The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based 55 km (34 mi) west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith are the current reigning NRL Premiers, having won the title six times, including the last four times consecutively.
Ivan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season ten teams from New South Wales, two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach.
The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusion of a new team, the Gold Coast Titans, the competition was the largest run since the 1999 NRL season.
The 2011 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors on the afternoon of Sunday, 2 October, and it was the first time the two sides have met in a grand final. Manly won the match, 24–10, for the club's eighth premiership.
Isaah Patrick Ferguson-Yeo is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and second-row forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest locks in NRL history. He currently is co captain of the Penrith Panthers, Vice captain of the New South Wales Blues and is the captain of the Australian Kangaroos.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL) and New Zealand at international level.
Nathan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League and Australia at international level. He won the Clive Churchill Medal in 2021 and 2023 as well as Dally M Halfback of the year in 2020 and 2021. As co-captain, Cleary also led the Penrith Panthers to 5 consecutive grand final appearances, including four consecutive premiership wins from 2021 to 2024. He is considered one of the best halfbacks of all time.
Justin Olam is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wests Tigers in the NRL and Papua New Guinea at international level.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020.
Brian To'o is an Australian and Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Melbourne Storm. Melbourne led the game 22-0 at half-time before holding off a late Penrith comeback to win 26-20, claiming their fourth premiership title. Melbourne fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the official man of the match. The match was attended by 37,303 spectators due to an enforced limit to stadium capacity by the NSW government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The game would be the last for Melbourne hooker and captain Cameron Smith after announcing his retirement in the following year, making him the most-capped player in the NRL with 430 games, and the most for a single club.
The 2021 Penrith Panthers season is the 55th season in the club's history. Coached by Ivan Cleary and co-captained by Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, the Panthers are competing in the National Rugby League's 2021 Telstra Premiership. After the Panthers round 2 victory against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs the Panthers become the first team in NRL history to win the opening two rounds holding the opposition to nil as well as the first team to hold the opposition to nil in three regular season games in a row. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Bluebet stadium was reduced to a capacity of 14,077 in rounds 1 and 3; after this in round 5 further lifting of restrictions meant that a crowd of 20,890 would be allowed into the stadium. This large crowd, however, was short-lived as Panthers misunderstood the new COVID restrictions, meaning tickets for the hills were oversold. From round 7 onwards the new capacity would be 16,110 until restrictions eased further. After round 12 was completed, the NSW and Queensland state of origin sides were announced for game one, where a record 7 Panthers were selected to represent their state. As a consequence, in round 13 Penrith would have to play without 7 of their stars and 3 debutants for the club. After 27 straight regular season wins and 12 straight to start the season, the win streak was broken, losing 26–6 against rivals the Wests Tigers. Penrith finished second overall at the end of the regular season and went on to play South Sydney in the first week of the finals series. They would go on to lose 10 – 16 but after wins against the Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm they would set up a rematch against the Rabbitohs. In the grand final Penrith were the eventual Premiers winning 14 – 12, their third title and first since 2003.
The 2021 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2021 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday 3 October at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Penrith won the match 14–12 to claim their third premiership title, and their first since 2003. Penrith co-captain and halfback Nathan Cleary was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the official man of the match.
The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were both the defending premiers and minor premiers, won the match 28–12 to claim their fourth premiership title, and their first back-to-back premierships in the club's 56-year history. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match.
The 2023 Melbourne Storm season was the 26th in the club's history, competing in the 2023 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 21st consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were captained by Christian Welch who was captain for the second consecutive season.
The 2023 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2023 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday the 1st of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were the two-time defending premiers and the defending minor premiers, won the match 26–24 to claim their fifth premiership title, and became the first club in forty years to win three consecutive first-grade premierships, following the Parramatta Eels' three-peat from 1981 to 1983. Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary, who scored the winning try for his team, was awarded his second Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match. The match gained significant notability for featuring the largest comeback victory in grand final history, with the Panthers overcoming a 24–8 deficit after 56 minutes by scoring 18 unanswered points to ultimately win the match.
The 2024 Melbourne Storm season was the 27th in the club's history, competing in the 2024 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for a 22nd consecutive season. Melbourne Storm appointed a new captain for the season, as Harry Grant replaced Christian Welch.
The 2024 Penrith Panthers season was the 58th season in the club's history. They were Coached by Ivan Cleary and co-captained by Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, the Panthers were competing in the National Rugby League's 2024 Telstra Premiership. The Panthers won the 2024 Premiership by defeating the Melbourne Storm in the Final (14–6). This marked their 4th Premiership in a row.
Lazarus Vaalepu is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL.
