With the team on the brink of a fourth straight NRL grand final appearance, locals are basking in the club’s success
“Everyone you talk to is ‘Panthers, Panthers, Panthers’,” says long-time supporter Nick Peet, who owns Family Dreamz Tattoo on the High Street with his ex-wife, daughter and son-in-law. “We’ve been to a lot of the home games this year and the atmosphere there has been incredible.”The Panthers are on the cusp of becoming the first top-grade club in 40 years to win a third-straight premiership. This proximity to greatness, according to coach Ivan Cleary, has made the local fans especially fervent.
These Panthers are dominant, electrifying, talent-laden winners. And they act like they know it. Luai said after last year’s Grand Final victory, “If you’re not hated, you’re not doing it right”. Coach Cleary, the mastermind behind this black behemoth, has reflected on their progress. “[Compared to] when I first got out here, over 10 years ago now, it’s definitely different,” he says.
It’s difficult to generalise about Penrith’s population. Nestled up against the Blue Mountains, the council boundaries stretch from just south of Richmond in the north some 30km south to Luddenham – the same distance as between Parramatta and Bondi – across many centres and suburbs.