Penrith players insist their desire for a fourth consecutive premiership has not waned despite suggestions from coach Ivan Cleary the Panthers are lacking hunger on the run to NRL finals.
Saturday’s surprise 22-18 loss to Canberra marked Penrith’s first back-to-back defeats since April last year, the Panthers struggling for cohesion without injured halfback Nathan Cleary.
The timing of the slump is unfortunate for the triple reigning premiers, who now sit fourth on the ladder – lower than at any point in the second half of a season since 2019.
Penrith are at serious risk of forfeiting the top-two finish that appeared a formality only a fortnight ago. With another loss, they could fall out of the top four altogether.
The elder Cleary said on Monday there was “probably a question mark” around Penrith’s desire to keep their winning ways going, but players refuted that claim on Wednesday.
“I’m not satisfied with what we did last year, I definitely want to win again this year,” said second-rower Luke Garner, who plays his 100th NRL game against South Sydney on Friday.
“The hunger is still there, I think it is with all the crew. We’ve just got to maybe change a few things and hopefully we’re on the way to being there at the end of the year again.
“We’re still a good team. We’re still in the top four. I think if we can gain some momentum in the next two games, hopefully the finals can look good for us again.”
Prop Lindsay Smith said it was “disappointing” the Panthers could not win their first game since co-captain Cleary aggravated his shoulder injury in the round-24 loss to Melbourne.
But he remained confident in their premiership credentials.
“Obviously it’s not great to ever have two losses in a row at any stage of the season, whether it’s the start of the season or the end of the season but there’s obviously learnings there,” he said.
“People will be externally questioning our belief but I think internally we’ve got all the belief in the squad that we’ve got.”
The Panthers have made three changes for their penultimate match of the regular season, welcoming Mitch Kenny back from suspension to replace Luke Sommerton at hooker.
Sunia Turuva returns to the right wing after two weeks working on his defence in NSW Cup, with Paul Alamoti back from a broken arm to replace rookie Casey McLean at left centre.
Right centre Izack Tago, below his best in recent weeks, felt Turuva’s recent axing was a wake-up call for the rest of the Panthers.
“Everyone here is a professional athlete so it’s pretty hard,” he said.
“Everyone’s pushing for a spot and it’s just the way things worked out. I’m sure Tito’s grateful to be back in. It’s well-deserved.”
