Panthers prioritise rest in bid to overcome 30 years of history

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has declared his side can become the first team in 30 years to win a competition from outside the top four after opting to prioritising health rather than ladder position in the run to the finals.

While they are still a mathematical chance of climbing into the top four, last week’s dramatic loss to Canberra saw Penrith fall to seventh on the ladder and they are reliant on other results going their way if they are to climb into the four.

The situation saw Cleary rest 16 players from Thursday night’s clash with the Bulldogs, with Matt Eisenhuth to lead a youthful team at Accor Stadium.

The bulk of the squad is expected to be back on deck for next Saturday's Round 27 match against the Dragons. 

Should they finish outside the four, Penrith will need to win four games in succession in the finals to claim a fifth-straight premiership and Cleary is confident he has the cattle to replicate the feats of the 1995 Bulldogs.

"I've always said someone's going to do it sometime," Cleary said. "It happens in other sports so I don't see why it can't happen in our sport. The last couple of weeks have given us confidence. 

"We feel we can definitely play better, our opponents are probably saying the same thing, but we feel we're definitely capable. We have a lot of experience in finals and big games. 

"The way our season's gone, I feel we're in a good place to play well and give ourselves every chance to battle for a premiership."

Penrith have ridden a roller coaster throughout a season that opened with a win in Las Vegas.

From there, they won just two of their next 10 games to fall to last on the ladder after 12 rounds. A win over Parramatta triggered a run of nine on the trot before back-to-back golden-point losses in the last two weeks. 

Penrith will become the first team since 1999, and just the second in history, to make the finals from last place after 12 rounds, however the need to be at their best every week just to keep their season alive has taken a toll on the squad. 

"Fatigue is definitely part of [the decision]," Cleary said. "With where we've had to come from, last on the ladder in Round 12, we've been playing cut-throat footy for a long time. 

"We had a good winning streak there and then lost the last couple, both in extra time, and had some good lessons there of how we were playing. There were some signs there where we thought a break could do some good."