That looks like a good article, Mutley. Would you be able to past a higher resolution copy - I can’t quite make out the writing. Thanks.
Unfortunately I just took a copy of a photo my mate posted on Facebook. If I can find a free link to the article online I will post it later (about to go into a seminar)
I find that if I click on the photo, I am then able to zoom in to read the text
With us now qualifying for our 4th consecutive Grand Final, I thought I’d run an eye over other teams who have achieved this (or greater) in the past:
Souths 1926-9 (would have had 1923-9 if a final had been played in 1925). Won 1926-9 (and 1925 as minor premiers).
*Easts 1934-6 (would have had 1934-8 if a final had been played in 1937). Won 1935-7.
Balmain 1944-8. Won 1944 & 1946-7.
Souths 1949-55. Won 1950-1 & 1953-5.
St George 1956-66. Won 1956-66.
Souths 1967-71. Won 1967-8 & 1970-1.
Parramatta 1981-4. Won 1981-3
Melbourne 2006-9. Won 2007 & 2009. (Premierships later stripped due to salary cap rorting).
Penrith 2020-3. Won 2021-3**
*Would have achieved 4 in a row if final had been played in 1937
** EDIT: Result no longer pending
This time last year we joined an exclusive club of back to back premiers. Tonight we have joined an even more exclusive club of teams who have won 3 or more in a row:
Easts 1911-3
Balmain 1915-7
Souths 1925-9
Easts 1935-7
Souths 1953-5
St George 1956-66
Parramatta 1981-3
Penrith 2021-3
NRL by numbers in 2023! (Only those related to Great Panthers)
99… 1999 that is. The year the Storm came from 14 points down to defeat the Dragons in the NRL grand final. The biggest comeback ever in a grand final until Penrith recovered from 16 behind to beat the Broncos.
97… Percent. The Panthers’ outrageous completion rate in trying conditions in the grand final. The champs completed 37 of 38 sets in the big one.
95… Fantasy points for Panthers supremo Nathan Cleary in the grand final. The next best Panther was James Fisher-Harris with 54 points while Payne Haas led the way for the Broncos with 78 points.
84… Wins for Stephen Crichton in his 100 games with the Panthers. A stunning strike rate as he now heads on to the Bulldogs.
83… Career games for Panthers rake Mitch Kenny with just the two tries – the first in Round 5, 2022 against the Bulldogs and the second on a slightly bigger stage in the 2023 grand final against the Broncos.
82… Percent. The Broncos’ completion rate in their preliminary final demolition of the Warriors before that dropped to just 71 percent in the decider against the Panthers.
79… Runs between them for Penrith’s starting forward pack in the grand final, James Fisher-Harris leading the way with 20, closely followed by Isaah Yeo on 19. The Broncos’ starting six had 61 runs.
75… Number of games Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards has won during the past four seasons after winning just 28 across his first four seasons at the club.
67… Minutes into the grand final when Stephen Crichton crossed for the Panthers - the fourth consecutive grand final he had scored a try.
61… Missed tackles by the Panthers in the grand final.
57…Years since the mighty St George juggernaut won the last of their 11 straight premierships. The Panthers go in search of four in a row in 2024.
53… Total errors made by dynamic Broncos fullback Reece Walsh. That number was eight more than the next worst offender, Dom Young.
34… Points conceded by the Panthers across their three finals games, just two more than they gave up in the 2022 finals.
27… Runs by Dylan Edwards in the grand final as the Panthers No.1 again stamped his class on the biggest game of the year. Edwards ran for 306 metres, topping the 291 metres he accumulated in the 2022 decider when he took home the Clive Churchill Medal.
17… Years since the Broncos won a premiership. That’s how many minutes were left when Moses Leota scored and the tide started to turn.
15… Number of short dropouts by Broncos halfback Adam Reynolds in 2023. The veteran No.7 would like at least two of those back after they led to a simple Panthers try in the 18th minute of the grand final and another two points in the 30th minute when he put it out on the full.
3… Number of players that have won the coveted Clive Churchill Medal twice, with Nathan Cleary joining Canberra’s Brad Clyde (1989 and 1991) and Melbourne’s Billy Slater (2009 and 2017) as the only two-time winners.
It’s hard to compare eras, but at the same time it is hard to argue with this article. Having already done a lot of research into this, I’d say it’s pretty much spot on with its rankings.
By grand final day next year we will have been champions for well over 1,000 days.
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