Ivan Cleary smacks down ugly claim about Panthers after Stephen Crichton's exit

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has rubbished talks that Penrith can't win an unprecedented fourth straight premiership after Stephen Crichton, Spencer Leniu and a host of talent left the club at the end of the 2023 season. The Panthers are the first side since the Parramatta Eels team of 1981-1983 to win three consecutive titles and Cleary believes they can become the first team in the NRL era to win four straight premierships.

Taylan May is in line to take Crichton's centre spot, while Liam Henry is the frontrunner to take Leniu's place and Cleary is confident they can slot in well to the team. "It’s very hard to replace the boys that we lost,” Cleary told SEN.

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"You can’t really replace them like-for-like because there aren’t a lot of Spencer’s (or Stephen’s) around. We’ve got a young bloke called Liam Henry who we have high hopes for. He plays a bit differently to Spencer (but) we believe he will have a good season.”

Cleary says people doubting the club is nothing new as they have had their fair share of critics over the years and they continue to prove them wrong. "We were told that we couldn’t even win one (premiership)," Cleary said.

"We were then told we couldn’t win two in a row or even three in a row. We have the talent to (win a fourth), we certainly have the experience and we have created that belief with the way we play.

"We are still a very motivated group and we are quite young as well. Many of them have a long way to go in their careers. It’s a very even league and there are other teams out there who think they are in a very good position to improve. We will definitely have our hands full this season."

Panthers confident Taylan May will make centre his own

Penrith are confident there will be no teething issues as they look to turn May from a winger into a centre for the new season. The Panthers youngster enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022 before injuring his anterior cruciate ligament during last year's World Club Challenge.

He missed the entirety of the 2022 season and is set to return in the centres after his replacement, Sunia Turuva, was crowned Dally M rookie of the year after a standout year on the wing. May comes off-contract at season's end and has had an impressive pre-season, with Turuva singing his praises.

"He came back fit," Turuva told AAP. "He's been looking strong and fit. It's good to see him back. He killed it the season before." May is expected to beat out Paul Alamoti and Tyrone Peachey to Crichton's centre spot.

with AAP

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