What has made the Panthers nearly unbeatable in 2026?

Former Penrith Panthers assistant coach Ben Gardiner has explained how his former side has become unstoppable this season.

Following their preliminary final loss against the Broncos, ending their hopes of a potential five-peat, Penrith has come back with plenty of motivation in 2026.

In the 13 games they’ve played, the Panthers score on average 33.6 points while only conceding 12.6, showing their dominance.

That dominance was evident on Sunday with Penrith wreaking havoc against a hapless Wests Tigers by scoring 68 unanswered points.

With their strong season so far, they have only lost one game this season, placing them firmly on top of the ladder by six premiership points and by far the favourites to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy in October.

When asked by Andrew Voss how they have become this good, the Perth Bears assistant coach explained given the lack of injuries compared to the 2025 off-season, they've hit their stride far sooner.

“I think it all goes back to the off-season and what they were able to do in the off-season,” Gardiner explained on SEN’s Front Office with Vossy.

“If you look back, 12 months ago to the previous off-season, there was a number of guys that had major surgery, and there was injuries and stuff like that.

“And I think in this most recent off-season, everyone was available to train which was a great thing for them.”

The Samoa coach also noted that their skill levels were head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, seeing them place their opponents under immense pressure.

“Some of the areas around combinations that (they) struggled with (in) 2025, they've hit the ground running with that,” he continued.

“But if you just look at the skills, the fundamental skills and the basic skills that every player possesses, it's not just the 6, 7, 1, and 9, or Yeo as a 13, it's the whole team.

“If any person is put into any position, let's say for example, Moses Leota has to go to dummy half and throw a 10-metre dummy half pass, he does it almost as well as what the dummy half does it.

“The skill level is ridiculous, and I think what's happening at the moment cause they're building so much momentum.

“Their play of the ball speed was just out of sight yesterday, 3.34 seconds, fastest in the round. (It’s) just so quick and therefore (there’s) so much pressure on the opposition to be able to reset and get off the line.

“If you watched Nathan Cleary yesterday, it just looked like he had all the time in the world.

“The longer the game went, the more fatigued the Tigers got (and) the less pressure that they put on him.

"And if you wait for them (to come), you're in big trouble.”

The Panthers will now enjoy their second bye of the season, with several of their players set to represent NSW for Game II in State of Origin.

Their next match will take place on June 20 against the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.