Broncos legend Darren Lockyer has highlighted a staggering stat about the Penrith Panthers that puts the Broncos’ preliminary final victory into perspective. The Broncos came back from 14-0 down to stun the four-time defending premiers 16-14, marching into the grand final to face the Melbourne Storm.
It’s the first time since 2020 that Penrith aren’t playing in the grand final. As Lockyer called out on the ‘QLDER’ podcast on Tuesday, a crazy stat sums up how the Broncos had absolutely no right to win.
“In an indication of how much the Broncos had to dig deep for this, since 2020 when the Panthers have been 12 or more in front in a game, they were 98-0,” Lockyer said. “For the Broncos to break that duck against Penrith, it just goes to show how much they had to dig deep for it.”
As Lockyer mentioned, there have been 99 games since the Panthers’ ‘dynasty’ started back in 2020 in which they’ve held at least a 12-point lead. Sunday against the Broncos was the only one of the 99 games they’ve lost. “Wow, that is something,” fellow Broncos legend Wally Lewis said.
The Panthers hadn’t lost in 98 previous games when leading by 12 or more. Image: Getty/Fox League
Nathan Cleary hadn’t lost a day game since 2019
Furthermore, it was the first time Nathan Cleary lost a day game since July of 2019. The Panthers as a team had lost just three of the 38 day games that followed, but Cleary wasn’t playing.
They came in 2024 against the Warriors, North Queensland and Canberra when the star halfback was out. You have to go back to a game against the Raiders on a Sunday afternoon in 2019 to find the last day game Cleary lost before the defeat at Suncorp.
The Panthers showed their potency in day games when they thrashed the Bulldogs 46-26 the week before. But it might have sapped their energy, with coach Ivan Cleary admitting they ran out of steam at the death.
Nathan Cleary and Panthers players look on after their loss to Brisbane. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
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Panthers normally thrive off massive crowds
The other remarkable detail is Penrith’s record in front of big crowds. Since crowd restrictions were lifted at the start of the 2022 season, the Panthers had won 31 of 38 matches at stadiums at 80 per cent capacity or more.
Their win rate drops off dramatically at emptier stadiums, recording just five wins from 13 games when they’re less than half-full. Included in those are multiple shock losses to South Sydney at a quieter Accor Stadium, as well as this year’s early season struggles at a flat CommBank Stadium.
“I would say we have quite a number of guys who relish the big occasion and big crowds,” Ivan Cleary said earlier in the finals. “That has definitely been the case (that we play better in front of a big crowd) this year and maybe last year.”
It didn’t prove the case on Sunday, with the Broncos surging home at a packed-to-the-rafters Suncorp Stadium. Even at away venues, the Panthers usually feed off the energy of a massive crowd. But their loss went against recent history, and it’s the Broncos in the grand final instead.
with AAP