100% agree that people haven’t learnt to trust probably the most amazing coaching stretch I have ever seen in the c40 years I have been watching (the first game I went to was 1986 and the first game I can remember was the 86 grand final, so can’t really comment on Gibson). The consistency and culture created has made decent players into genuine superstars of the game; we all love Dyl and Yeo, but can anyone really have predicted they would be Australian players 6 years ago.
I slightly disagree that this year is worse. The Kiks and Api year seemed pretty OTT… I am not in Oz so don’t have the same exposure to it as you, but it seems to me that the press coverage seems to be ‘surely these guys fall back, but I’ve been burnt before…’
My first exposure to top level Rugby League was round one 1967 at Penrith Park.
Super coach comparisons over the years I've loved the game, nothing comes close to the complete club pathway system that Ivan has continued to polish, but remember, those pathways have been in Penrith for 50 years.
Gibson had the best players bought for him, Bennett had an origin side and has really achieved nothing without at least six or seven players of rep standard. Bellamy had success by having a "big 4" with support players but the support player quality is now dropping off because they have trouble cheating the salary cap nowadays.
Ivan and Matt Cameron value the true worth of our players and never stand in the way of their payday, hence the loss of many club juniors.
I'm grateful for what each year brings and we all know that the competition is better when every team is coming after the Panthers. And most of the time it's by signing Panthers players to try beating us.