I believe the Panthers already had a design put together for such a thing recently. You might ask… “Memorial”? They aren’t dead…
Maybe so… but their journalistic careers have been dead for sometime now.
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BRAD DREW SAYS: "PANTHER PRIDE"
Whilst wondering what to write in this week’s column, I came across an article from Daily Telegraph scribe, Paul Kent.
Kent wrote about the Penrith Panthers being the NRL’s ugliest brand and lacking class. He referred to the Coach Ivan Cleary as
“Not-So-Cerebral”. He then went on to criticise Cleary’s 400 game coaching career. Kent was being his usual negative self.
I could have ignored him, but these disputatious comments needed refuting.
Before I go on, I declare that I am a former Panthers player and I am currently on the coaching staff.
But that means I get to see the Panthers culture from the inside. I know the system and the club very well.
Kent was also a player. He had one first grade match for Parramatta in 1989. Although that has apparently made him a league expert, I don’t think the Panthers are seeking his advice on anything to do with footy or their brand.
The Panthers are the NRL benchmark for many reasons.
They are professionally managed at all levels. From Group Chief Executive Brian Fletcher right through to the bar staff at North Richmond, the Panthers are a well drilled, tight unit.
They have a strong board, a profitable club and they reinvest in their sport and their community.
They continue to support the current and future NRL generations.
The footy team has a predominantly home-grown roster and over 50 former players in rival teams in NRL and Super League had a start at Penrith.
Did you know that Damien Cook, Matt Burton, Maika Sivo, Wade Graham and even Joseph Suailli started in the Penrith system? They are just some of the long list who have had good careers because of the Panthers setup.
Current first graders like Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Brian To’o have been supported and nurtured since they were 14 or 15 years old. That creates loyalty.
Over 9,000 players are in the Panthers Juniors. It is the largest Rugby League nursery nationally and it is growing.
There are 22 local rugby league clubs that play over 5,000 games every season through 445 junior teams and 90 senior teams.
The amount of locals that are employed weekly in the organisation is huge. So many families survive each week from wages from the Panthers Club.
Their entire setup then entrench themselves in the local community
Initiatives such as ‘Panthers on the Prowl’ has supported over 25,000 children educationally since 2000.
As a local, I see the Panthers jersey every day on men, women and children.
Mr Kent, I don’t see the Panthers having a branding issue in Penrith, Hawkesbury, Blacktown or the Blue Mountains.
There is such pride in being a Panther. It is everywhere.
This team matters to our area and this continues to grow because the community matters to the team.
To be honest, Kent’s comments aren’t taken too seriously by those who played more than 80 minutes.
The Panthers and the local community will keep enjoying the benefits of being successful. Kent can watch and report from the sidelines.
My tips this week are: Roosters, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Panthers, Broncos, Titans, Warriors, Eels.
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0-3 so far in the tipping department. Dang! I was feeling confident about tonight’s game til I read the article.
Yeah, I was thinking of cutting that part of the article out.
On the positive side I’m 2/3 & tipped Panthers
Panthers boss, Yeo slam bitter Fox hunt
Danny Weidler | Sydney Morning Herald | April 9, 2023
Fletcher was angry about the attacks on head coach Ivan Cleary in particular. The implication is that the coach lacks class.
“The focus should be on the opposing coach after we thrash them, not ours, but that’s not how things play out,” Fletcher said. “As a club, we can’t just sit back and let this go on. It all started a few years ago when there was an article about how strong the Raiders’ reserve grade team was and we smashed them. Then they came out and called our players mug lairs. And now the attacks continue. The latest was the stuff with Jaeman [Salmon].
“To say, as some have on Fox, that parents shouldn’t send their kids to Penrith is just outrageous. That’s an insult to good people like Kevin Kingston, Joe Galuvao and Glen Liddiard, who work in that area. They say things that attack everything this club stands for and then expect us to play ball and put people on their shows. It’s not on and we have a duty to explore every area to protect our club against the rubbish that is said.”
Yeo is proud of the culture at the club and says it is respected throughout the game.
“I know the feedback we get, not just from Penrith supporters but the supporters of other teams, about how much we do for the community, and how good we are after games getting around and seeing the fans,” Yeo said.
“When you’re getting feedback like that, your culture has to be strong. You can see it after games – the Panthers players are the last ones out on the field, signing things for the fans, particularly after losses. If you look at that on its own, you can see how strong our culture is.
“Looking at our cultural showcase the other night, and the amount of people we had there – from Harold Matthews to first grade – that shows a strong culture from the bottom to the top.
“We’re good people and do great work in the community. And once you know that, other people’s comments don’t matter. There are going to be certain people in the media who are going to make comments, but we understand who we are. We’re proud of what we do. We know what we bring to the competition and we understand the work we do in the community.”
SOURCE
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While I agree with Slothfield’s first point about players waving their arms around trying to get a penalty, I think he is way off on his other points.
Players aren’t robots. They should celebrate their successes, and I don’t have a problem with them having a chat & a laugh with a mate from the opposition after the game is over.
Slothfield must be the most boring person to be around if he has an issue with these things.
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A funny read from the Betoota Advocate. 
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I was just about to post this.
God bless Betoota.
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I’m just surprised they didn’t have Dylan Walker scoring the 5 tries
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Well he isn’t wrong. People need to accept there needs to be a loser in every competition.
To quote one of my coaches in my junior footy “You will learn more from your losses than your victories. Failing is a vital part of success”
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He’s also right about the allocation of points for byes. Regardless of wether you get 0, 1, 2 or 3,248 points for a bye, at the end of the season it sorts itself out. As far as I’m aware, we are the only major sport that awards points for the bye. Might be others though.
Just the convoluted solutions to this “problem”. I mean if what is expressed by Rothfield’s Big Idea (I amuses me that anything he dribbles is considered an idea) in this picture is what is the solution (which in my opinion is not an opinion at all) then we may has well go back to calling it a draw at full time and splitting the points.
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I’ve just run through how the ladder would look in each case they have put forward (not including points differential).
CURRENT LADDER
Broncos 12
Panthers 10
Warriors 10
Sea Eagles 9
Rabbitohs 8
Sharks 8
Storm 8
Dolphins 8
Roosters 8
Titans 8
Knights 7
Eels 6
Dragons 6
Raiders 6
Bulldogs 6
Cowboys 4
Tigers 2
NO GOLDEN POINT
Broncos 12
Panthers 10
Sea Eagles 10
Warriors 10
Roosters 8
Dolphins 8
Titans 8
Knights 8
Sharks 8
Eels 8
Storm 7
Rabbitohs 7
Dragons 6
Raiders 6
Bulldogs 5
Cowboys 5
Tigers 2
1 POINT FOR GOLDEN POINT LOSER
Broncos 12
Panthers 11
Sea Eagles 10
Warriors 10
Eels 9
Roosters 8
Dolphins 8
Storm 8
Titans 8
Knights 8
Rabbitohs 8
Sharks 8
Dragons 6
Bulldogs 6
Raiders 6
Cowboys 5
Tigers 2
BUZZ’S IDEA
Broncos 24
Panthers 20
Warriors 20
Sea Eagles 19
Roosters 16
Dolphins 16
Titans 16
Sharks 16
Storm 15
Knights 15
Rabbitohs 15
Dragons 12
Raiders 12
Eels 12
Bulldogs 11
Cowboys 9
Tigers 4
Overall not too much difference, although the Rabbitohs seem to be lower in each case.
I’ve never been much of a fan of golden point. Even in finals, I’d rather see 5 or 10 minutes each way. If the game is still tied at the end of that time, sound a siren, but keep playing until first score.
I don’t like the idea of a point for golden point losers.
I had actually thought about Buzz’s idea several years ago. I think there is some merit in it, but not sure it is the right way to go.
Just ditch Golden Point. If the scores are locked up at full time, split the points and move on.
Keep Extra time for games that need to have a Winner/Loser outcome. Rugby League made it 95 years without needing “Golden Point” and it will be fine if we scrapped it.
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Steve, I agree 100 per cent.
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