exit the play offs early. Player dissatisfaction with Ron Willey's coaching style saw Phil Gould
Phil Gould
Phil Gould is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and former player and coach. Since the 1990s he has had a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, as a commentator on their match-day coverage, and appears on The Sunday Footy Show and The Sunday Roast...
appointed to the role for 1990.
1990s
Greg Alexander
Gregory Peter Stephen "Greg" Alexander is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has since become a commentator. A goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country...
, Brad Fittler
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
, Chris Mortimer
Chris Mortimer
Chris Mortimer is an Australian former professional rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, New South Wales and for the Australian national side....
and Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-rower, he is currently a rugby league media identity...
Penrith were clearly overawed by the occasion, but they had their chances and were somewhat unlucky to be beaten by the Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
18-14. The next year the Panthers were Minor Premiers and met the Raiders again in the Grand Final, this time winning 19 to 12, including two tries by Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player, currently the head coach of St Helens RLFC in the European Super League...
the former team captain in his last game. They went on to play Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
in England for the 1991 World Club Challenge
1991 World Club Challenge
The 1991 World Club Challenge was contested by 1990–91 RFL Championship winners, Wigan and 1991 NSWRL season premiers, the Penrith Panthers. The match was played on a dry Wednesday the 2nd of October, 1991 at Anfield, Liverpool...
but were beaten by the British champions 21-4.
Their reign was short lived as in 1992 tragedy struck the club when the younger brother of Captain Greg Alexander
Greg Alexander
Gregory Peter Stephen "Greg" Alexander is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has since become a commentator. A goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country...
, Ben, died in a car accident in late June. This eventually led to the breakup of the strong combination that had look set to dominate for the next few years. Penrith's form had been very good in 1992 up to this point, they had comprehensively beaten eventual premiers Brisbane 24-10 in round 4 at Lang Park, one of only two home losses they suffered that year, and were firmly entrenched in the top 3, having won 9 of their 13 games. However after the accident they would only win 2 out of their next 9 games, finishing 9th (still only 3 points ouf of the top five). Greg and close family friends Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-rower, he is currently a rugby league media identity...
and Brad Fittler
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
left the club soon after (Fittler left after the 1995 season as Penrith had signed with Super League) as well as coach Phil Gould
Phil Gould
Phil Gould is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and former player and coach. Since the 1990s he has had a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, as a commentator on their match-day coverage, and appears on The Sunday Footy Show and The Sunday Roast...
left mid-way through the 1994 season, to be replaced by Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player, currently the head coach of St Helens RLFC in the European Super League...
.
The Panthers were coached by former player and club captain Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons
Royce Simmons is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player, currently the head coach of St Helens RLFC in the European Super League...
starting with the last six games in 1994 until the end of 2001.
During the Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
Penrith aligned themselves with the breakaway competition. Playing in Super League's 1997 Telstra Cup, they reached the finals. They continued to compete the following year in the re-united National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
.
2000s
Penrith again made the finals in the 2000 NRL season. However in the year 2001, they came last on the competition ladder. 2001 was Royce SimmonsRoyce Simmons
Royce Simmons is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player, currently the head coach of St Helens RLFC in the European Super League...
' last season as coach for the Panthers, and he was replaced by John Lang
John Lang (rugby league)
John Lang is an Australian former rugby league football coach and player. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative hooker, he played his club football in Brisbane with the Eastern Suburbs Tigers and in Sydney with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters...
from Cronulla in 2002, where they finished 12th. Their last game of 2002 showed hope as they proceeded to thrash the Northern Eagles
Northern Eagles
The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the North Sydney Bears and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 2000...
, knocking them out of the final eight.
This showed the promise that was to come the next year. With the signing of Preston Campbell
Preston Campbell
Preston Campbell, is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Gold Coast Titans of the National Rugby League...
and Joe Galuvao
Joe Galuvao
Joe Galuvao is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles of the National Rugby League...
, their 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
Rhys Wesser
Rhys Joseph "Sugar" Wesser is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the NRL...
scoring a new club record 25 tries. Penrith finished as Minor Premiers after convincingly accounting for the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
in the last round of competition. In the Finals series Penrith beat the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
and New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
to reach the Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
.
Penrith, entering the match as underdogs, defeated the Roosters 18-6, with winger Luke Rooney
Luke Rooney
Luke Rooney is an Australian professional rugby union footballer for RC Toulonnais in the Top 14 competition as of 2012. His previous teams include Melbourne Rebels and the Penrith Panthers.-Rugby League:...
scored two tries. Hooker Luke Priddis
Luke Priddis
Luke Priddis is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s...
received the Clive Churchill Medal
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
. The game is also remembered for a spectacular tackle by Scott Sattler in the 2nd Half Roosters winger Todd Byrne, who was sprinting down the left wing for an almost certain try.
Penrith lost the World Club Challenge
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
in early 2004, with Bradford defeating them 22-4 in sub-zero temperatures.
They did however rally after that loss and once again qualified for the NRL semi-final series by finishing fourth and defeating St George Illawarra in the first week of the semi-finals before being knocked out by the Bulldogs in a controversial Grand Final qualifier two weeks later.
The Panthers then just failed to qualify for the Top 8 in 2005 finishing two points out and in 10th spot on percentages before enduring 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.
In 2008 the Panthers 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, the Penrith Panthers had a strong season up until the final rounds, but towards the end of the season lost 4 of their last 5 games to just miss out on a top 8 place.
2010s
For the 2010 season a teal jersey was used as the away strip. Panthers signings for this year included Adrian PurtellAdrian Purtell
Adrian Purtell is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers of the NRL. He previously played with the Canberra Raiders. His usual position is .-Career:...
, Nigel Plum
Nigel Plum
Nigel Plum is a Rugby League player who plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. He is known for his tackling technique...
, Daine Laurie
Daine Laurie
Daine Laurie is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. Laurie primarily plays as a prop and can operate in the second-row....
, Dave Simmons and Sandor Earl
Sandor Earl
Sandor "Princess" Earl is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He primarily plays on the wing.-Early years:...
.
The Panthers wrapped up second spot on the ladder with a team led by veteran Petero Civinoceva, with players such as Lachlan Coote
Lachlan Coote
Lachlan "Ron" Coote is an Australian rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. His position of choice is...
, Michael Gordon
Michael Gordon
Michael Gordon may refer to:*Michael Gordon , American film director*Michael Gordon , British film editor*Michael J. C...
, Luke Lewis
Luke Lewis
Luke Lewis is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative utility player, he has spent his entire professional career with the Panthers,...
, Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings (rugby league)
Michael Joseph "Jenko" Jennings is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers of the National Rugby League...
and Luke Walsh
Luke Walsh
Luke Walsh is an indigenous Australian professional rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. His position of choice is at halfback....
in particular having strong seasons. This was the first time that the Panthers have made the playoffs since 2004.
Their season ended with a 34-12 loss to Sydney Roosters.
Further reading
- "Men in Black are back" by Phil GouldPhil GouldPhil Gould is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and former player and coach. Since the 1990s he has had a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, as a commentator on their match-day coverage, and appears on The Sunday Footy Show and The Sunday Roast...
July 27, 2003 The Sun-Herald