# 2017 Penrith Panthers season

The 2017 Penrith Panthers season was the 51st in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Griffin and captained by Matt Moylan, the Panthers competed in the National Rugby League's 2017 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines pre-season tournament, which they finished as runners-up.

## Squad
### Player transfers

A † denotes that the transfer occurred during the 2017 season.
Gains :
| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Tim Browne | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2019 |
| Jed Cartwright | Gold Coast Titans | 2019 |
| Mason Cerruto | Parramatta Eels | |
| Samisoni Langi | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |
| Darren Nicholls | Brisbane Broncos | 2017 |
| Michael Oldfield | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2017 |
| Mitch Rein | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2018 |
| Tony Satini | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | |
| James Tamou | North Queensland Cowboys | 2020 |
Losses :
| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Braidon Burns | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2018 |
| Zach Dockar-Clay† | Hull Kingston Rovers (Championship) | 2018 |
| Chris Grevsmuhl | Released, later Gold Coast Titans | 2018 |
| Josh Hall | Townsville Blackhawks (QLD Cup) | |
| Zak Hardaker | Castleford Tigers (Super League) | 2017 |
| Andrew Heffernan | Hull Kingston Rovers (Championship) | |
| Peta Hiku† | Warrington Wolves (Super League) | 2019 |
| George Jennings | Parramatta Eels | 2017 |
| Robert Jennings | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2018 |
| Samisoni Langi† | Released, later Leigh Centurions (Super League) | 2017 |
| Jeremy Latimore | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2017 |
| Te Maire Martin† | North Queensland Cowboys | 2019 |
| Suaia Matagi | Parramatta Eels | 2018 |
| Michael Oldfield† | Canberra Raiders | 2018 |
| Andy Saunders | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2017 |
| Will Smith | Parramatta Eels | |
| Tupou Sopoaga | Western Sydney Rams (rugby union) | |
| Malakai Watene-Zelezniak† | Wests Tigers | 2018 |

## Auckland Nines

| # | Player |
| 1 | Dylan Edwards |
| 2 | Corey Waddell |
| 3 | Waqa Blake |
| 4 | Jed Cartwright |
| 5 | Malakai Watene-Zelezniak |
| 6 | Nathan Cleary |
| 7 | Sitaleki Akauola |
| 9 | Sione Katoa |
| 10 | James Tamou |
| 11 | Isaah Yeo (c) |
| 12 | Moses Leota |
| 13 | Kaide Ellis |
| 14 | Darren Nicholls |
| 15 | Zach Dockar-Clay |
| 16 | Corey Harawira-Naera |
| 17 | Tyrone May |
| 18 | Christian Crichton |
| 19 | Oliver Clark |
With club executives Brian Fletcher and Phil Gould questioning the necessity of the tournament, and a number of players unavailable for selection due to recent representative commitments, the Panthers fielded a largely inexperienced squad at the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines on 4–5 February. 9 of the 18 squad members had no previous NRL experience and only 3 had played more than 30 NRL games. Regardless, the team won all 3 of their pool matches, and progressed to the Grand Final, where they were defeated 10–8 by the Sydney Roosters. Waqa Blake and Moses Leota were named in the team of the tournament.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 4 February | Game 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 28 – 18 | Ellis, Harawira-Naera, Tamou (2), M. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (1/3), Dockar-Clay (2/2) |
| Saturday, 4 February | Game 9 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 14 – 16 | J. Cartwright, Harawira-Naera, Leota | Narawira-Naera (1/2), Nicholls (1/1) |
| Sunday, 5 February | Game 18 | Gold Coast Titans | 4 – 22 | Akauola, Dockar-Clay, Edwards, Katoa | Dockar-Clay (1/2), Narawira-Naera (1/2) |
| Sunday, 5 February | Quarter Final | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 16 – 12 | Blake, Katoa, May | Cleary (1/1), Nicholls (0/1) |
| Sunday, 5 February | Semi Final | Parramatta Eels | 13 – 0 | Blake (2), M. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (0/3) |
| Sunday, 5 February | Grand Final | Sydney Roosters | 8 – 10 | Cleary, M. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (0/1), Nicholls (0/1) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 11 February | Trial 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Belmore Sports Ground | 10 – 20 | Blake, Cerruto, Harawira-Naera, Katoa | Dockar-Clay (1/2), Nicholls (1/2) |
| Saturday, 18 February | Trial 2 | Parramatta Eels | Pepper Stadium | 18 – 6 | Latu, Martin, Whare | Cleary (3/3) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 4 March | Round 1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | UOW Jubilee Oval | 42 – 10 | Blake, Peachey | Cleary (1/1), Wallace (0/1) | 7,283 |
| Sunday, 12 March | Round 2 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 2 – 36 | Cleary, Edwards, Kikau, Latu, Whare (2) | Cleary (6/7) | 12,232 |
| Saturday, 18 March | Round 3 | Sydney Roosters | Pepper Stadium | 12 – 14 | Peachey | Cleary (4/4) | 11,044 |
| Friday, 24 March | Round 4 | Newcastle Knights | Pepper Stadium | 40 – 0 | Cleary, Narawira-Naera, Martin, Peachey, Wallace, D. Watene-Zelezniak, Whare | Cleary (6/8) | 10,567 |
| Saturday, 1 April | Round 5 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 28 – 6 | Martin | Cleary (1/1) | 15,223 |
| Friday, 7 April | Round 6 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Pepper Stadium | 20 – 21 | Harawira-Naera, Oldfield, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (4/4) | 15,535 |
| Sunday, 16 April | Round 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Pepper Stadium | 2 – 28 | | Cleary (1/1) | 15,780 |
| Saturday, 22 April | Round 8 | Parramatta Eels | ANZ Stadium | 18 – 12 | Harawira-Naera, Hiku | Cleary (2/2) | 14,070 |
| Thursday, 27 April | Round 9 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 32 – 18 | Campbell-Gillard, Merrin, Moylan | Cleary (3/3) | 21,464 |
| Saturday, 13 May | Round 10 | New Zealand Warriors | Pepper Stadium | 36 – 28 | Yeo (2), Blake, Moylan, Peachey, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (6/6) | 11,588 |
| Sunday, 21 May | Round 11 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium | 20 – 30 | Moylan (2), Latu, Tamou, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (5/5) | 13,319 |
| | Round 12 | Bye | | | | | |
| Sunday, 4 June | Round 13 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium | 0 – 38 | Rein (2), Blake, Cleary, Harawira-Naera, Mansour, Moylan | Cleary (5/7) | 11,283 |
| Saturday, 10 June | Round 14 | Canberra Raiders | Carrington Park | 24 – 20 | Cleary, Harawira-Naera, Moylan, Peachey | Cleary (4/4) | 8,730 |
| | Round 15 | Bye | | | | | |
| Saturday, 24 June | Round 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium | 14 – 12 | Cleary, Harawira-Naera | Cleary (2/2) | 17,876 |
| Sunday, 2 July | Round 17 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium | 42 – 14 | Mansour, Moylan | Cleary (3/3) | 14,103 |
| Saturday, 8 July | Round 18 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Pepper Stadium | 16 – 8 | Tamou, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (4/4) | 14,625 |
| Friday, 14 July | Round 19 | New Zealand Warriors | Mount Smart Stadium | 22 – 34 | Cleary (3), Blake, Harawira-Naera, May | Cleary (5/6) | 13,076 |
| Saturday, 22 July | Round 20 | Gold Coast Titans | Pepper Stadium | 24 – 16 | Blake (2), Moylan, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (4/5) | 11,480 |
| Thursday, 27 July | Round 21 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Pepper Stadium | 16 – 8 | Peachey, Wallace, D. Watene-Zelezniak | Cleary (2/4) | 8,727 |
| Sunday, 6 August | Round 22 | Wests Tigers | Pepper Stadium | 28 – 14 | D. Watene-Zelezniak (2), Edwards, May, Peachey | Cleary (4/5) | 15,780 |
| Saturday, 12 August | Round 23 | North Queensland Cowboys | Pepper Stadium | 24 – 16 | Cleary (2), Mansour, Tamou | Cleary (4/4) | 12,357 |
| Sunday, 20 August | Round 24 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 22 – 26 | Blake, Cleary, Mansour, May | Cleary (5/5) | 14,818 |
| Sunday, 27 August | Round 25 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Pepper Stadium | 14 – 16 | Mansour, May | Cleary (3/3) | 18,848 |
| Saturday, 2 September | Round 26 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Lottoland | 28 – 12 | Campbell-Gillard, May | Cleary (2/2) | 14,423 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 9 September – Melbourne | 9 September – Melbourne | 9 September – Melbourne | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 18 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 16 | 16 September – Sydney | 16 September – Sydney | 16 September – Sydney | | | | |
| | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 16 | | | | |
| 10 September – Sydney | 10 September – Sydney | 10 September – Sydney | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 22 September – Melbourne | 22 September – Melbourne | 22 September – Melbourne | | | |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 14 | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 30 | |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 15 | | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 0 | 1 October – Sydney | 1 October – Sydney | 1 October – Sydney |
| | | | | | | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 34 |
| 9 September – Sydney | 9 September – Sydney | 9 September – Sydney | | | | 23 September – Sydney | 23 September – Sydney | 23 September – Sydney | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 6 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 | | | | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 16 | | |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 15 September – Brisbane | 15 September – Brisbane | 15 September – Brisbane | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 29 | | |
| | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 13 | | | | | | |
| 8 September – Sydney | 8 September – Sydney | 8 September – Sydney | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 6 | | | | | |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 9 September | Elimination Final | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Allianz Stadium | 10 – 22 | Cartwright (2), Peachey | Cleary (5/5) | 15,408 |
| Friday, 15 September | Semi Final | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 13 – 6 | Campbell-Gillard | Cleary (1/1) | 38,623 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | Age | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Sitaleki Akauola | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Waqa Blake | 23 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Tim Browne | 30 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reagan Campbell-Gillard | 24 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Bryce Cartwright | 23 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Nathan Cleary | 20 | 26 | 11 | 92/102 | 0 | 228 |
| Dylan Edwards | 21 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| James Fisher-Harris | 22 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 23 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Peta Hiku | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sione Katoa | 22 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Viliame Kikau | 22 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Leilani Latu | 24 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Moses Leota | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Mansour | 27 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Te Maire Martin | 22 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Tyrone May | 21 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Trent Merrin | 28 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Moylan | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Michael Oldfield | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tyrone Peachey | 26 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Mitch Rein | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| James Tamou | 29 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Peter Wallace | 32 | 19 | 2 | 0/1 | 0 | 8 |
| Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 22 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Malakai Watene-Zelezniak | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Whare | 27 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Isaah Yeo | 23 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 players | 24.54 | 26 | 87 | 92/103 | 0 | 532 |

## Ladder

2017 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 633 | 336 | +297 | 44 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 500 | 428 | +72 | 38 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 597 | 433 | +164 | 36 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 496 | 457 | +39 | 36 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 476 | 407 | +69 | 34 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 552 | 512 | +40 | 32 |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 504 | 459 | +45 | 30 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 467 | 443 | +24 | 30 |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 533 | 450 | +83 | 28 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 497 | +61 | 26 |
| 11 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 360 | 455 | −95 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 464 | 564 | −100 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 444 | 575 | −131 | 18 |
| 14 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 413 | 571 | −158 | 18 |
| 15 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 448 | 638 | −190 | 18 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 428 | 648 | −220 | 14 |

## Other teams

In addition to competing in the National Rugby League, the Panthers also fielded semi-professional teams in the National Youth Competition's 2017 Holden Cup (Under-20s) and the New South Wales Rugby League's 2017 Intrust Super Premiership (NSW Cup). The NYC team was coached by Garth Brennan and captained by Wayde Egan, and the NSW Cup team was coached by David Tangata-Toa and captained by Sione Katoa in early rounds and Darren Nicholls in later rounds.
The club won the 2017 New South Wales Cup season and the 2017 NRL State Championship.

### Finals

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Wyong | 34 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Canterbury | 26 | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | | | | |
| | | | Canterbury-Bankstown | Canterbury-Bankstown | 32 | | | | |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Illawarra | Illawarra | 14 | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | | | |
| 5 | Mount Pritchard | 26 | | | | Wyong | Wyong | 16 | |
| 8 | Illawarra | 30 | | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 12 | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval |
| | | | | | | | | | Wyong | Wyong | 12 |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | | | | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Leichhardt Oval | Penrith | Penrith | 20 |
| 6 | North Sydney | 18 | | | | Penrith | Penrith | 16 | | |
| 7 | Newcastle | 40 | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Canterbury-Bankstown | Canterbury-Bankstown | 12 | | |
| | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 30 | | | | | | |
| Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Jubilee Oval | Newcastle | Newcastle | 6 | | | | | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Penrith | 36 | | | | | | | | |

## Representative honours
### Domestic

| Pos. | Player | Team | Call-up |
| BE | Leilani Latu | Indigenous All Stars | 2017 All Stars match |
| BE | Tyrone Peachey | Indigenous All Stars | 2017 All Stars match |
| PR | Reagan Campbell-Gillard | World All Stars | 2017 All Stars match |
| SR | Bryce Cartwright | World All Stars | 2017 All Stars match |
| Five-eighth | Bryce Cartwright | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin |
| BE | Nathan Cleary | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin |
| FB | Matt Moylan | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin |
| CE | Tyrone Peachey | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin |
| PR | James Tamou | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin |
| 18 | Matt Moylan | New South Wales | 2017 State of Origin |
| 18 | Trent Merrin | New South Wales | 2017 State of Origin |

### International

| Pos. | Player | Team | Call-up |
| LK | Trent Merrin | Australia | 2017 Anzac Test |
| WG | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | New Zealand | 2017 Anzac Test |
| CE | Dean Whare | New Zealand | 2017 Anzac Test |
| CE | Waqa Blake | Fiji | 2017 Pacific Test vs Tonga |
| SR | Viliame Kikau | Fiji | 2017 Pacific Test vs Tonga |
| BE | Sione Katoa | Tonga | 2017 Pacific Test vs Fiji |
| 18 | Samisoni Langi | Tonga | 2017 Pacific Test vs Fiji |
| PR | Leilani Latu | Tonga | 2017 Pacific Test vs Fiji |
| PR | Cowen Epere | Malta | 2017 Pre-World Cup Test vs Italy |
| BE | Reagan Campbell-Gillard | Australia | 2017 World Cup |
| WG | Josh Mansour | Australia | 2017 World Cup |
| SR | Viliame Kikau | Fiji | 2017 World Cup |
| WG | Mason Cerruto | Italy | 2017 World Cup |
| WG | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | New Zealand | 2017 World Cup |
| CE | Dean Whare | New Zealand | 2017 World Cup |
| FE | Jarome Luai | Samoa | 2017 World Cup |
| CE | Lachlan Stein | Scotland | 2017 World Cup |
| BE | Sione Katoa | Tonga | 2017 World Cup |