Is it the end of an era at Penrith, or did a 2025 campaign that ended in a painful preliminary final loss double as a chance to re-tool for another golden run?
Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo is in the latter camp, warning rival NRL clubs that his deposed champions will be back bigger and better next year.
The Panthers’ run of four-straight premierships ended at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday when, after leading Brisbane 14-0 in the preliminary final, they conceded 16 unanswered second-half points.
While Yeo was shattered not to have qualified for a sixth successive grand final, he was “really proud of the group” after the Panthers slumped to last on the ladder mid-season before rallying to reach the play-offs.
With the benefit of hindsight, it was a strong title defence, given the quality of players Penrith lost at the end of last season: Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva (Wests Tigers), and James Fisher-Harris (Warriors).
They followed the departures of Api Koroisau (Tigers), Matt Burton, Stephen Crichton, Viliame Kikau, Jaeman Salmon (Canterbury), Kurt Capewell (Warriors) and Spencer Leniu (Roosters) in previous seasons.
Next year, in contrast, Penrith’s only departures are expected to be fringe players, headed by Brad Schneider (Dolphins) and Mavrik Geyer (Tigers).
“It’s certainly not the end of an era,” Yeo said.
“I feel like we’ve still got the capabilities and the lessons we’ve learned this year that we can carry on forward. Obviously, it stings, but I don’t think there’s that much turnover in the year.
“There’s been a lot in previous years. Not so much this year, just lessons learned, so that’s exciting for the future.
Nathan Cleary reflects on his season after the Panthers were eliminated from the finals.
“We’ve had a lot of young players this season with a lot of experience now in big games and hostile environments.
“I think come next year we’ll get a look at those. The lessons learned will be really good for us. But in saying that, there’s a lot of time between now and then.”
While Penrith may have fielded stronger squads in previous seasons, Yeo said the “connection” between teammates this year was the best he had known.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary was also adamant Sunday’s defeat was not an era-ending setback.
“What’s over?” Cleary asked with a wry smile. “I’d like to think there’s more in us.
“Obviously, we’re not going to win it this year, but we definitely showed a fair bit to fight back from a poor start [to the season].
“There’s probably some lessons in there, but ultimately we were just not quite good enough this year.
“But I feel like we got some real strides with some young guys this year. The core of our team is still going to be there next year.
“Hopefully they use this feeling, which we haven’t had for a while, to spur us on into next year.”
