About halfway through last season, by which time there appeared an inevitability about Penrith completing a historic three-peat, Phil Gould pondered when the streak would end., the first since the great Parramatta side of the 1980s, although this is where the run was meant to end. The impact of the salary cap, the drain of talent lost during the State of Origin period, and the rise of a worthy rival were all factors expected to finally conspire against them..
The beauty of rugby league, since the introduction of the salary cap, has been the glorious uncertainty of who will prevail in the toughest competition in world sport. Former NRL chief executive David Gallop’s great boast was that any team could win on any given day.Yet here we are, not even four rounds into the competition, and it would shock if any side other than the Panthers is holding aloft the Provan-Summons trophy on the first Sunday in October.
It begs the question: Is Penrith’s domination an achievement to be celebrated, or is it killing the NRL? Will, in years to come, rival fans revel in the fact they were alive to witness a sporting dynasty, or lament that their team was merely locked in a battle for second place?At the other end of the table, the Gold Coast have looked legless while missing key men Kieran Foran, David Fifita and Jayden Campbell. The Panthers, without a key trio of their own, took the Roosters to school.
The trip to America will expose a side who have long dealt with tall poppy syndrome to a fan base that truly knows how to celebrate a sporting dynasty.
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