Ciraldo backs Gould\u2019s strong stance to Bulldogs trolls amid vile attacks<\/a><\/p>\nIvan heaps praise onto Jenkins | 11:58<\/p>\n
Cleary was playing 4D chess following his side\u2019s dominant display against the Eels: happy to impart his opinions looking ahead to the Melbourne clash and equally obliging when asked how his side could be better against Parramatta. But Cleary was artful in the way he avoided highlighting the things that were actually working well for Penrith \u2013 especially in terms of tangible, granular details. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a good start. We\u2019ve been quite deliberate about a few things \u2013 the things we believe in and some slight changes to our play as well,\u201d was the extent of Cleary\u2019s response. \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of natural evolution, the chemistry is good in the team and we\u2019ve been fortunate to keep a relatively similar team on the field each week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The natural evolution includes the development of younger players within the Penrith squad, plus an undersized bench in response to the game\u2019s increased fatigue levels. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s also the mindset of a renewed Penrith side. Cleary\u2019s ambiguity speaks to the \u2018chip on the shoulder\u2019 mentality that has reportedly guided Penrith through the off-season and first four rounds.<\/p>\n
Cleary\u2019s generals are reading from the same song sheet. This week, the team\u2019s defensive coach, Peter Wallace \u2013 a former halfback who amassed 101 games for the mountain men \u2013 declined approaches from foxsports.com.au to chat about why Penrith\u2019s defence has been humming so well this season, following an uncharacteristic lapse in 2025. <\/p>\n
The reason was relatively simple: Penrith don\u2019t want to give a skerrick of information away to rival teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing he\u2019d want to say about it,\u201d a Penrith spokesperson said on Wallace\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n
Cleary ‘masterclass’ leads record half | 00:53<\/p>\n
All this from a side that looks so relaxed while the cameras are down.<\/p>\n
For 15 minutes before last weekend\u2019s match, Nathan Cleary walked barefooted around the side\u2019s new makeshift home ground, Commbank Stadium, twirling a Steeden on his pointer finger moments before the crowds rolled in. Other key members of the squad shared a laugh and rollicked around on the turf with ball in hand.<\/p>\n
For club great and Fox League commentator Greg Alexander, this year\u2019s Penrith side looks revitalised and settled. It marks a big reset year after bowing out of last year\u2019s preliminary final against Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the four years they\u2019d had, the Las Vegas trip to start 2025 \u2013 and the fact that they\u2019d won and played well \u2013 it might have been something in their subconscious,\u201d Alexander suggested.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlus the change of home ground (while a renovation is done at Penrith Stadium). You could probably look at a range of factors and say \u2018that\u2019s probably why they started the season not in great touch\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they didn\u2019t do through the start of last year when they went through those losses, was defend their errors \u2013 which is very un-Penrith like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renewed defence has undoubtedly been the key to the Panthers\u2019 unbeaten start to 2026. While defensive scramble has been one area of improvement, another is the left-edge combination of Blaize Talagi and Casey McLean, according to Fox League\u2019s Cooper Cronk. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of change,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir system is still the same, their movements are still the same but there\u2019s one thing that they have improved in and it\u2019s their left side defence. I thought at different stages last year when they were under pressure, and particularly in that prelim final, Brisbane scored maybe one or two tries up against their left edge defence. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve improved that well. I think their left edge has improved individually and collectively but everything else is pretty much the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivan Cleary, coach of the Panthers arrives at the ground ahead of the round two NRL match between Penrith Panthers and Cronulla Sharks at Carrington Park, on March 14, 2026, in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Fellow Fox League host Braith Anasta agreed, saying the development of younger players has helped fill the void of the established names who have left Penrith in reason seasons. Those younger names are now so strong they are bolstering the continuity within the side, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only early in the season but they\u2019re streets ahead of everyone and the systems they have are incredible. The defence, speed of the line, wrestle, set pieces \u2013 it\u2019s crazy,\u201d Anasta told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put it down to having that core group for a long time, which is the secret of their success. And then you have the young guys who are coming through and really flourished to really feel the void of the ones they\u2019ve lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Cleary, once again it will be the Storm that provides the best gauge on whether Penrith\u2019s improved defence, and renewed mindset are legitimate \u2013 particularly with the looming threat of electric fullback Sua Fa\u2019alogo in attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll do our homework on the way they play. We\u2019re pretty well versed on their key players through their spine, which is just unbelievable. Now they\u2019ve got their young fella at the back, who\u2019s just very hard to handle,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll just have to concentrate on the things that we value and generally do each week.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Cleary\u2019s eyes, all pressure and focus this week is back on Melbourne, a side staring at their first three-game losing streak since 2022.<\/p>\n
In flipping the script, Cleary once again silences the noise. Rugby league is a funny game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rugby league is a funny game. There\u2019s a laundry list of different statistics and analysis to support why…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-361425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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