A gruelling State of Origin campaign for several of his biggest stars and a lengthy fight from the bottom of the ladder to get back into the top eight played a key role in Ivan Cleary\u2019s decision to rest 16 players last week to freshen them up for the finals.<\/p>\n
Back-to-back golden-point losses also played a part, with Penrith now having to come from outside the top four if they are to win a staggering fifth-straight premiership.<\/p>\n
Tensions are going to be high as they look to become just the third team in history to win a title from outside the top four, with the celebrations out west to last for days if they can pull off the unthinkable. <\/p>\n
Regardless of how far the Panthers go in the finals this year, Cleary and Hawthorn Hawks coach Sam Mitchell have teamed up with DrinkWise to remind fans to drink in moderation and to respect those around them during the finals in both codes.<\/p>\n
It comes as research shows that 54 per cent of AFL fans said they intended to drink at the grand final, while 52 per cent of NRL fans intended to do the same at their big game, with 80 per cent of fans calling on stadiums to offer zero and low-alcohol drink options. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s an amazing campaign,\u201d Cleary said after teaming up with DrinkWise for the latest initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us to hopefully positively influence people who watch the game, we can remind them to drink in moderation and be respectful of those around you. I think everyone wants that, so to be able to be part of that campaign is quite an honour. <\/p>\n
\u201cFinals are what everyone hopes their team is involved in, and emotions and stakes are higher than regular-season games, so emotions do run higher in every decision, and every play seems to have bigger ramifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are choosing to drink, just be careful to do it in moderation and respect the people around you so everyone can have a better experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleary revealed booze bans had been used in the past at the club and were driven by the players, but there wouldn\u2019t be one in place this year, with the coaching staff trusting the stars to be sensible around alcohol consumption. <\/p>\n
The players will have earnt a drink or two if they can win the title this year, with Cleary hoping a round-26 rest can be the freshen up they need to go all the way.<\/p>\n
The call to rest 16 players for the game against the Bulldogs raised a few eyebrows, but it\u2019s easy to see why Cleary did it after the Panthers were forced to win nine games in a row having been in last spot after 12 rounds.<\/p>\n
Heartbreaking losses in golden point against the top-two teams followed that all but ended their top-four hopes, which is why Cleary made the bold call to rest everyone last week, including guys like Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Brian To\u2019o, who were part of the Blues side that lost the Origin decider at home. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a combination of a lot of factors, but the mental side is definitely a part of that where it\u2019s having a bit of a break from your usual routine where you can freshen up a little bit,\u201d Cleary told the NewsWire.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our boys, we came off the bottom of the ladder halfway through the season and five or six of our guys were in Origin camp and came out of a gruelling campaign where it didn\u2019t work out for them, so that\u2019s in itself quite a heavy load to carry mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in a dogfight for the second half of the season. We tried not to make it feel like that, but the reality is you are looking at the ladder and checking other results.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur previous two matches against the Storm and the Raiders ended up in golden point and ended in disappointment, so all that stuff comes into it (when resting guys).\u201d<\/p>\n
The two losses could have easily been Panthers victories, with key lessons learnt from games where crucial calls cost them dearly.<\/p>\n
Moses Leota was penalised for acting as a blocker when Nathan Cleary kicked what would\u2019ve been the matchwinning field goal against the Storm, while two defenders didn\u2019t realise they could tackle Jed Stuart in the air after a Cleary field goal cannoned into the upright and resulted in a Raiders breakaway try.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends how you want to look at it,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see that we weren\u2019t beaten in regulation time in either game, so back in the old days we would have had two draws.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we took a lot of lessons out of it. There were little nuances around the rules that just don\u2019t pop up very often, so you\u2019ve just got to remind yourself in those tight games how important those things are.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing those games didn\u2019t dent our confidence in any way, but it did take a bit of petrol out of the tank, so it was a big reason why we rested those boys last week.\u201d<\/p>\n