Ins: Matthew Eisenhuth (Wests Tigers, 2022), Robert Jennings (Wests Tigers, 2021), Paul Momirovski (Melbourne Storm, 2022), Jaeman Salmon (Parramatta Eels, 2021), Scott Sorensen (Cronulla Sharks, 2021), Sunia Turuva (2021)
Outs: Caleb Aekins (Canberra Raiders), Kaide Ellis (St George Illawarra Dragons), Jack Hetherington (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Pat Hollis (released), Daine Laurie (Wests Tigers), Josh Mansour (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Brayden McGrady (released), James Tamou (Wests Tigers), Zane Tetevano (Leeds Rhinos), Malakai Watene-Zelezniak (retired), Dean Whare (Catalan Dragons)
In a word: Excellent! Don't let the Panthers opening 40 on Grand Final day take too much away from what was a record-setting 2020 season.
Losing only one game in the regular season, albeit a shortened season, is unheard of in this day and age. To fall to the mighty Melbourne Storm on Grand Final day is hardly embarrassing either.
Panthers fans will ultimately rue 2020 as a missed opportunity as they were the form competition almost from day one. They really should have lifted the trophy but were caught in an early Storm ambush.
I could fill 1000 words talking up the brilliance of the likes of Cleary, Crichton, Luai, Edwards, Yeo, Kikau, To'o, Koroisau, JFH, Mansour, Capwell, Naden and co. Cleary should have won the Dally M medal for mine.
It's become pretty standard stuff that successful teams are often torn apart very quickly due to salary cap constraints. The Panthers were unable to buck that trend.
They've lost captain James Tamou and rep regular winger Josh Mansour, as well as the likes of Whare, Hetherington and Laurie, all of whom will walk into first grade elsewhere.
They were able to somewhat offset the losses by adding Eisenhuth, Momirovski and Sorenson but look light on in the middle. Tamou played a massive part in the Panthers 2020 season and will be difficult to replace.
Otherwise they've been able to keep 16 of their preferred 17 together (with Staines preferred over Mansour). That's incredible considering modern day contracts.
SEE ZT's own Dan Nichols in This Week's RLO Episode: Round One Celebration!
- Can they go again?: One off two things can happen following a Grand Final loss. Either the team bands together and uses it as motivation the next year, or the team completely falls off a cliff. Its fair to say that the Panthers shocked everyone in 2020 in running away with the Minor Premiership. Can they match that level of consistency and form again this year? Opposition coaches would have dedicated many hours in coming up with a plan on how to shut down the Panthers for this upcoming season. An off-season can be a long time in Rugby League. They looked good against the Eels in the trial so that's a plus.
- Distractions put to the side: The Panthers have been quick to re-sign megastars in the making Stephen Chrichton and Jarome Luai. Both players would have been targeted by the majority of other sides, with Crichton especially expected to attract bids from multiple clubs. The last thing a side needs is a host of their stars being linked elsewhere on a weekly basis. Isaah Yeo also secured his future at the foot of the mountains after a career best year that saw him represent the Blues. Edwards, Martin, Staines and To'o have also extended their stays. Incredible work by the club.
- The Bench: I've looked at four different predictions for the Panthers round one team and all four are different. May and Momirovski seem to split opinion on who should start at centre, while Naden appears on two benches, one in the centres and one not at all. Capewell and Martin split run on duties, with NRL.com not even having Martin in the 17. It's anyone's guess to how Cleary will name his side in round one. The bench looks strong with May, Martin/Capewell and Leniu likely to fill three spots. The fact they likely can't fit Burton and Sorenson in there at all says a lot about their depth. Once again though, is Matt Eisenhuth the man to fill in the fourth prop position?
3rd
I can't find a single reason to suggest a meaningful drop for the Panthers. They were excellent in 2020 and come into the new year with a near identical side. Tamou and Mansour are big losses but neither are earth shattering.
Nathan Cleary was the form player of the competition last year, despite what the awards say, and enters 2021 as the most important player in the competition. His halves partner Jarome Luai is one of the game's most exciting young players.
They have the perfect forward pack for the new rules. They're big, yet agile and capable of playing big minutes. Kikau is set to run riot in 2021 while Martin and Yeo can both play 80 minutes to great success.
I'm a little worried re the prop rotation however after what Ivan Cleary delivered last year, I'm in no way doubting him. JFH was a monster last year and is now an elite level prop.
The backline of Edwards, To'o, Crichton, May/Naden and Staines shapes as arguably the competition's most lethal. To'o and Staines may battle it out for top try scoring honours. Crichton will be the best centre in the game by year's end, if he's not already.
Api Koroisau is lethal from dummy half and will tear sides to shreds under the new rules. He completely transformed the Panthers upon his return to the club in 2020.
Simply put, anything less than a comfortable top four finish would be a disaster. They're stacked from 1-13 and beyond. This is a club who couldn't find a spot for Josh Mansour in their backline.
They could very well be there again on Grand Final Day in October.