'Too hard': Andrew Johns rejects claims from legends in surprise call on Panthers
Alexander said this week that he believes any of the Raiders, Bulldogs, Broncos or Panthers are capable of preventing premiership favourites the Storm from lifting the trophy this season. Penrith have a tricky run of fixtures in the run home and will be up against to leapfrog the Warriors (4th) and sew up an all-important top-four spot for the finals.
But fellow Penrith legend Sattler claims that will be 'irrelevant' for Ivan Cleary's side, based on their resurgent form and proven finals experience. 'They can (win the premiership), based on the aura... and it doesn't matter if they finish 5th or 6th, because a home elimination/semi-final to them is irrelevant," Sattler said on SEN radio this week. 'And they've got players that know how to win and how to prepare.'
Johns is not convinced though, and says it will be 'too hard' for the Panthers to win the grand final in the likelihood they finish outside the top-four. Under the current finals system, no team has ever won an NRL premiership after finishing the regular season below 4th and Penrith are currently three wins off the Warriors, who have an easier run home on paper.
The Warriors still have two games to play against the last-placed Titans and also have favourable home fixtures against the Dolphins, Dragons and Eels. The Bulldogs and Manly are the only current top-eight sides the Warriors face in their final seven games.
Penrith's next three fixtures look juicy on paper, starting with Saturday's home game against the Tigers, followed by matches against strugglers the Gold Coast and Newcastle. But the defending premiers have to play the top three sides in a brutal run home, with clashes against the Storm, Raiders and Bulldogs followed by an away game at the Dragons to round out the season.
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Johns says with such a difficult finish and every finals clash likely to be an elimination game for Penrith, he can't see them winning the premiership again this year. "Really, out of eight weeks of footy, they will have one so-called easy game against the Dragons but the rest are at semi-final intensity," he said on Nine's Freddy and the Eighth.
"(They'll) go into sudden death footy where they have to win four games in a row. It is too hard for them. They've played a lot of footy (but) Liam Martin is busted, I don't know how Nathan's (Cleary) groin and that is. But it is a bridge too far this year for the Panthers."
However, fellow league great Brad Fittler pointed to the fact that Penrith have still been able to win, despite resting their Origin stars such as Cleary and Martin in recent weeks. And he says it could actually give the Panthers an advantage over some of their top-eight rivals, who have vastly less finals experience than the four-time defending premiers.
"I think the good sign is they are winning at home and they have managed to all have a rest," Fittler said. "Nathan (Cleary), Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o have all had a rest and they still managed to win those games.
"They won all their games over Origin and made 16 points over six games and two byes. A lot of the teams that are at the top, Canterbury, the Raiders, the Warriors... geez, they haven't had much experience playing in finals. You've got three teams who haven't been in the top four for a long time."
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