Can anyone stop Penrith after winning fourth minor premiership in seven years?

September 6, 2026 — 6:24pmThere were so many reasons to celebrate in the Penrith dressing room on Sunday night.They just secured their fourth minor premiership in seven years courtesy of a 38-10 win against Wests Tigers.Co-captain Isaah Yeo made his comeback from a pec injury within four weeks. Mitch Kenny returned for the first time since badly damaging his ankle and leg in April.Tom Jenkins bagged a double to finish level (30 tries) with South Sydney’s Alex Johnston for the Ken Irvine Medal. Had fullback Dylan Edwards not made a pre-match promise to his two young daughters he would bag his own double, Jenkins could have finished with a hat-trick and ultimately crowned the game’s best try-scorer this season.Nathan Cleary was excellent, so was Liam Martin, Casey McLean and Luke Garner, who somehow kept a one-handed grip on the back of Tigers’ centre Solomone Saukuru jersey when he was certain to score a second-half try.It was the kind of performance coach Ivan Cleary would have wanted to see leading into the finals.How loud was the roar when the JJ Giltinan Shield was wheeled out to the sideline with two minutes remaining? Two support workers who help put up the club’s signage around the ground most weeks were given the honour.The Panthers return to CommBank Stadium next Sunday afternoon and host the Sydney Roosters in a qualifying final. Hopefully, the sun is out and the field is dry so some of the game’s best players can produce vintage football.The Roosters defeated Penrith three weeks ago – and in many ways, the loss jolted the Panthers to life. The mountain men were stuck in third gear for too long.The Panthers, now deserved premiership favourites, led the Tigers 26-0 at half-time and you sensed the locals dreaded the half coming to an end.The players were back slapping each other with every effort in attack and defence.If some of the tries were outstanding, so was some of the defence, including another couple of efforts to pick a few Tigers players up and drag them almost ten metres into touch.Party time: Tom Jenkins celebrates with Panthers teammates.Getty ImagesWhen Saukuru was shoved over the western touchline before the break, the Penrith players celebrated, with Edwards noticing Garner, who played a crucial role in the tackle, standing by himself, only to drag him into the celebration.To’o started the scoring after just seven minutes. McLean then ducked out of dummy-half to double the score on the other side of the field, before Jenkins scored the first of his two.Phil Gould asked on the Nine commentary, “how did he keep his backside off the ground?“. Scientists will still be working that one out on Monday morning.Yeo was injected into the action in the 26th minute, and received a decent cheer from the faithful. He was met by Terrell May, Samuela Fainu and Api Koroisau with his first hit-up, then had his right pec worked over – legally – by Jarome Luai the next carry.The Tigers aimed up in the second half when most inside the Parramatta venue expected the Panthers to post a few more tries, however they rest some of their stars.Latu Fainu replaced Luai in the halves, and immediately caused all sorts of headaches on the left edge with his pass selection and speed.Luai was playing his last game for the Tigers before moving on to Parramatta before eventually landing at the PNG chiefs in 2028.You can only imagine what was going through Luai’s head watching his old Penrith mates, whom he won four titles with. In a month’s time, they should probably make that five premierships.More:NRL 2026Penrith PanthersIvan ClearyWests TigersFrom our partners