The Key to Stopping Penrith’s Historic Five-Peat: A Game-Changing Back-Rower
As the 2025 NRL season kicks off, the Penrith Panthers remain the dominant force, having secured four consecutive premierships. They’re now eyeing a historic five-peat, something no team has ever accomplished. With a new stadium rising in Sydney’s outer western suburbs, designed for the hardworking Panthers faithful, Penrith’s stranglehold on the league seems unbreakable. But if any team hopes to end their reign, they’ll need a specific kind of player — one that can break through Penrith’s suffocating strategies.
The modern game has shifted dramatically from the more fluid styles of past eras. There’s a longing for the kind of innovation that once defined the sport, similar to the unregulated creativity seen during the Menzies era — though not in reference to Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, but to rugby league great, Steve Menzies. Known as “Beaver,” Steve Menzies was one of the most versatile and skilled back-rowers the game has ever seen. He played a critical role in Manly’s premiership wins in 1996 and 2008 and still holds the record for the most tries scored by a forward.
What set Menzies apart was his ability to operate fluidly on both sides of the field — a rare trait in today’s game. Modern edge forwards are often limited to one side, following rigid left-field or right-field defensive assignments. They’re so bound by these structures that one might jokingly question how a right-side forward navigates a left-hand turn in traffic or how a left-side player manages to use scissors. These forwards have essentially become laborers — responsible for simple, repetitive tasks, with little room for creativity or unpredictability.
This predictability plays directly into the Panthers’ hands. They have mastered the art of controlling field position, using high, hang-time clearing kicks to pin opponents deep in their own territory. Their relentless kick chase then drives opposing wingers backward, trapping teams in their own half and gradually suffocating their attacking opportunities. It’s a war of attrition, with Penrith winning by forcing teams to start each set closer and closer to their own try line.
To counter this, teams need a back-rower like Steve Menzies — someone who can link up with wingers, centers, and fullbacks to help break free from Penrith’s territorial stranglehold. Think of back-rowers like Sonny Bill Williams, who blended brute strength with the finesse to move the ball fluidly across the field. Having such a dynamic forward could relieve pressure on the back three and help teams push beyond the halfway line more consistently.
The idea isn’t entirely new. Former NSW coach Brad Fittler tried to instill a similar approach during the State of Origin series, urging his team to “attack the halfway line as if it’s the try line.” However, his players were so deeply ingrained in NRL club culture — where forwards casually jog back for three tackles after a kick — that the strategy rarely materialized.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters also recognized the potential of versatile edge forwards, agreeing wholeheartedly that they could contribute more offensively. Meanwhile, Canberra’s Ricky Stuart, never shy about experimenting with tactics, has spent the offseason working on rushing an edge forward back into attacking positions to develop what he calls “shape in attack.”
One of the Panthers’ most effective strategies is their use of backs as battering rams during kick returns. When Penrith fields a clearing kick, their forwards hang back, conserving energy for their brutal kick chase. It’s only once the backs push the ball to around halfway that the forwards get involved, ensuring they stay fresh for their defensive duties. This system places an enormous strain on the opposition’s back three, forcing them to absorb repeated hits without much support.
A team that can break this cycle — by involving forwards earlier in the play and moving the ball before the Panthers’ line can set — stands a real chance of cracking Penrith’s armor. The goal is to tire Penrith’s forwards by forcing them into more defensive tackles, especially in their own half, where they’re less comfortable.
Penrith has also been adept at exploiting recent rule changes. In the 2021 grand final, they cleverly manipulated the six-again rule by deliberately committing minor infringements early in the tackle count, forcing the South Sydney Rabbitohs to stay pinned in their own half. It was a masterstroke in strategic rule-bending. A year earlier, though, Penrith fell to Melbourne in the grand final after Storm prop Christian Welch repeatedly pressured Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary on the last tackle, disrupting his kicking game.
However, in a move that changed defensive tactics, the NRL soon introduced a rule penalizing any player who made contact with the kicker during a clearing kick. This rendered strategies like Welch’s obsolete, contributing to his early retirement at age 30. The NRL’s increasing focus on player safety, especially regarding concussions, has also shifted the game toward faster, more mobile forwards, moving away from larger, traditional middle players.
This evolution opens the door for a new kind of back-rower to emerge — one who combines the defensive agility prized in recent seasons with offensive agility that can change the game’s tempo. Players like Melbourne’s Eliesa Katoa, the Sharks’ Briton Nikora, or the Cowboys’ Jeremiah Nanai could step into this role, channeling the versatility and attacking flair of Steve Menzies.
The key to dethroning Penrith may not lie in outmuscling them or playing a more conservative, defense-first strategy. Instead, it requires boldness — a willingness to break the mold and return to a more fluid style of play that encourages forwards to link with backs and create unpredictable attacking shapes. It’s about blending the defensive grit needed to survive against Penrith with the attacking creativity required to beat them.
As the 2025 season unfolds, the question remains: which coach will take the risk and release a back-rower from rigid structures, allowing them to roam freely and inject attacking spark? The team that answers this call could be the one that finally puts an end to Penrith’s era of dominance and stops the historic five-peat in its tracks.