This is Penrith’s world and we’re all just living in it

What’s the definition of greatness?

Is it premierships won? Representative players produced? Anything that comes close to what Nathan Cleary can do?

And what of this particular Penrith side that has now claimed its third premiership in a row, this time a 26-24 miracle over the Brisbane Broncos?

Even the most hating of Panthers haters must respect what Ivan Cleary’s side achieved at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.

They become the first team in NRL era (since 1998) to claim three consecutive titles and the first since 1983 when Parramatta won their third, although they weren’t operating under a salary cap that actively works against nights like this.

They may not be remembered as fondly as other great sides, such as the Dragons and Broncos and, of course, the Eels.

But the inevitability of their premierships with each passing season suggests this is Penrith’s world and we’re all just living in it.

In this match, trailing 24-8 midway through the second half, it never looked like happening.

Then Cleary replied with one of the truly great halfback performances, in any arena, to get his team home. As good as Johns and Stuart and Langer and Thurston and everyone in between. A deserved winner of the Clive Churchill Medal for the second time.

His 76th-minute try, when he stepped inside against tiring Brisbane defence, merely underlined what he’d done in the previous 20 minutes.

Penrith pretty much owned the Broncos in the first half but only led 8-6 when it could’ve been a three-try lead.

For the Broncos, everything went wrong: prop Thomas Flegler was taken from the field with a head injury assessment, halfback Adam Reynolds did the splits in a tackle and his groins screamed, and Reece Walsh was waiting for a VIP ticket and red carpet to get into the game.

Of all the weapons in his arsenal, Walsh’s ability to find a long kick on the full and then attack on his return is probably his best.

But Penrith weren’t going to kick it down his throat time and time again as other teams have. It helps when lock Isaah Yeo just so happens to find himself standing directly between the first marker and the Penrith kicker on every last tackle.

On one occasion, the Panthers scrambled to get a kick away on the last tackle and it went directly to Walsh, who motored along his tryline before three defenders shoved back him into his box. Well, the in-goal.

The Broncos didn’t help their cause by continually fumbling the ball in their own half, but they covered for their errors with some brilliant defence on their goal line.

Penrith’s only try of the half came from a minor brain fade from centre Herbie Farnworth, who leapt high from a short drop-out from Reynolds and batted it directly to Penrith hooker Mitch Kenny.

But then the game turned.

The Broncos drew a late-half penalty, found themselves in the rarefied air of the Penrith try line, and Flegler — who had just returned to the field — crashed over for the try.

Footage of the putdown was inconclusive, but it didn’t matter. The try was given and the Broncos only trailed by two.

And with that, they were away.

In the opening stages, Penrith’s big men went after five-eighth Ezra Mam, his eyes on high beam in his first grand final.

But early in the second half, he identified big prop Lindsay Smith labouring out wide, charged into space and then out-paced Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards to score in the corner.

Against Souths in 2021 and Parramatta last year, Penrith never had to chase a deficit in a grand final. The momentum had never been against them.

Instead of rallying, Penrith’s players suddenly looked weary.

Bang! Bang! Mam raced over for two tries in two minutes, dancing around tired defenders. Leading 24-8, this grand final was over.

Then the wind changed direction. The hot north-easterly that had been howling all day swung to a fresh southerly.

Cleary found space down the right, broke through the line and sent prop Moses Leota over.

Then he pumped the ball downfield and threaded a 40-20. Within minutes, Crichton buried the ball out wide and Cleary threaded the sideline conversion.

Bang! Bang! Two tries in five minutes.

By now, the wind was howling and so was Cleary. Even from a Reynolds dropout, he had the presence of mind to slide his foot over the sideline to draw a penalty right in front.

­­His match-winning try seemed as inevitable as the southerly.

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What now? What next? Or, as Phil Gould asked after in July after predicting this Panthers team could win six premierships: “Who’s going to stop them?”

You suspect this Broncos team. Take Reynolds (33) and Capewell (30) out and the team and the players are mostly in their early-to-mid 20s.

There’s a Penrith-like dynasty on the horizon — but they will have to end the Penrith-made dynasty in front of them first.