Penrith legend rates current Panthers over '03 winners
Former Clive Churchill Medallist and True Blue Luke Lewis hails the current Panthers side as better than the 2003 NRL grand final-winning team.
Although direct comparisons almost two decades apart are hard, Lewis is more than qualified to make them considering he was a part of that 2003 premiership-winning team over the Sydney Roosters.
“I think they’re a lot better side than what we were in 2003,” Lewis told Behind Blue Eyes for NSWRL.com.au.
“They have got strike all over the field like we did in 2003 but I just think their fitness levels, their skills levels from 1-17 is probably a lot more than what we had in 2003.
“But it is very hard to compare. We had a really good side back in 2003 that suited the game back then.
“At the moment the game is so much faster – you need a couple of really instinctive players which I think they’ve got that really nice balance.
“You’ve got (Nathan) Cleary there who can control the game and you’ve got Jarome Luai who is a bit of an instinctive guy playing off the cuff. Then you’ve got other good guys again who can complement him on that.
“They’re probably a lot more classy side than what we were in 2003 but we had a really hard-head mentality in 2003.”
The 2003 Panthers enjoyed three periods of dominance that year – a run of eight straight wins, then another of five wins, before ending the season with seven in a row, including the grand final.
The current Panthers won 17 straight in 2020 before losing the grand final to the Melbourne Storm. But they’ve started the 2021 season without blinking – undefeated after six rounds including the 20-12 win over the Broncos.
That is now 24 NRL games and only one loss.
“One thing about the Panthers is that they’ve got a few more gears … they have got strike all over the park from fullback to their front rowers to the players that aren’t even playing at the moment (due to injury),” Lewis said.
“Matty Burton out wide looks spot on, the halves combination is excellent, Crichton is at fullback until (Dylan) Edwards comes back – again these guys are just footballers.
“I don’t know what team beats them – I think South Sydney are probably the team to come through and beat them, Melbourne Storm ….
“I think only two or three teams can actually beat Penrith but if they are on their game, on the day, then no-one beats them.
“They have so much belief in their game plan and what they can do on a footy field, that when they need to turn it on, they’ll turn it on.”