Moses Leota scores against the Roosters. Photo: NRL Photos.

It would be easy to say the wheels have fallen off the Panthers at the wrong time of the year, and that the hopes of another Premiership during this era are starting to dwindle.

After all, Ivan Cleary’s men have lost five of their last eight games. Crisis, right?

I don’t think so.

And I think you have to look deeper at those losses to understand the current situation and realise that fixing this little slump of sorts is not as complicated as it may seem.

Two of the five losses were to the Titans and Cowboys during the challenging State of Origin period.

They weren’t ideal performances, but it’s hard to put much stock in those games given the troops missing and the disruption involved.

So then you go to the Brisbane game – a disappointing 14-12 loss but a night in which the Broncos’ season was very much on the line and the unexpected rain brought the sides closer together.

Penrith lost their second straight game last week. Photo: NRL Photos.

Against both the Warriors and Roosters, Penrith faced teams at the top of their game. They were both high quality matches, with a lot of ball in play.

Nothing about either Penrith performance had me heading to the nearest metaphorical bridge to consider jumping off, but you can’t deny the significant confidence boost the Warriors and Roosters got out of recording those wins.

But I’ve said many times in this preview that Penrith get more out of losses than wins at this point of the season. They’re so experienced at this time of the year, and have such a quality squad, that losses offer an opportunity to learn.

If you think the Warriors and Roosters will be able to play the same way should they meet Penrith again in the Finals, you’re a mug. The Panthers won’t let it happen.

But what did the Warriors and Roosters do so well and how do Penrith avoid it happening against Melbourne on Thursday night?

Both sides produced quality line speed, got in Nathan Cleary’s face and tried to strangle Penrith’s attack. And they succeeded.

Liam Martin scores for Penrith. Photo: NRL Photos.

The risk both ran, especially the Roosters, was that they were going to be refereed out of the game.

That the man in the middle wouldn’t stand for tactics that essentially involved loitering off-side and getting off the mark a little too quickly in defence.

But the gamble was that at this time of the year, the refs put the whistle away a little more. Something that was a set restart 20 weeks ago is seemingly not pulled up now, at least not as often.

I wouldn’t be surprised if an email found its way from Ivan Cleary’s desk to the NRL this week, just as a little nudge about what teams are doing to get under Penrith’s skin.

This isn’t about blaming referees. But it is about teams finding ways to stifle what Penrith and in particular Nathan can do in attack.

Nathan Cleary in action against the Broncos. Photo: NRL Photos.

The best teams have found a way to do it and the Panthers will have to deal with that in September.

For now though it’s about getting things back on track over the next three weeks against sides not in serious Finals contention.

No offence to the opposition ahead, but Penrith can breathe a little easier now that they are through the fire of the last fortnight and even the weeks prior to that.

But as we saw against both Canberra and Souths, the teams that aren’t quite on the level as the Roosters and Warriors haven’t nearly figured out how to stop Penrith yet.

And I doubt Melbourne have either.

Tip: Panthers by 16.

Penrith and Melbourne play at AAMI Park on Thursday, August 20 at 7.50pm. The game is live on Nine and Fox League.

Troy Dodds is the Weekender’s Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.