My team is... the mighty Penrith Panthers. Founded in 1967 at the foot of the beautiful Blue Mountains, about 55km west of Sydney centre.
They play... rugby league. The greatest game of all, they say. Not sure about that but it fairly sums up how the Panthers have played in recent years. They were NRL champions four years in a row, 2021 to 2024, and we may never see that again.
I support them because... of my mum, funnily enough. She would not have been able to name a rugby league player but she went on a holiday to Australia in the late 1980s and brought back some jerseys and hoodies for us lads. One of my brothers got Manly, one got Parramatta and the youngest got Penrith. My team was settled, even when New Zealand got its own NRL team — the Warriors — in 1995.
You should also be a Panthers fan... because they have a great jersey, because they are at the heart of a cool community and because it will never be the Warriors’ year.
My all-time favourite player is... Ryan Girdler. He played centre for the outstanding Penrith team that made the 2003 grand final. Girds played 204 games for the Panthers, scoring 101 tries and kicking 581 goals. Good-looking bloke, too. Everything he did just seemed effortless.
My favourite current player is... Nathan Cleary. A superstar of the highest order. Co-captain in four straight grand final wins, two-time Clive Churchill Medal winner, two-time Dally M halfback of the year and an absolute wizard with the ball.
The future for my team is... bright. I think. "The dynasty is over" was the common reaction to the Panthers struggling a bit this season, and failing to make the grand final for a sixth consecutive year. But the spine of the team remains remarkably strong, the club is full of extremely smart people and the Penrith and wider area just seems to churn out good footy players. Panthers v Warriors grand final in 2026? I know who I’m cheering for.
