Penrith Panthers hold off the Storm to claim fourth premiership

The mighty Penrith Panthers created rugby league history on Sunday night by claiming a ­historic fourth successive* NRL premiership with a gripping* and controversial* 14-6 win over Melbourne Storm at a buzzing Accor Stadium.

Looking pretty in pink, a relentless* Penrith can now lay claim to being the greatest rugby league club side since the unbeatable St George Dragons, who won an unprecedented* 11 straight titles between 1956 and 1966.

No team in the NRL era has ever won four consecutive grand finals and only two teams – St George (1956-66) and South Sydney (1925-29) – have won four or more premierships in succession.

It was also the Panthers’ fifth consecutive grand final appearance after going down to Melbourne in 2020.

The Panthers’ season started in Las Vegas and ended with this side entering rugby league immortality*. The working-class city of Penrith last night erupted in wild celebrations, its local heroes once again the toast of the rugby league world.

Penrith has now secured grand final wins over Souths, Parramatta, Brisbane and Melbourne.

“Four in a row – it’s mind-blowing,” Panthers star ­Nathan Cleary said, while five-eighth Jarome Luai added: “No one is going to do this again.”

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has now also confirmed his place among the finest coaches in rugby league’s 116-year history. Sacked by the Panthers in 2015, Cleary returned to etch his name into folklore in the far west of Sydney.

Cleary’s son, superstar halfback Nathan, played through the pain of a shoulder injury which will require an off-season reconstruction.

The Panthers enjoyed amazing support, with seven packed supporters’ buses leaving ­Penrith for Accor Stadium and the large majority of the 80,156 crowd being Panthers fans.

The game was played before Australian political heavyweights PM Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Premier Chris Minns and NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, who watched the action from the NRL suite.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape also attended, as did actor Bryan Brown, swimming legend Ian Thorpe and Matildas star Kyah Simon.

Coach Cleary finally settled the score against Storm opponent Craig Bellamy after Melbourne’s win in the 2020 grand final. Last night’s result was a heartbreaker for super coach Bellamy as Penrith prevailed in a gritty and, at times, feisty contest.

“I can’t believe it – this is a dream come true,” said star Panthers forward Liam Martin, who won the Clive Churchill Medal for man of the match. “This is surreal.”

Penrith enjoyed 57 per cent of first half possession to post two tries for a 10-6 lead. Storm centre Jack Howarth crossed 10 minutes into the second half but was ruled to be held up.

Both sides scrambled effectively in defence to deny tries.

The match broke open in the 61st when Alamoti scored from a bomb. A weary Melbourne could not muster a late comeback.

It was the final time Nathan Cleary will play alongside halves partner Luai, who has signed with Wests Tigers. Prop James Fisher-Harris and winger Sunia Turuva have also played their final matches for Penrith.

Melbourne will return hungrier and more determined than ever in 2025, but has their window of success now closed?

“They (Penrith) are the best – it’s so hard to beat them,” Storm halfback Jahrome ­Hughes said.

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GLOSSARY

• successive: happening one after the other without a break, consecutive
• gripping: attracting full attention, absorbing, thrilling, very exciting
• controversial: creating public argument, disagreement or disapproval
• relentless: continuing in a determined way without giving up
• immortality: reaching or achieving a standard that deserves to be remembered for a long time

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How many consecutive NRL titles have the Penrith Panthers won?
2. What was the final score?
3. How many straight titles were won by the St George Dragons and across what years?
4. How many fans attended the final at Accor Stadium?
5. Which players ended their time playing for the Panthers with the win?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Panthers’ premiership
Being four-time premiers is a huge accomplishment for any sporting team at the highest level. Write a poem describing the Penrith Panthers and all their premiership glories.

Use some facts from the article and maybe include some cheeky comparison to the team they beat, the Melbourne Storm.

Share your poem with the class if you feel comfortable.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
What part does the crowd play in helping a team to glory? The crowd of 80,156 was largely Panthers supporters - what impact do they have?

Write the advantages of being the home team in a large final such as this?

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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
1. Read with Kung Fu punctuation
Pair up with the article between you and stand up to make it easy to demonstrate your Kung Fu punctuation.

Practise reading one sentence at a time. Now read it again, while acting out the punctuation as you read.

Read and act three sentences before swapping with your partner. Take two turns each.

Now ask your partner to read a sentence out loud while you try and act out the punctuation. Can you keep up?

Try acting out two sentences – are you laughing yet?