\u201cWe\u2019ve taken snippets from that prelim throughout our pre-season, but no specific focus on watching that game and trying to fuel that fire going into that game [round one].<\/p>\n
\u201cJust little focus areas. We didn\u2019t finish the game well enough, and we were probably guilty of that a lot of the time throughout the season \u2013 just staying in that game for the full 80 [minutes].<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Broncos, they were the best at it, finishing games and being able to come over the top of teams \u2026 we\u2019ve addressed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, what were the moments that mattered most, the ones Penrith so often nailed throughout their run to four straight titles?<\/p>\n
Probably the three sets and 15 straight tackles the Panthers had hammering Brisbane\u2019s line with 16 minutes to play while holding an eight-point lead.<\/p>\n
Both sides favoured their respective left edges last year, which proved among the NRL\u2019s most dangerous: the Broncos\u2019 65 tries down that channel were the most scored by any team; Penrith\u2019s 54 ranked third in the league.<\/p>\n
But the Panthers found no joy hammering Brisbane\u2019s right side through Casey McLean and Blaize Talagi last September, and went that way too often.<\/p>\n
That said, one of Nathan Cleary\u2019s grubbers could easily have ricocheted Penrith\u2019s way instead of Brisbane\u2019s. And it still took Payne Haas\u2019 otherworldly feat of endurance \u2013 while bleeding like a heavyweight champion \u2013 to snuff out a particularly threatening 66th-minute kick.<\/p>\n
Hindsight\u2019s a wonderful thing, especially for sporting hacks. But if Penrith and Cleary had their time again, they\u2019d have taken the easy penalty shot at goal, and what could have been a 16-6 lead, when Ezra Mam conceded the most blatant of escort penalties in the 61st minute.<\/p>\n
Cooper Cronk questioned the decision in commentary as, once again, a left-side shift broke down when Luke Garner couldn\u2019t hang onto Cleary\u2019s short ball.<\/p>\n
And with Brisbane riding momentum like no one else in rugby league can, for once, Penrith were unable to pull the game out of the fire. Needing a two-point field goal to force the contest into golden point, the Panthers\u2019 last set went awry.<\/p>\n
Cleary\u2019s scramble to get in position left him under pressure and eventually having to find Edwards for a Hail Mary shot \u2013 the final play of Penrith\u2019s season.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n