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Jarome Luai casts his eye over the list and raises an eyebrow. \u201cThere are some guns there,\u201d Luai said before adding, perhaps only half-jokingly, \u201cI\u2019d probably be scared to verse those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luai is looking at a list of 17 players, named in positional order by this masthead, who have left Penrith since they made the first of four consecutive grand finals. The salary cap has forced a slew of superstars \u2013 including Apisai Koroisau, Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau and Kurt Capewell \u2013 to join rivals during the club\u2019s golden run.<\/p>\n
The quality of the parting Panthers is such that a team comprised solely of them would likely be competitive if entered into the NRL.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely, that\u2019s crazy,\u201d said back-rower Liam Martin. \u201cIt would be tough, they are all just such quality players, they bought into the system and the culture so well. It would be a tough match-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spine of Koroisau, Burton, Sean O\u2019Sullivan and Daine Laurie \u2013 the latter is returning to the foot of the mountains from next year \u2013 would play behind a forward pack consisting of Tevita Pangai Junior, Kikau, Capewell, J\u2019maine Hopgood, Jack Hetherington and James Tamou.<\/p>\n
The Panthers brace for the departure of at least two superstars every year \u2013 Stephen Crichton (Bulldogs) and Spencer Leniu (Roosters) will depart after Sunday\u2019s grand final against Brisbane \u2013 but have managed to replace them and remain consistently dominant.<\/p>\n
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Bulldogs stars Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton are just two former Panthers who left during the club\u2019s golden run.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a strong side,\u201d winger Brian To\u2019o said of the parting Panthers. \u201cI think that is a pretty solid team. A few of our brothers have departed and gone onto bigger and better things and I couldn\u2019t be more happy for those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Prop James Fisher-Harris added: \u201cThey would go good.\u201d<\/p>\n 1 Daine Laurie<\/p>\n 2 Charlie Staines<\/p>\n 3 Brent Naden<\/p>\n 4 Paul Momirovski<\/p>\n 5 Josh Mansour<\/p>\n 6 Matt Burton<\/p>\n 7 Sean O\u2019Sullivan<\/p>\n 8 James Tamou<\/p>\n 9 Apisai Koroisau<\/p>\n 10 Tevita Pangai Junior<\/p>\n 11 Viliame Kikau<\/p>\n 12 Kurt Capewell<\/p>\n 13 J\u2019Maine Hopgood<\/p>\n 14 Tyrone May<\/p>\n 15 Jack Hetherington<\/p>\n 16 Zane Tetevano<\/p>\n 17 Robert Jennings<\/p>\n Whenever an established name has left, a capable replacement has quickly emerged. Sunia Turuva, Izack Tago, Mitch Kenny and Lindsay Smith are all products of the best junior nursery in the country, while the likes of Jack Cogger, Zac Hosking and Luke Garner have fitted in seamlessly since arriving from other NRL systems.<\/p>\n The players believe it\u2019s a product of Penrith\u2019s next-man-up mentality.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery team wants to have that, I first heard that with Melbourne,\u201d Luai said. \u201cEspecially with Origin, a lot of players have been in that side over the years and it\u2019s definitely been a focus coming into that period.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been built here now. With all the guys that are leaving or have left, we\u2019re still here on the biggest stage, it speaks for itself. You have to earn that spot, it comes from a lot of hard work.<\/p>\n \u201cJust the way people speak about the jersey before they put it on is pretty special.<\/p>\n \u201cCogs, Garner, Hosking had a lot to say before they had even played, how prestigious it was to be at this club and how special it was to put on that jersey. That stuff is pretty cool to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher-Harris said many players had taken less to stay than they could have got at rival clubs.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of us came through together so we just want to stick together,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard in this business, we all have families to feed and sometimes you have to think of the bigger picture. We\u2019ve got kids in school and stuff like that, depends on how old we are. Everyone is trying our best to stick together.\u201d<\/p>\n Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nParting Panthers … the gun team that has left since the 2020 grand final<\/h3>\n
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