Former Panthers in the NRL

[Old and Disgruntled]

To soon Stan, too soon….

Only 18 hours early, hope he doesn't end up on the Rep. player scrap heap as usually happens at the Dogs.

 

[tripster]

Farewell To a Champion

The Penrith Panthers farewell Stephen Crichton with highlights from his 100 NRL games for the club.

www.penrithpanthers.com.au

It is a nice video, but pretty bad that it doesn't have his intercept from the 2021 GF!! How on earth did they leave that out.

 

[StanTheMan]

Only 23 and already a Panthers legend

 

[Chins get the wins]

Api is on Kempy's podcast today

 

[Kilkenny]

I see Junior Moors has called it a day.

He came thru our junior system with huge wraps, big unit, but just never quite delivered at the top level.

After short stints with us, Tigers and Storm has played the last decade or so in the UK and France.

Not quite sure why he wasn’t able to deliver on his undoubted physical attributes.

 

[Munky]

I see Junior Moors has called it a day.

He came thru our junior system with huge wraps, big unit, but just never quite delivered at the top level.

After short stints with us, Tigers and Storm has played the last decade or so in the UK and France.

Not quite sure why he wasn’t able to deliver on his undoubted physical attributes.

Him and Geoff Daniella were hyped to hell and back in the mid 00s.

Both had very disappointing NRL careers.

 

[jane the pain]

Him and Geoff Daniella were hyped to hell and back in the mid 00s.

Both had very disappointing NRL careers.

Kieran Mossley was another

 

[Kilkenny]

Him and Geoff Daniella were hyped to hell and back in the mid 00s.

Both had very disappointing NRL careers.

Definitely. It’s tough.

 

[Pomoz]

We were absolutely hopeless at development back then. An almost endless procession of players that were going to be stars and yet our spine under ME in his last year was Burns, Walsh, Kingston and Coote. We even cocked up the development of Jennings and Lewis. They left the club because their egos were too big, that would never happen at the club now. If they had been developed better, they could have been career players at the Panthers. Instead they had to leave to fulfil their potential. At least Lewis got one premiership, but he left to win one more and play rep football.

 

[soc123_au]

We were absolutely hopeless at development back then. An almost endless procession of players that were going to be stars and yet our spine under ME in his last year was Burns, Walsh, Kingston and Coote. We even cocked up the development of Jennings and Lewis. They left the club because their egos were too big, that would never happen at the club now. If they had been developed better, they could have been career players at the Panthers. Instead they had to leave to fulfil their potential. At least Lewis got one premiership, but he left to win one more and play rep football.

Both were rep quality when they left. Victims of Petero's player power mindset & Elliott's lack of balls and ability.

 

[Sime_11]

that said - if we had been better with pathways - do we win a comp during that last 10-15 year period?

id got through all that again if it meant we were in the position we are now

 

[soc123_au]

that said - if we had been better with pathways - do we win a comp during that last 10-15 year period?

id got through all that again if it meant we were in the position we are now

The talent was available to have been a chance. Better halves, smarter retention and a decent coach we would have been competing from 2010.

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

The talent was available to have been a chance. Better halves, smarter retention and a decent coach we would have been competing from 2010.

I wonder would that era been better if Johnny Lang had been kept on as coach.

 

[Westernised Panther]

I wonder would that era been better if Johnny Lang had been kept on as coach.

Indeed. I still remember the chat during the pre season in 2007 that Matt Elliot never had the “cattle” in Canberra to turn them into a premiership force and that Penrith would give him the players he needed (after all, we still had a good share of premiership-winning players such as Lewis, Gower, Priddis, Puletua, Clinton, Waterhouse, Wesser in the squad, along with up and comers such as Peter Wallace). Embarrassingly, we finished with the wooden spoon that year.

I bet Canberra laughed hard in the following season when we were flogged by them by over 70 points at Bruce Stadium. And to think we scored the first try!!

We should have kept Lang as at least he had the team being competitive. Elliot came with all the hype of taking us to the promised land and, apart from 2010, giving us a desert to wander around in.

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

Indeed. I still remember the chat during the pre season in 2007 that Matt Elliot never had the “cattle” in Canberra to turn them into a premiership force and that Penrith would give him the players he needed (after all, we still had a good share of premiership-winning players such as Lewis, Gower, Priddis, Puletua, Clinton, Waterhouse, Wesser in the squad, along with up and comers such as Peter Wallace). Embarrassingly, we finished with the wooden spoon that year.

I bet Canberra laughed hard in the following season when we were flogged by them by over 70 points at Bruce Stadium. And to think we scored the first try!!

We should have kept Lang as at least he had the team being competitive. Elliot came with all the hype of taking us to the promised land and, apart from 2010, giving us a desert to wander around in.

Myself and my adult daughter went down to Canberra for that game. It was so bad it was laughable.

I agree. Johnny Lang should have been kept.

 

[Whino]

Glenn Matthews had a lot to answer for back then.

 

[Sime_11]

Indeed. I still remember the chat during the pre season in 2007 that Matt Elliot never had the “cattle” in Canberra to turn them into a premiership force and that Penrith would give him the players he needed (after all, we still had a good share of premiership-winning players such as Lewis, Gower, Priddis, Puletua, Clinton, Waterhouse, Wesser in the squad, along with up and comers such as Peter Wallace). Embarrassingly, we finished with the wooden spoon that year.

I bet Canberra laughed hard in the following season when we were flogged by them by over 70 points at Bruce Stadium. And to think we scored the first try!!

We should have kept Lang as at least he had the team being competitive. Elliot came with all the hype of taking us to the promised land and, apart from 2010, giving us a desert to wander around in.

i looked at that 2007 season - round 1 we lost 18-0 away to Cronulla

pretty sure that game was pouring rain? absolutely ridiculous conditions

one of the worst games I've ever attended

 

[Westernised Panther]

i looked at that 2007 season - round 1 we lost 18-0 away to Cronulla

pretty sure that game was pouring rain? absolutely ridiculous conditional

one of the worst games I've ever attended

I think you’re right. Terrible way to start the season. Then again, we beat the Dogs at home the following week in front of a great crowd (and the Dogs were quite a strong team back then from memory). After that, we went up to Brisbane and beat them on their home turf after Wesser scored a try right on full time to send the game to golden point, with Wallace kicking the winning field goal.

I thought from there that perhaps Elliot was the man to guide us but then we lost to the new Gold Coast team in Round 4 and from there we lost 6 or 7 in a row from memory.

Our only highlight that season was beating a red hot Manly outfit (who were one of the premiership contenders) at home with Wallace starring and Youngquest scoring a couple. That highlight was soon extinguished when it was announced shortly after that game that Wallace was heading to the Broncos in ‘08.

 

[Westernised Panther]

Glenn Matthews had a lot to answer for back then.

Yep! I remember a conversation I had with him in ‘06 and he said that we were going to sign Jamie Lyon. Next minute, I bumped into him and he said that Manly came in with a better offer.

 

[The Realist]

I wonder would that era been better if Johnny Lang had been kept on as coach.

We'd have been better but I am not sure how much. Definitely not a power house. In 2005-2006 many of our players still had attitude issues and egos from the 2003 win / Representative Honours.

John could not instill discipline in the team and he was also unfailingly loyal which means he'd have problems dropping or letting players go. He did have an eye for talent though. He scouted out Michael Gordon. Gordon is a huge 'What if'. Mostly wasted by Elliot as a winger where he was still an absolute gun despite multiple leg and ankle injuries.

I'd still have a prime Gordon ahead of pretty much anyone at a wing spot (Besides To'o but I could make a case for him being overall better) and he could have also been our greatest fullback ever. But it was never to be.