If we assume that Penrith are not going to threaten St George’s world record run of eleven straight premierships – if – then the best this current team can ever be is the second greatest side of all time.
A fourth straight grand final win this Sunday, if they can topple Melbourne, would put the Panthers in the rarest of air as only the third team in the 117-year history of the competition to achieve the feat.
The definition of a dynasty is somewhat open to interpretation but whichever way you look at it, Penrith have already enjoyed tremendous success but could enter a whole new realm if they can go forth for a fourth title.
Perhaps as high as the third-best team since 1908.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was asked about whether he thinks they are in the midst of a dynasty after Saturday night’s preliminary final win over Cronulla and he was unsure how to respond.
“I get what a dynasty is but I don’t know the definition,” he said.
“We want to be consistent, we want to be a team that our community is proud of and we want to win. It’s a never-ending goal and challenge.”
For the sake of this exercise, a dynasty team is one that has registered at least three titles in a row. Or a team that won more than three at a rate greater than one every second year.
Therefore, the Sea Eagles of the 1970s scrape in because they won four in seven years but Canterbury the following decade do not qualify because the Entertainers/Dogs of War took nine years to collect their four trophies.
Going by this criteria of a hat-trick or four-plus titles while winning more years than you lost, there are 11 sides that can claim dynasty status.
Eastern Suburbs’ 1911-13 treble powered by Dally Messenger and Balmain snaring four out of five from 1915-1920 with the legendary Arthur “Pony” Holloway in the coaching saddle were early dynasties when the competition was finding its feet.
Nathan Cleary. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Souths won five in a row and made it seven out of eight from 1925-32 during prolific try scorer Benny Wearing’s heyday.
Eastern Suburbs’ hat-trick 1935-37 – with Immortal Dave Brown setting point-scoring records that may never be broken – is revered as being among the most dominant of any era even though it was relatively short-lived, although they did kinda extend their dynasty with another title in 1940.
The Little Master Clive Churchill propelled Souths to five out of six titles in 1950-55 prior to St George’s “never before, never again” domination from 1956-66 with Immortals John Raper, Norm Provan, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlanda and a galaxy of stars proving invincible for more than a decade.
Souths won four from five 1967-71 when the Saints’ unprecedented era finally ended with Churchill now the master from the coach’s chair guiding a team containing Ron Coote, John Sattler, Bob McCarthy and Eric Simms.
The current Panthers are the first club since South Sydney’s streak ended 53 years ago to make five straight grand finals.
The Roosters of the mid 1970s are considered one of the most memorable teams in premiership history but they were a shooting star rather than a dynasty with a title drought close to three decades preceding and following those back-to-back triumphs.
Manly, with another Immortal in Bob Fulton the driving force, can claim team of the decade status by snaring four in seven seasons from 1972-78 with Parramatta winning the same number of trophies in a six-year stretch (1981-86) with Jack Gibson coaching a team brimming with all-time greats in Peter Sterling, Mick Cronin, Ray Price, Brett Kenny and Eric Grothe.
Brisbane’s five trophies before the turn of the century is the only other example of a team that could claim dynasty status with Wayne Bennett getting the best out of Allan Langer, Gorden Tallis, Steve Renouf and Darren Lockyer in one of the most talented rosters in history.
Since the salary cap has been in full operation in the NRL era, winning back-to-back trophies became a rarity let alone three or more for a dynasty until these Panthers found their premiership bite.
The NRL’s dynasties
Easts 1911-13 :(three straight titles)
Balmain 1915-20: (four titles)
South Sydney 1925-32: (seven titles)
Easts 1935-40: (four titles)
Souths 1950-55: (four titles)
St George 1956-66: (11 straight titles)
Souths 1967-71: (four titles)
Manly 1972-78: (four titles)
Parramatta 1981-86 (four titles)
Penrith 2021-23: (three straight titles)
A common trait among all these dynasty teams is the presence of an Immortal, or a few of them in the case of St George’s golden era.
Nathan Cleary is only around halfway through his career but he is already well and truly on track for rugby league’s highest individual honour for career recognition.
Barring injury, it’s hard to see the 26-year-old maestro doing anything other than maintaining his current status as the most influential player in the game for at least another five years into his early 30s. Probably longer.
Penrith’s dominance will surely dilute in the next few years as the salary cap casualties rise – James Fisher-Harris, Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva the latest names on the growing list – and the nucleus of the squad, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin and Brian To’o get long in the tooth.
The Storm could even end Penrith’s stranglehold on the trophy this Sunday night at Accor Stadium – this has been the Panthers’ least dominant campaign of the five straight trips to the grand final for Ivan Cleary’s squad.
But if they become just the third side of all time to win four on the trot, this Panthers side will rise above legendary outfits like the 1930s Roosters and ‘80s Eels and perhaps even the ‘90s Broncos to be considered one of the greatest teams of all time.
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