The Storm delayed the Panthers dynasty and now they also have the chance to end it early — but not if Nathan Cleary has anything to say about it.
Penrith had won 17 straight games heading into the 2020 grand final but at the big dance they were upstaged by Melbourne 26-20.
It was a classic example of the experienced veterans giving the young bucks a lesson on the biggest stage.
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The Panthers have been the competition’s benchmark since that fateful night, winning the past two premierships.
Ivan Cleary’s sides might have been the most consistent team for the past two years, but over the past two decades that title belongs to Craig Bellamy.
The Storm have missed finals just once since Bellamy took over in 2003 — when they couldn’t play for points in 2010 as part of their punishment for rorting the salary cap.
Incredibly, salary cap season aside, they’ve missed the top four just twice since 2006 and Friday night will be their eighth preliminary final in nine seasons.
Melbourne have been uncharacteristically inconsistent this season but once again they finished in the top four and are only 80 minutes away from the grand final.
Penrith are on the cusp of rugby league immortality, trying to become the first club to win three straight titles in 40 years.
But Panthers great Greg Alexander has warned his club to beware of the wounded beast.
“Write off Melbourne at your peril,” Alexander told foxsports.com.au.
“They’ve been un-Melbourne-like more than I’ve ever seen this year, but how can you ever count out Cameron Munster, Jarome Hughes and Harry Grant?
“How can you ever be complacent against those three players? I don’t think you can and then if they’re good that brings everyone else around them into the game, Eli Katoa, Trent Loiero, Nick Meaney, the outside backs come into the game.
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“So if those three can be good for Melbourne then all of a sudden it’s game on.”
Mal Meninga believes Penrith co-captains Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, who he coaches in the Kangaroos, can steer their side that’s full of “swagger” to the promised land.
“Swagger and confidence also come with humility,” Meninga told foxsports.com.au.
“Nathan and Isaah talk about belief in their systems and their own game and each other’s game.
“They’ve got stability amongst their core guys too. Everyone has pretty much re-signed and now they’re trying to keep Jarome (Luai).
“That’s a strong core of players and you just keep building around them all the time and that’s how the most successful teams in history have done it.”
Meninga was part of the golden era at the Raiders, when the club played in five grand finals between 1987 and 1994 and won three premierships.
The Canberra legend said the Green Machine’s success was built on keeping their core players together — a blueprint that Melbourne and Penrith have followed.
“We had ups and downs, they brought in the salary cap and that broke us up we they kept the core guys and built a successful team around it and that’s how you have sustainable success,” Meninga said.
“Melbourne built their dynasty on their four guys. Inglis had to leave and they still went alright, Cooper left and they still went alright. So it’s how you build your roster around your core players.
“And those core players have to live and breathe the culture and the standards of the club and they become really strong leaders who everyone looks up to, they lead by example and influence others.
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“That’s how you build a dynasty. Confidence is great but you’ve also got to show the way and you do that through humility.”
Storm No. 6 Cameron Munster is a proven big-game player against Cleary, outshining his rival half in the Origin arena in recent years.
But legendary halfback Andrew Johns believes Cleary will get the better of Munster to book his fourth straight grand final berth.
“The match-up between Cleary and Munster might be worth the price of admission alone, nevertheless I’m expecting a low-scoring game. And it’s a game the Panthers will win,” Johns wrote in The SMH.
“It’s clear something is not right with their attack, and if Jahrome Hughes doesn’t play against Penrith, I can see Melbourne having a score put on them. He just has to play if they are any chance.
“What I will say is, like always, defence is the pillar of their game and the reason why Craig Bellamy’s sides can go so deep in a competition, even when they’re struggling on the other side of the ball.
“Having said that, I can’t see the Panthers being beaten on Friday night. I think it will become clear in the two preliminary finals why having a week off is so important.
“They won’t let up against the Storm and there will barely be a play where the Panthers have a settler. Their combinations have been entrenched for years. You can cut and print what I’ve been saying about them for a long time.”