Body language spells bad news for Panthers
By Phil Gould
May 23, 2005
The Panthers need to start again. They've been on the wrong leg since round one and the further the season goes, the more it seems they are slipping into a deep depression.
The problems with their game and the effect they are having on confidence will be tough to fix, and it will take a monumental coaching performance from John Lang to turn things around.
After just 11 rounds the Panthers look like a team in urgent need of a rest. They also need to rethink the way they are playing.
During the previous couple of seasons the Panthers bristled with power, speed and enthusiasm. Their defence was mean and aggressive. They bustled and belted teams into submission. Their kick-chasing was feverish and relentless.
This year their defence is submissive and brittle, especially around the middle of the ruck.
In attack they once had tremendous rhythm. The big men would steamroll the opposition with a series of runs before quick-thinking halves Craig Gower and Preston Campbell ignited a back line oozing with speed and class.
Their attitude used to be superb. They could get 12, 14 or even 16 behind on the scoreboard but never panic. Within a twinkling they would round up the opposition and go past them so quickly they gave them a cold.
However, the Panthers at the moment look dispirited and genuinely lacking in self-belief.
Yesterday's game against the high-flying Sharks was one of those games they just had to win. They had everything in their favour. They were playing at home, they had a strong team and the chief playmaker in the opposition team was out.
Not to mention the fact the Panthers went into the game at a lowly 13th on the ladder.
I expected Penrith to be intense, but they showed little desperation. I expected to see a team hyped up on spirit and togetherness, but they showed no unity at all.
The final score shows they lost by just eight points, but they were never in it. This game was over after the very first minute.
The Sharks caught the opening kick deep in their own territory and advanced the ball 100 metres through five plays and a kick to force the Panthers dead in goal for a line drop-out.
The Sharks looked hungrier, faster and more enthusiastic. The body language of the two teams was a dead giveaway.
I went to the game excited because I wasn't sure who'd win. The surprise was spoiled in just 60 seconds. I know the score got interesting a couple of times in the second half but, for mine, the Sharks weren't really threatened.
They played as a team, working together in attack and defence, doing all the gritty little things, while Penrith played as individuals.
Silently, the Panthers are explaining away their bad form by suggesting that new interpretations relating to the speed of the play-the-ball have affected their ability to bend sides back and play quickly.
There may be some substance to that argument but they have a lot of areas in their game they could improve to lessen the impact of the slower play-the-ball.
The truth is that their forwards run without support far too often. They continually get gang-tackled by opponents who only have to defend to one player at a time for the first three or four rucks. So when the Panthers do try to spread the ball, the opposing outside backs have the energy to race up and extinguish the play.
In a team that seems to get better by the week, Sharks centres Nigel Vagana and Paul Mellor were terrific in the way they stifled the Penrith halves.
The Panthers look like they want to pull the blankets over their heads and go back to sleep. The Sharks look like a team that can't wait to get up and get going.
It's the body language that gives it away.
