Here come the champions, but is it too late for anyone to stop the juggernaut? I think so

The Advertiser

2 days ago

The definition of putting a cat among the pigeons is "to cause a disturbance or commotion, often by introducing something unexpected or controversial".
By the close of Super Saturday, the term pay-TV types like to use to breathlessly describe three matches back-to-back to quench your thirst for the greatest game of all, the feline should be well and truly ensconced among our feathered friends.
Penrith should have beaten Newcastle in the twilight zone (aka 6pm) game on Friday and Canterbury should have accounted for the Warriors in the dessert game on the Saturday menu.
And the Panthers would have burst into the all-important top four.
That is, unless there is an upset or, heaven forbid, two in those fixtures, but let's not contemplate that possibility because it bombs the narrative I'm trying to create here which, on form, really should become fact.
How might the Panthers, winners of the past four premierships but who took a lot of time to get into gear this season, entering top-four territory affect the other three teams that appear to be fixtures there - Canberra, Melbourne and Canterbury?
We'll get to that, but in the meantime the very fact Penrith are in a position to finally make that jump is all the evidence you need that the NRL is a tough competition with a long season in which anything can happen.
After 12 rounds, the Panthers were last of 17 teams on the competition table with nine points from three wins, seven losses, a draw and a bye.
But at least still in their favour, if they were capable of making a significant recovery, was the fact the competition was largely condensed.
They were only three points outside of the top eight and - even though the prospect looked decidedly distant at the time - seven outside the top four.
The Panthers haven't lost a game since, with their winning streak having stretched to eight games.
After 16 rounds they had made it into the top eight, but the top four still looked worlds away - even for them.
They were in eighth place on 17 points, still seven points outside of the top four, and a six-point gap had opened up between the fourth-placed Warriors and each of the fifth, sixth and seventh-placed teams (Brisbane, Cronulla and Sydney Roosters).
But there were negative signs appearing for the Warriors.
First, they lost their NSW State of Origin prop, Mitch Barnett, for the rest of the season due to injury in round 13. Then, most tellingly, their star halfback Luke Metcalf was subjected to the same fate in round 17.
The Warriors are still desperately hanging in there in games, but they've lost four of their last six.
Ahead of this round they were in fourth place on 30 points and had lost touch with the top three - Canberra on 36 and Melbourne and Canterbury each on 34 - and were only one point ahead of the fifth-placed Panthers.
And the sixth and seventh-placed Brisbane and Cronulla were each only one point behind Penrith, with the eighth-placed Dolphins another two points back on 26.
Whether Penrith are still in fifth place after Thursday night's opening game of round 23 between the Storm and Brisbane or overtaken by the Broncos it won't matter because the Panthers will get the chance to have their say on Friday.
The worry for the Warriors is that there's actually an outside chance that if they don't right the ship at least slightly between now and the end of the regular season they could finish outside of the top eight, let alone the top four.
It's unlikely, but the fact it's even a possibility is an indication of how difficult it becomes for a team to maintain momentum in this competition in the face of major setbacks.
Their ordinary points for-and-against differential for a top-eight team of just plus-26 is another negative for them when you consider the ninth and 10-placed Roosters and Manly, each on 24 points, are still in the running for the finals.
None of the current top-three teams are going to want to see Penrith finish alongside them in the top four.
They wouldn't admit it and outwardly they'd say it's all about making sure their own game is as good as it can be.
But the Panthers, with their four straight titles, have an fantastic aura about them which must have the potential to get inside the heads of opposition players.
Melbourne, you would think, would not let it become a negative because being the regular title contenders that they are their belief would be strong.
MORE NRL NEWS
But what about the Raiders, a rebuilt team that represents an intoxicating mixture of the old and the new?
Their less experienced players would face a massive challenge coming up against a juggernaut like Penrith if the Panthers hold their form going into the finals.
And what about Canterbury? They're coming off a game in which they were blitzed by one of the competition battlers in Wests Tigers, who got the better of them with a higher level of desire, commitment and intensity.
The Bulldogs, after their initial rise last season, went on to fold in the finals, leaving a question mark there. Getting over an in-form Penrith would be a huge task for them as well.
The battle for those last few places in the finals could still be very much alive after this weekend's round or it could almost be a closed shop, depending on certain results.
If Canberra beat Manly on Friday night and the Dolphins beat the Roosters on Saturday night there will be a four-point gap between eighth and ninth with just four rounds remaining.
The definition of putting a cat among the pigeons is "to cause a disturbance or commotion, often by introducing something unexpected or controversial".
By the close of Super Saturday, the term pay-TV types like to use to breathlessly describe three matches back-to-back to quench your thirst for the greatest game of all, the feline should be well and truly ensconced among our feathered friends.
Penrith should have beaten Newcastle in the twilight zone (aka 6pm) game on Friday and Canterbury should have accounted for the Warriors in the dessert game on the Saturday menu.
And the Panthers would have burst into the all-important top four.
That is, unless there is an upset or, heaven forbid, two in those fixtures, but let's not contemplate that possibility because it bombs the narrative I'm trying to create here which, on form, really should become fact.
How might the Panthers, winners of the past four premierships but who took a lot of time to get into gear this season, entering top-four territory affect the other three teams that appear to be fixtures there - Canberra, Melbourne and Canterbury?
We'll get to that, but in the meantime the very fact Penrith are in a position to finally make that jump is all the evidence you need that the NRL is a tough competition with a long season in which anything can happen.
After 12 rounds, the Panthers were last of 17 teams on the competition table with nine points from three wins, seven losses, a draw and a bye.
But at least still in their favour, if they were capable of making a significant recovery, was the fact the competition was largely condensed.
They were only three points outside of the top eight and - even though the prospect looked decidedly distant at the time - seven outside the top four.
The Panthers haven't lost a game since, with their winning streak having stretched to eight games.
After 16 rounds they had made it into the top eight, but the top four still looked worlds away - even for them.
They were in eighth place on 17 points, still seven points outside of the top four, and a six-point gap had opened up between the fourth-placed Warriors and each of the fifth, sixth and seventh-placed teams (Brisbane, Cronulla and Sydney Roosters).
But there were negative signs appearing for the Warriors.
First, they lost their NSW State of Origin prop, Mitch Barnett, for the rest of the season due to injury in round 13. Then, most tellingly, their star halfback Luke Metcalf was subjected to the same fate in round 17.
The Warriors are still desperately hanging in there in games, but they've lost four of their last six.
Ahead of this round they were in fourth place on 30 points and had lost touch with the top three - Canberra on 36 and Melbourne and Canterbury each on 34 - and were only one point ahead of the fifth-placed Panthers.
And the sixth and seventh-placed Brisbane and Cronulla were each only one point behind Penrith, with the eighth-placed Dolphins another two points back on 26.
Whether Penrith are still in fifth place after Thursday night's opening game of round 23 between the Storm and Brisbane or overtaken by the Broncos it won't matter because the Panthers will get the chance to have their say on Friday.
The worry for the Warriors is that there's actually an outside chance that if they don't right the ship at least slightly between now and the end of the regular season they could finish outside of the top eight, let alone the top four.
It's unlikely, but the fact it's even a possibility is an indication of how difficult it becomes for a team to maintain momentum in this competition in the face of major setbacks.
Their ordinary points for-and-against differential for a top-eight team of just plus-26 is another negative for them when you consider the ninth and 10-placed Roosters and Manly, each on 24 points, are still in the running for the finals.
None of the current top-three teams are going to want to see Penrith finish alongside them in the top four.
They wouldn't admit it and outwardly they'd say it's all about making sure their own game is as good as it can be.
But the Panthers, with their four straight titles, have an fantastic aura about them which must have the potential to get inside the heads of opposition players.
Melbourne, you would think, would not let it become a negative because being the regular title contenders that they are their belief would be strong.
MORE NRL NEWS
But what about the Raiders, a rebuilt team that represents an intoxicating mixture of the old and the new?
Their less experienced players would face a massive challenge coming up against a juggernaut like Penrith if the Panthers hold their form going into the finals.
And what about Canterbury? They're coming off a game in which they were blitzed by one of the competition battlers in Wests Tigers, who got the better of them with a higher level of desire, commitment and intensity.
The Bulldogs, after their initial rise last season, went on to fold in the finals, leaving a question mark there. Getting over an in-form Penrith would be a huge task for them as well.
The battle for those last few places in the finals could still be very much alive after this weekend's round or it could almost be a closed shop, depending on certain results.
If Canberra beat Manly on Friday night and the Dolphins beat the Roosters on Saturday night there will be a four-point gap between eighth and ninth with just four rounds remaining.
The definition of putting a cat among the pigeons is "to cause a disturbance or commotion, often by introducing something unexpected or controversial".
By the close of Super Saturday, the term pay-TV types like to use to breathlessly describe three matches back-to-back to quench your thirst for the greatest game of all, the feline should be well and truly ensconced among our feathered friends.
Penrith should have beaten Newcastle in the twilight zone (aka 6pm) game on Friday and Canterbury should have accounted for the Warriors in the dessert game on the Saturday menu.
And the Panthers would have burst into the all-important top four.
That is, unless there is an upset or, heaven forbid, two in those fixtures, but let's not contemplate that possibility because it bombs the narrative I'm trying to create here which, on form, really should become fact.
How might the Panthers, winners of the past four premierships but who took a lot of time to get into gear this season, entering top-four territory affect the other three teams that appear to be fixtures there - Canberra, Melbourne and Canterbury?
We'll get to that, but in the meantime the very fact Penrith are in a position to finally make that jump is all the evidence you need that the NRL is a tough competition with a long season in which anything can happen.
After 12 rounds, the Panthers were last of 17 teams on the competition table with nine points from three wins, seven losses, a draw and a bye.
But at least still in their favour, if they were capable of making a significant recovery, was the fact the competition was largely condensed.
They were only three points outside of the top eight and - even though the prospect looked decidedly distant at the time - seven outside the top four.
The Panthers haven't lost a game since, with their winning streak having stretched to eight games.
After 16 rounds they had made it into the top eight, but the top four still looked worlds away - even for them.
They were in eighth place on 17 points, still seven points outside of the top four, and a six-point gap had opened up between the fourth-placed Warriors and each of the fifth, sixth and seventh-placed teams (Brisbane, Cronulla and Sydney Roosters).
But there were negative signs appearing for the Warriors.
First, they lost their NSW State of Origin prop, Mitch Barnett, for the rest of the season due to injury in round 13. Then, most tellingly, their star halfback Luke Metcalf was subjected to the same fate in round 17.
The Warriors are still desperately hanging in there in games, but they've lost four of their last six.
Ahead of this round they were in fourth place on 30 points and had lost touch with the top three - Canberra on 36 and Melbourne and Canterbury each on 34 - and were only one point ahead of the fifth-placed Panthers.
And the sixth and seventh-placed Brisbane and Cronulla were each only one point behind Penrith, with the eighth-placed Dolphins another two points back on 26.
Whether Penrith are still in fifth place after Thursday night's opening game of round 23 between the Storm and Brisbane or overtaken by the Broncos it won't matter because the Panthers will get the chance to have their say on Friday.
The worry for the Warriors is that there's actually an outside chance that if they don't right the ship at least slightly between now and the end of the regular season they could finish outside of the top eight, let alone the top four.
It's unlikely, but the fact it's even a possibility is an indication of how difficult it becomes for a team to maintain momentum in this competition in the face of major setbacks.
Their ordinary points for-and-against differential for a top-eight team of just plus-26 is another negative for them when you consider the ninth and 10-placed Roosters and Manly, each on 24 points, are still in the running for the finals.
None of the current top-three teams are going to want to see Penrith finish alongside them in the top four.
They wouldn't admit it and outwardly they'd say it's all about making sure their own game is as good as it can be.
But the Panthers, with their four straight titles, have an fantastic aura about them which must have the potential to get inside the heads of opposition players.
Melbourne, you would think, would not let it become a negative because being the regular title contenders that they are their belief would be strong.
MORE NRL NEWS
But what about the Raiders, a rebuilt team that represents an intoxicating mixture of the old and the new?
Their less experienced players would face a massive challenge coming up against a juggernaut like Penrith if the Panthers hold their form going into the finals.
And what about Canterbury? They're coming off a game in which they were blitzed by one of the competition battlers in Wests Tigers, who got the better of them with a higher level of desire, commitment and intensity.
The Bulldogs, after their initial rise last season, went on to fold in the finals, leaving a question mark there. Getting over an in-form Penrith would be a huge task for them as well.
The battle for those last few places in the finals could still be very much alive after this weekend's round or it could almost be a closed shop, depending on certain results.
If Canberra beat Manly on Friday night and the Dolphins beat the Roosters on Saturday night there will be a four-point gap between eighth and ninth with just four rounds remaining.