We played 12 games against last years top 8. That seems fair and equitible. It is not Penrith's or the draw's fault that Cronulla and Newcastle were failures this year.
I worked this out - this years top 8 vs last years top 8
Brisbane 14, Roosters 13, Manly 13, Penrith 12, Bulldogs 11, Cowboys 11, Rabbits 11, and Storm 11.
This gives a different picture and shows that we didn't have any easier draw than the others. In fact the Rabbits played more games against non top 8 teams than Penrith.
You can make statistics work any way you want!