Penrith Panthers

Varied Penrith teams had played for many years between 1912 and 1966 in the Western Districts League under the control of the Western Suburbs RLFC. In the Parramatta competition after Parramatta was admitted to the NSWRL in 1947, and also in a second-tier Sydney competition introduced by the NSWRL in 1962. By this time a single top level rugby league team had emerged in the Penrith area and in 1964 they became known as the Penrith Panthers. The Panther had been chosen as the Penrith emblem after a public competition won by a graphic artist from Emu Plains named Deidre Copeland.

In 1966 word was out that the New South Wales Rugby League in 1967 would introduce two new teams to the Sydney premiership. There were three teams vying for the two proposed slots, Penrith, Cronulla-Sutherland, and the Wentworthville Magpies. Cronulla-Sutherland had been assured of one place, leaving Penrith and Wentworthville to fight it out for the other place. The NSWRL eventually settled on Penrith due to their location and a win in the 1966 Second Division title.

After admission to the competition in 1967, they promptly came second last on the competition ladder. Hopes were raised in 1968 under new Captain-Coach Bob Boland when they won the pre-season competition and finished 8th, but this improvement proved to be short lived.

Penrith had trouble attracting the sort of experienced players they knew they needed, and although they always had good junior talent coming through, they did not get the on-field leadership they needed. Penrith needed to wait until they could develop their own 'stars'. They consequently struggled for almost 20 years before finally reaching their first finals series in 1985 with a team boasting new local star Greg Alexander and captained by Royce Simmons.

Penrith developed a strong team in the late 80s and started to build momentum. They made their first Grand Final appearance in 1990 with a team boasting notable players the likes of Greg Alexander, John Cartwright, Brad Fittler and Mark Geyer only to be beaten by the Canberra Raiders 18–14. The next year the Panthers met the Raiders again in the Grand Final, this time winning 19 to 12, including two tries by Royce Simmons the former team captain in his last game. They went on to play Wigan in England for the 1991 World Club Challenge but were beaten by the British champions 21–4.[2]

Their reign was short lived as in 1992 tragedy struck the club when the younger brother of Captain Greg Alexander, Ben, died in a car accident. Greg and close family friends Mark Geyer and Brad Fittler left the club soon after (Fittler left after the 1995 season as Penrith had signed with Super League) as well as coach Phil Gould left midway through the 1994 season.

Penrith were coached by former player and club captain Royce Simmons starting with the last six games in 1994 until the end of 2001.

They made the finals during the 1997 Super League season and then again in 2000 in the re-united NRL competition where they were defeated 28-10 by the Parramatta Eels in the elimination semi-final.

In the 2001 NRL season, Penrith came last on the competition ladder. The same year was Royce Simmons' last season as coach for Penrith, and he was replaced by John Lang from Cronulla in 2002, where they finished 12th. Their last game of 2002 showed hope as they proceeded to thrash the Northern Eagles, knocking them out of the final eight.

This showed the promise that was to come the next year and we all hoped Stu would go away. With the signing of Preston Campbell and Joe Galuvao, their side fired in 2003. Coming off 3 early season losses, they proceeded to lose only 3 other games for the rest of the competition with the local hero, Rhys Wesser scoring a new club record 25 tries. Penrith finished as Minor Premiers after convincingly accounting for the Parramatta Eels in the last round of competition. In the Finals series Penrith beat the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors to reach the 2003 NRL Grand Final ..Entering the match as underdogs, Penrith defeated the Roosters 18–6, with winger Luke Rooney scoring two tries. Hooker Luke Priddis received the Clive Churchill Medal. The game is also remembered for a spectacular tackle by Scott Sattler in the 2nd Half, where he ran down and tackled Roosters winger Todd Byrne, who was sprinting down the left wing for an almost certain try. Penrith lost the 2004 World Club Challenge in the following pre-season, with the Bradford Bulls defeating them 22–4 in sub-zero temperatures.[3] The Panthers did however rally after that loss and once again qualified for the NRL semi-final series by finishing fourth and defeating St George in the first week of the semi-finals before being knocked out by the Bulldogs in the Grand Final qualifier two weeks later.

Penrith then just failed to qualify for the Top 8 in 2005 finishing two points out and in 10th spot on percentages. They endured another below-par season in 2006 this time falling well short of the finals finishing the year in 12th position. The 2007 season turned out to be a poor one for the Panthers, they won only eight games, finished last and "won" the wooden-spoon for the second time in six years after losing to the New Zealand Warriors in the last round of the regular season competition.

In 2008, Penrith improved four spots on their 2007 performance by finishing in 12th spot out of 16 teams in the NRL competition with 10 wins, one draw and 13 losses. In 2009 they finished the season in 11th spot out of 16 teams in the NRL competition with 11 wins, one draw and 12 losses.

In 2010, Penrith had an excellent season, finishing in 2nd place in the ladder out of the 16 teams, with 16 wins and 9 losses. However, in the first round of the Finals series, they lost 24-22 at home to the Canberra Raiders and were knocked out in the second round when they lost 34:12 to the Sydney Roosters.

Michael Gordon played very well in that year, setting two new club records. In round 24, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, he set a new club record for most points scored in one game: 30. By the end of the final game of the regular season, game 24, round 26, he had also set a new club record for the most points scored in one season at 270.

After a 2010 season where the club went above and beyond expectations, they were looking to starting the new season on a high. It wasn't to be, however, when they were thumped by Newcastle at the newly named Centrebet Stadium, 42-8. While round 2 went a lot better for the team, beating rivals the Eels at Parramatta Stadium 20-6, the year was marked by inconsistency as they finished 12th on the ladder.

In 2011, following another terrible start to the season, the Penrith board decided to sever ties with coach Matthew Elliot at season's end. On 20 June 2011 he stepped down as coach and that same day Steve Georgallis was appointed caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. On 29 June Ivan Cleary was announced as coach for the next 3 seasons, with Georgallis staying as assistant coach for the remainder of the season.

2012 was again a disappointing year for Penrith, finishing second last with an 8-16 record. However, the club discovered some new talent in the form of winger Josh Mansour, a candidate for Rookie of the Year, as well as fullback Lachlan Coote's successful move to five-eighth.

2013 began poorly for the Penrith; after a first up win against the Canberra Raiders, they went on to lose their next five games. However, a more inspired performance against the Parramatta Eels in round 7, where they won 44-12, was a trigger for a strong run; four wins from five games to see Penrith move into the top eight of the competition. The four wins included a 12-10 victory over the reigning premiers, Melbourne Storm, and a 64-6 thrashing of the New Zealand Warriors. However, after a year with mixed results, Penrith finished in tenth position, one win out of the top eight. At the end of the season, the likes of Luke Walsh, Lachlan Coote, Mose Masoe and Brad Tighe departed.

A playing roster overhaul saw the arrival of big name players such as Jamie Soward, Peter Wallace, Jamal Idris, Tyrone Peachey and Elijah Taylor at Penrith, while Matt Moylan took the vacant fullback role left by the departed Lachlan Coote.

The 2014 NRL season was a good year for Penrith as they qualified for the finals and made it to the preliminary final before losing to Canterbury 18-12.[4]

In the 2015 NRL season, Penrith endured a horror year on the field finishing second last. Penrith defeated bottom placed Newcastle in the final game of the season to avoid the wooden spoon.[5]

The Penrith Panthers celebrated their 50th year in the NRL in 2016.

In 2017, Penrith finished 7th on the NRL Premiership table and qualified for the finals. Penrith defeated Manly in week one of the finals 22-10 and then were defeated by Brisbane the following week 13-6 at Suncorp Stadium thus eliminating them from the competition.[6][7] The Penrith reserve grade side fared much better, firstly winning the Intrust Super Premiership by defeating Wyong 20-12 and then defeating the PNG Hunters the following week in the NRL State Championship final 42-18.[8][9]

In 2018, Penrith finished 5th on the table at the end of the regular season during which coach Anthony Griffin was sacked four weeks before the finals series after falling out with Phil Gould. Griffin was then replaced by Cameron Ciraldo for the remainder of the season. In week one of the finals, Penrith easily accounted for the New Zealand Warriors to set up a clash with Cronulla. Although both clubs were admitted into the competition in 1967 this would provide the first meeting between the two clubs in a finals match. In a tight game, Cronulla defeated Penrith 21-20 ending their season.[10][11]

Before the commencement of the 2019 NRL season, Penrith were predicted by many to challenge for the premiership and reach the finals. Penrith got off to a bad start with the club winning only 2 of their first 10 matches leaving the team bottom of the table. Penrith would then go on to win their next 7 games in a row leaving them just outside the finals places. In a must win game against the Sydney Roosters in round 24, Penrith lost the match 22-6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground which meant that the club would miss out on the finals series for the first time since 2015.[12]

Penrith started the 2020 NRL season with three wins and a draw before suffering a 16-10 loss to Parramatta. The club then went on a 15-game unbeaten run to claim the 2020 Minor Premiership, only the third time in the club's history they had achieved this feat.[13]

Penrith would go on to reach the 2020 NRL Grand Final after going 17 games unbeaten throughout the year and in the finals. The opponents in the grand final were Melbourne who raced out to a 22-0 lead at half-time. Penrith came back in the second half of the game but lost the grand final 26-20 at ANZ Stadium.[14]

Throughout their history, the Panthers have gone through 10 major sponsors (These sponsors appear on the chest of the jersey).

• FEENEY (1977)
• Alpha Micro (1984–85)
• Radio 2KA (1986–87)
• Penrith City (1988)
• Calphos (1989)
• Dahdah Uniforms (1990-1993)
• Prospect Electricity (1994-1995)
• Classifieds (1996)
• Sanyo (2000-2011)
• OAK Milk (2012–present)

• Peerless Sports (19??-1996)
• Nike (1997-1998)
• Classic Sportswear (1999-2003)
• ISC (2004-2012)
• Asics (2013-2017)
• Classic Sportswear (2018-2019)
• O'Neills (2020-present)

• Penrith Panthers Logos
• 
  1979–1990
• 
  1991–1999
• 
  2000-2012
• 
  2013–2018
• 
  2019–present

Penrith's uniform colours in the 1966 NSWRL Second Division and earlier years were blue and white but due to the Cronulla-Sutherland side registering a predominantly blue jersey design first, and with Newtown, Canterbury, Eastern Suburbs and Parramatta also displaying various shades of blue, Penrith went in search of an alternative. A decision was made to change their colours to Brown with a white V.[15] This decision subsequently earned them the affectionate name of the "Chocolate Soldiers" thanks to radio commentator Frank Hyde who wrote in the Penrith Club journal "these chocolate soldiers from out west – they don't melt!".

The team had been referred to as the 'Panthers' as early as 1970.[16]

In 1974 Penrith changed their strip to a jerseys with brown and white vertical bars and again in 1991 they changed the colours to Black with White, Red, Yellow and Green stripes (drawing another confectionery-related nickname, the Liquorice Allsorts) until 1997 when Super League had all new jerseys made by Nike. The yellow was all but removed from the jersey at this stage. Then in 2000 they changed the colours once more to Black, Rust red, Teal green and White. In 2004 the design of the jersey changed once more to its current design. On Thursday, 23 November 2006 the club launched a new 'alternate/away' jersey predominately white in colour as a stark contrast to its main design.

Just before Christmas 2007 the Panthers launched a new 'home' jersey which is predominately black with light grey claw marks on either side at the front and back. For Season 2010, the Panthers have launched a new predominantly teal away jersey, this teal jersey connect with the away jersey from their 03 and 04 season's. With their official colours still Black, Teal green and rust red the alternate jersey was chosen to represent their secondary colour. The inception of Teal into the colour palet of Panthers links directly back to the unique colour their 2nd division jerseys had before brown and white.

In late October, 2010, the Panthers announced that rust would no longer be a secondary colour for the club. A new jersey was also launched, black with grey claw marks on either side. The club's teal jersey was also scratched in Round 4, 2011, when a new white jersey with grey claw marks and teal and black stripes was announced the club's new alternate jersey.

For the 2014 season the Panthers wore a redesigned black home jersey while the white away jersey prominently displays the new club logo. The Pink Jersey was also retained as a 3rd alternate strip, and used for Women in League and Breast Cancer Awareness rounds, or when both strips would clash with the opposing side. There was also a special Indigenous Jersey, worn in round 23 for the Indigenous Awareness round.

The Penrith Panthers unveiled a 50th anniversary logo to be used in 2016.[17]

In 2017, Penrith decided to revert to their Liquorice Allsorts jersey from The 1990s. The club had asked the fans in 2016 what jersey design they wanted and the majority voted for a return of the jersey the club won its first premiership in. Panthers executive general manager Phil Gould said "This is the jersey you wanted, We will respect our past as we set about creating our future – and this is the jersey that will carry us forward, You know in 50 years here at Panthers we’ve had over 50 jerseys, Now wouldn’t it be nice to have just one jersey for the next 50 years? I don’t know if that is possible but this is where we need to start".[18]

Following their elimination from the 2018 finals, on 26 September 2018, the Panthers introduced a re-coloured logo to take effect in 2019.[19] The Panthers have now completely ditched teal and brought back the 'Liquorice Allsorts' colour scheme that has already featured in their jerseys since 2017.

Aerial photograph of the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club complex, in Penrith

The Penrith Panthers Rugby League Football Club is the major financier the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club (of the Panthers Entertainment Group).

The Panthers Entertainment Group has 6 licensed club sites in NSW – Penrith, Port Macquarie, Bathurst, North Richmond, Glenbrook and Wallacia. The clubs cater for a wide range of activities for members, their families and guests.

There have been 19 coaches of the Panthers since their first season in 1967. The current coach is Ivan Cleary.

• Most points in a match: 34 by Nathan Cleary in Round 25, 2019 NRL season.
• Largest win: 72-12 against Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, 7 August 2004

Notable fans

• Jason Arnberger, Australian Cricketer[23]
• Stuart Ayres, Australian politician
• Jordie Barrett, New Zealand Rugby Union player
• Mirco Bergamasco, Italian Rugby Union player
• Nathan Bracken, Australian Cricketer[23]
• Tim Cahill, Australian Soccer player
• James Courtney, Supercars driver[24]
• Darren Criss, American Actor and Singer
• Pat Cummins, Australian Cricketer[25]
• Anton Devcich, New Zealand Cricketer[26]
• Jason Dundas, Australian Television Presenter and Actor
• Mick Fanning, Australian professional surfer[27]
• Kurt Fearnley, Paralympic wheelchair racer[23]
• Jessica Fox, Australian Canoeist
• Tim Gilbert, Australian Journalist
• Rhyan Grant, Australian Soccer player
• Paige Hadley, Australian Netball player
• Michael Hartley, Australian Rules Footballer
• John Hastings, Australian Cricketer[23]
• Joe Jonas, American Singer and Songwriter
• Du'Plessis Kirifi, New Zealand Rugby Union
• Robbie Kruse, Australian Soccer player
• Melissa McIntosh, Australian politician
• Matthew Nielsen, Olympic basketball player[28]
• Tyson Pedro, Australian Mixed Martial Artist
• Kyah Simon, Australian Female Soccer player
• Jake Stein, Australian Rules Footballer
• Tai Tuivasa, Australian Mixed Martial Artist
• Alan Whiticker Australian non-fiction author
• Danny Vuković, Australian Soccer player
• Leonardo Zappavigna, Australian professional boxer[24]

• The blue highlight denotes when the Panthers finished at the top of the NRL ladder

• Collis, Ian & Whiticker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. New Holland Publishers (Australia). Frenchs Forest, New South Wales. p. 400. ISBN 1-74110-075-5.

• Official Penrith Panthers Web Site
• Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM Broadcaster of Penrith Panthers games
• Penrith Panthers History at yesterdayshero.com.au