Penrith are ready to put into practice their lessons from the past two years and clear the NRL semi-finals hurdle once and for all against Cronulla on Friday night.
Knocked out by Canberra and Brisbane at this point in 2016 and 2017, the Panthers endured a dramatic end to this year's regular season but still find themselves in the same position as the past.
But this time under new coach Cameron Ciraldo they insist they are ready to stake their claim in September, no longer content with just playing finals football
"Hopefully we've learned from the past two years and take that into tomorrow and not make the same mistakes," Ciraldo said.
"It's a pretty similar position, it's obviously the same week we've been in for the past few years."
There are stark differences though to both 2016 and 2017.
Nathan Cleary is now a State of Origin winning halfback, while Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Tyrone Peachey also both made their NSW debuts alongside him this year.
And the big addition is James Maloney, who is now in his eighth finals series with a fourth club with two premierships already to his name and ready to take on his old side.
Maloney is well aware this is the stage of the year he was brought to the club for, and his experience was crucial in turning the tide against the Warriors last week with a 40-20 victory when the Panthers were down 12-2 early.
"Obviously a bit of leadership at this time of year, that becomes very important," he said.
"I have to make sure I do my job and do it really well on the weekend.
"With younger guys you just find they do look up to you and look for advice in certain situations. It's something I've really enjoyed this year."
The other advantage at Penrith's disposal this season is the quickly clicking spine Maloney has around him and Cleary.
While Dylan Edwards and Peter Wallace's injuries decimated their fullback and hooker positions early, the halves pairing have won five of seven matches when joined by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Sione Katoa in the other key positions.
"I felt like they clicked two weeks ago against Melbourne (in the last round)," Ciraldo said.
"They were really good there and have been building towards that.
"Our last two performances have been our best two. We've got to make sure we keep building on that the way they're going."
Share
