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“The crown has slipped”: Is the Panthers dynasty coming to an end?
Nicholas Quinlan • March 28th, 2025 10:14 am
Andrew Voss believes that “the crown has slipped”.
He has concerns for the Penrith Panthers, believing their aura over the competition has been diminished as a result of their performances over the last few weeks.
Penrith was beaten comfortably by South Sydney 28-18 at Accor Stadium on Friday night, with the Rabbitohs scoring all 28 points unanswered in the first half.
The four-in-a-row Panthers have now lost three games in a row for the first time since 2019.
Voss believes that Penrith needs to vastly improve in their defence to stay competitive in the season.
“I think the crown has slipped,” Voss said on SEN1170 Breakfast.
“The Penrith defence, even with players out last year would still hold firm.
“How long are we going to be saying Penrith have conceded 30 points a game?
“Because that is bottom four stuff and I’m not saying there finishing bottom four.
“But I am saying it’s real. The points they are conceding is real; it’s there in black in white, it’s four weeks now.
“We’re building up a base and they are conceding 30 points a game, well they’re not that good that they can score 36 a game so I’m saying the crown has slipped.”
However, while he did express concerns about Penrith’s defence, he was not willing to say that the dynasty was over just yet.
“Am I writing them off?” Voss asked.
“No, I am not; I’m just saying the crown has slipped.”
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary says a bunker decision to deny Moses Leota a try “killed the momentum” for his side in their surprise defeat to the Rabbitohs.
The reigning premiers were 0-28 after a putrid first-half performance but it was the decision from the video officials that Cleary took issue with.
"I honestly thought it was a try," Cleary said.
"It would have been very handy but maybe that was just the night.
"At the end of the day we cost ourselves too many points in the first half. It definitely killed our momentum a bit, but we're responsible.
The Panthers had just 28 per cent of possession in the first term and, despite an all round improved second half they couldn’t mount enough of a comeback, going down 28-18.
It is the third straight defeat for the club who were without Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards.
Asked if he had any memory of such an underwhelming performance from his side, Cleary said: "I can't remember one ever.
"I was trying to work out what I was going to say. It was just one of those games.
"We made errors, couldn't defend them, compounded them and found new ways to make them. We just haven't got any rhythm in the way we are playing.
"I have to take responsibility for how we're playing to this point. The spirit is still there, which is good, but it's a bit hard and we haven't got any rhythm in our game.
"We're gonna need to find it pretty soon. The first half was just comical at some points."
The Panthers will look to bounce back from their trio of defeats when they host the Cowboys on Friday, April 4.
