They conquered Everest and completed their own Top Gun mission, but Panthers hero Nathan Cleary has revealed his side drew on the “undisputed” theme as this year’s inspiration to help them win a third-straight title.
It’s why the Clive Churchill Medal winner was presented with a WWE championship belt in the sheds following the thrilling 26-24 win over Brisbane as the Panthers confirmed their status as the greatest team of the NRL era.
No side since the Eels of 1981-83 had won three comps in a row, but the Penrith juggernaut has joined their western rivals after riding the undisputed theme through the finals.
Cleary revealed it was his dad who came up with the idea, with Panthers coach Ivan Cleary finding a new way to motivate his all-conquering team who proved yet again they are the undisputed heavyweights of the NRL.
“We have a theme each year and this year it‘s the ‘Undisputed’ theme,” the champion halfback said.
“I think Dad might’ve come up with it. From the outside looking in people might think it’s a bit lame but for us it gives us a purpose.
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“(He doesn’t follow wrestling) so I don’t know how he came up with it. I think he was just looking at different athletes and teams from all sorts of different sports … just champions, teams that keep winning.
“It‘s been the one belt throughout the finals series and each game we won, we put another plaque on it.”
The Panthers have now held onto the championship belt for more than 700 days, with that number set to stretch beyond 1000 when the 2024 finals roll around and they are inevitably in the mix for another title.
It’s still a bit short of WWE superstar Roman Reigns who has held the Universal Championship belt for more than 1100 days, but this team is showing no signs of slowing down with so many of their best players locked in.
Ivan Cleary was asked whether his current group could now call itself the greatest team of all time, and while he answered it humbly, you could tell he was immensely proud of achieving something that should have been impossible in the salary cap era.
“It’s totally surreal. I don’t know how to explain that,” he said.
“That great Parramatta side wasn’t in the NRL era so things were different and it was pretty much a Sydney comp back then, but I’m not taking anything away from what they did.
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“We’re not here to try to explain where we sit in history, but I think we’ll be able to reflect in the next few days on what’s been a pretty remarkable achievement and I’m super proud of it.”
Star five-eighth Jarome Luai was more emphatic when asked if this was the best team to ever compete in the NRL, eclipsing the great Storm sides and the Roosters squad that went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
“The resume speaks for itself. No other team has done this. Hate us, love us, you can’t argue with it,” he declared.
“We’re just getting started.”
That’s a scary thought for the other 16 clubs, with this Panthers side addicted to winning and keen to extend their dynasty as long as possible.
“The best thing about going three in a row is that it gives you the opportunity to go four in a row,” Nathan Cleary warned.
