Penrith Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary says there is no reason why his side can’t win an unprecedented fourth successive premiership.
The Panthers became the first team since the Parramatta Eels team of 1981-1983 to win three consecutive titles and the first team in the NRL era to achieve the feat.
Cleary was quick to point out that Penrith has had their fair share of doubters over the last three seasons and the Panthers have continued to defy the critics.
“We were told that we couldn’t even win one (premiership),” Cleary said to SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“We were then told we couldn’t win two in a row or even three in a row.
“We have the talent to (win a fourth), we certainly have the experience and we have created that belief with the way we play.
“We are still a very motivated group and we are quite young as well.
“Many of them have a long way to go in their careers.
“It’s a very even league and there are other teams out there who think they are in a very good position to improve.
“We will definitely have our hands full this season.”
Following their Grand Final successes, the Panthers have lost a considerable amount of talent to their rivals. The most notable departures at the end of the 2023 season are Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu who joined the Bulldogs and Roosters respectively.
Cleary remains confident that the emerging younger crop of Panthers players will step up in season 2024.
“It’s very hard to replace the boys that we lost,” Cleary added.
“You can’t really replace them like-for-like because there aren’t a lot of Spencer’s (or Stephen’s) around.
“We’ve got a young bloke called Liam Henry who we have high hopes for.
“He plays a bit differently to Spencer (but) we believe he will have a good season.”
The Panthers will travel to the UK to take on the Wigan Warriors in the World Club Challenge on February 25.