NRL Round 22 Review: Panthers Perform Under Pressure, NRLW Detail & How Storm Set Up Coates

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What's to come this week:

• Premiership Panthers Performing Under Pressure

• Quick Play-the-Balls

  • Tigers Win With Commitment & Enery

  • NRLW Detail Developing

• Setting Up For A Shot: Campbell’s Movements On The …

• Try Time: How Melbourne Set Up The Coates Winner

Big Takeaway From the Week: Premiership Panthers Performing Under Pressure

Tackle one can make or break a set of six. First up here, we’re breaking down what makes for the biggest talking point of the week.

And just like that, the Penrith Panthers have won eight on the bounce to be 5th on the NRL ladder and back in the premiership conversation.

This group looked un-Panthers-like in their play to start the season. The league-leading defence of the previous four seasons struggled to dominate for long periods, they lacked the patience with the ball of the premiership-winning seasons, and the superstar spine couldn’t pick up the slack to snatch unlikely wins.

However, that has all changed after 22 rounds with their latest win the best sign yet that the Panthers are on a path that can still end with a fifth-consecutive Provan Summons Trophy.

Ivan Cleary’s side played out a professional first half to lead the Gold Coast Titans 24-0 at the break. There is still a lot of work to do for this group to reach the heights of previous squads; Penrith giving up a 24-0 lead to find themselves 26-24 behind - regardless of having a man binned - has been an unthinkable prospect for a long time now.

But it’s in their response to the deficit and ability to execute under pressure that can see this team accelerate their progress towards Grand Final Day 2025.

With three minutes on the clock, down two and with the Titans turning the ball over in strong field position, the Panthers got to work. They played to their points, generated the momentum required to get up the field, and even when things weren’t perfect, found a way to extend the game.

Izack Tago’s carry doesn’t present as particularly strong, but his movement across this field is quite possibly deliberate. It opens up the field to play both sides of the ruck, and moves the play-the-ball far enough towards the left edge that Mitch Kenny can get to Casey McLean into Jayden Campbell with one pass.

By getting into Campbell and winning the contact up top, McLean can stand in the tackle and force a late retreater into the Titans line which leaves them with only three on the short side. It’s clunky, but the Panthers get there in the end through an offload and generate momentum down the left edge.

With it, the Panthers look wide.

Two leads through the middle of the field create the space. Tago’s play is exceptional here in his ability to take the metres without risking being taken into touch. His offload to Brian To’o adds another 15 metres to the play and a quick ruck.

Given the field position, the Panthers are looking for the winner. They’ve moved beyond the point of a two-point field goal for now. The shift is on, but the cohesion we’ve seen in seasons past isn’t there yet as Cleary’s pass finds the ground. Still, Luke Garner moves onto the next play to find the middle of the field while Cleary positions himself behind the 40 metre line.

It isn’t frantic. Everybody knows their job and what is coming, despite it not being the sort of set Ivan will have drawn up on paper. Moses Leota and Lindsay Smith remove themselves from beside the ruck to avoid a blocker penalty. Meanwhile, Dylan Edwards positions himself behind Cleary just in case the kick pressure closes the gap on him, and Liam Martin makes sure to get himself onside before chasing down the kick.

Ice. In. His. Veins.

The plan may have always been to go for the two-point field goal, but it changed with the carry down the right edge. The plan changed again when the ball went to ground on the 4th tackle. Nonetheless, the group responded and put Cleary in a position to ice the kick.

That game plan and execution won it in Golden Point, too.

With Phillip Sami forced from the field, leaving Jacob Alick-Wiencke to defend in the centres, the Panthers made the Titans right edge their target.

Working to the right scrum line on 4th tackle and winning a quick ruck and only five defending on the long side, the Panthers have created their mismatch. A lead inside Alick-Wiencke, and with enough space outside Jaylen De Groot that he’s reluctant to turn in, McLean has the speed to make a clean break past the makeshift centre to set Blaize Talagi up for the winner.

This is all starting to feel very Panthers-like as finals football approaches.

They aren’t perfect and might not be as ruthless as their teams in recent years, but they can still play as the best team in the NRL, and there isn’t one you’d trust more to get the job done in the dying stages.

In a competition that has just seen three of the Top 4 teams lose in the same week while the other struggled to get past their 15th-placed opposition, the Panthers are coming good at the right time.

Quick Play-the-Balls

We’re generating momentum through the middle of the article with a couple of quick carries.

Tigers Win With Commitment & Enery

“All week people made it about him, but for us it was never about him.” - Benji Marshall

As much as the Wests Tigers may not have mentioned Lachlan Galvin’s name throughout the week, it wasn’t necessary. A young player left the club for what he expects to be a better future, and wasn’t particularly coy about it on his way out.

The playing group didn’t need to speak about the situation to be motivated by it.

Cameron Cirlado mentioned post-game that the Tigers beat his side convincingly by being “committed and energetic.”

Those have never been a problem for the Tigers at their best. Consistency has been the issue, and while they’ll take the week off to rest and recover, they must find that commitment and energy again in Round 24 against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles without the chip on their shoulder.

NRLW Detail Developing

With 95% of my week already dedicated to the NRL, my NRLW capacity is unfortunately limited to the odd game and mini-matches.

Still, I enjoy seeing how the detail in the game develops.

NRLW, over the years, has often been played in a way that should please the old-school purists. It’s relatively North and South, lacks the wrestle and dark arts in the ruck, and is a playground for the best athletes to beat their opposite number.

This is a good try to highlight how the little areas and deception are becoming more prevalent every week.

Shaping to kick puts the three-man on her heels before turning her inside out, anticipating a kick closer to the posts. As she turns, Lauren Brown adjusts to the space that comes with the triangle in the line.

It’s a perfectly weighted kick for the winger, but it likely doesn’t get through the line without the first movement of dummying inside to create the space.

I’ll have the odd thing here, but Oscar is your man for all things NRLW.

Setting Up For A Shot: Campbell’s Movements On The Line

Teams play to points with the following tackle in mind. Here, I’m touching on something to watch next week as we try to keep ahead of things happening on the field.

Jayden Campbell is quickly becoming an excellent halfback in the NRL. He isn’t a traditional #7, but that’s what makes him so dangerous at the moment.

His intercept try on Saturday afternoon helped to spark the Titans’ comeback.

It’s something opposition coaches might start to play for, though. It’s not the first time we’ve seen him shape to make a tackle before jumping into the pass…

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