Cleary explains how 2020 loss helped build Panthers’ NRL legacy

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has shared that Penrith’s 26-20 loss to the Melbourne Storm in the 2020 NRL grand final helped make them the team they are today.

“It definitely was an important part of our journey,” he said on Thursday.

“We were taught a lesson that day.”

Facing the Storm once again in Sunday’s decider, Penrith are on the cusp of becoming the first team since the 1960s to win four consecutive premierships.

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Their success can be traced back to that 2020 grand final loss, which ended one of the longest winning streaks in first-grade rugby league.

“We had a great season that year, I think we went into the grand final having 17 wins on the trot,” Cleary said.

“We’d had a really good run, but we were taught a lesson that day — not just by the Storm — but just about big occasions.

“We just didn’t play our best out there and they were too good for us.

“So, it definitely lit a fuse, a fire.

“We wanted to make sure that we learnt from that.

“It was still a very young team at that point, so we knew there were so many good times ahead of us, that we thought anyway.

“There have been a lot of important milestones along the way, but that game was certainly a good one for us.”

Penrith will have extra incentive when they walk out at Accor Stadium this weekend.

The Storm have defeated Cleary’s side twice in 2024, beating them 8-0 in round one and narrowly prevailing 24-22 just six weeks ago in round 24.

NRL betting sites have Melbourne as slight favourites at $1.90 to make it three from three this season, with the Panthers paying best odds of $1.98 at Neds.

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