Past, Present and Future Juggernauts

For the past two decades we've all wondered why the Melbourne Storm have been so dominant. It doesn't matter who leave's and who comes in, they always seem to be a top of the table team. They turn rejected players from rival clubs into superstars and important cogs in their system. Just to name a few, Billy Stater was rejected by Brisbane because he was too small, Cameron Smith was rejected by Brisbane because he wasn't good enough, Cooper Cronk was also not wanted by Brisbane because he didn't fit their plans. Craig Bellemy took them all in and found a place in his perfectly built system. Ryan Papenhuyzen was told he was too small by the Tigers and Josh Addo-Carr was also unwanted by the struggling Wests Tigers.

Bellemy was also unsure what to do with Cooper Cronk before he called in Mathew Johns and manufactured him into a world class halfback. When Cronk left the club in 2018, Melbourne coach Craig Bellemy picked up the Phone and said to Matty Johns, "I've got another challenge for you", and he turned Jarome Huges into a halfback, but not just any halfback, Huges is now one of the game's best and New Zealand's first choice halfback.

It was over two decades ago now when Craig Bellemy built a brilliant plug in and play system, and we have all admired the way they continue to remain premiership contenders, but it is the system built two decades ago not so much the quality of players they sign, as I mentioned they turn nobody's into stars.

At present we have the Penrith Panthers dominating, heading for their fourth straight premiership with no other team looking likely to stop them. It all stems back to 2019 when Ivan Cleary and Cameron Ciraldo invented their own plug and play system. A system so good it doesn't matter who comes in to replace a player as long as they do their job, and it doesn't affect the game plan. It really emphasizes the next man up phrase we tend to hear a lot of. Over the years the Panthers have had Sean O'Sullivan, Jack Cogger and this season Jack Cole has filled in for the Master halfback Nathan Cleary and haven't really missed a beat. The strength and durability of the system was never so evident two weeks ago, when Daine Laurie filled in for an injured Dylan Edwards and had a Dylan Edwards type performance, even topping Edwards run meters.

Over the past three years, we've seen teams try and emulate the Panthers game plan, but no one has been completely successful beating the Panthers at their own game, because they haven't truly been able to copy and paste the actual system. However, I believe the Bulldogs and Warriors are close, which I will get to shortly. It's all well and good to try emulating a game plan, but the problem with a game plan is other teams work it out and if you don't have more than one trick up your sleeve you get found out very quickly. Nathan Cleary is such an important part of the system because he constantly studies the game and is always working on different ways to break down opposition trams, even whilst on the side lines he is coaching players on how to best complete their jobs.

Why I think the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will be next to be a dominant force is because Cameron Ciraldo was one of the masterminds behind the Panthers system and was actually the Panthers defense coach who built the defensive structure at Penrith. The Bulldogs now sit on the NRL ladder with the best defense and that is no fluke. While it may be a shock to some who thought Ciraldo lost his mind by signing a bunch of utility players for this season, I knew exactly what he was doing. He was in fact buying hard working players to fit a certain system and buy into the culture he wanted to enforce, while they started off a little slow the more they play, the better their defense is gelling. Since the inclusion of Toby Sexton in the number 7 role, he has really straightened up their attack giving the likes of Matty Burton and Stephen Crichton more room to do their thing while directing the team around it just gives Burton the opportunity to play his best footy.

The Warriors aren't too far behind, already exceeding expectations last season by making a preliminary final for the first time in 12 years under rookie coach Andrew Webster. Webster spent two years working alongside Ivan Cleary and Cameron Ciraldo at Penrith before taking the head coach role at the Warriors. It was very evident from the time he took over at the Warriors he brought the winning culture and certain Penrith characteristics. Warriors started this season slow and have faced a huge injury toll, however the Warriors DNA really showed through at magic round when they took a young team, pretty much full of NSW cup players and beat the raining premiers Penrith Panthers 22-20 in the upset of the season. Now with their stars coming back and hopefully ready for the business end of the season, the Warriors should continue climbing the ladder and be a major contender for the 2024 NRL premiership. 

While I don't see anyone taking the Provan-Summons off the Panthers this season at this stage, there is still a long way to go in the season and anything can happen. At the start of the season, I thought Melbourne Storm were a real threat and I think they still are, at full strength they are very dangerous and very capable of defending like their lives depend on it. Next in line I think the Bulldogs, because defense wins premierships, and they are now the best defensive team in the competition at the moment and I only see them getting better. I believe the Warriors will make the finals this season, but they will be a bigger force next season especially with James Fisher-Harris arriving at the club.

Written by The League Nut                                                  EMAIL: theleaguenut@gmail.com