Footy great Matty Johns believes he has pinpointed why Penrith Panthers have slumped at the start of the 2025 season, with Nathan Cleary‘s side succumbing to their worst start to a premiership campaign since 2013.
The Panthers began the year with a victory against Cronulla in Las Vegas but since then they have looked a shadow of their former premiership-winning selves, conceding three games on the spin.
The defending champions, who came into the season off the back of four succesive NRL titles, have conceded 140 points across their opening four matches. Only two sides, the Roosters (146) and the Eels (152) have conceded more than them this season.
While they have missed their their talisman, Cleary, for one of those matches and have been adjusting to life without his halves partner Jarome Luai, Johns believes that defence is where Penrith’s problems lie.
‘If you’re leaking points in defence and you’re a team like Penrith – a quality team – that’s evidence it’s desire,’ Johns said to SEN radio on Tuesday.
‘There’s desire issues there.’
Matty Johns believes he has pinpointed why Penrith have been in such indifferent form at the start of the 2025 season
Nathan Cleary’s side have slumped to the bottom three on the NRL ladder having gone 1-4 for the start of the year
Questions are mounting over how Ivan Cleary’s (pictured) side recover from their slump, with Johns believing that the issue lies in the teams’ lacklustre defending
Johns, who made 176 appearances for the Newcastle Knights, pinpointed that some younger players in the Panthers cohort had not benefitted from the coaching expertise of Cameron Ciraldo.
The former Cronulla and Newcastle second-row was the brains behind the Pathers’ premiership wins in 2021 and 2022.
He left the club in 2023, agreeing to become the senior coach at the Canterbury Bulldogs on a five-year deal.
‘On top of that… the new generation of player that is coming through at Penrith weren’t exposed to Cameron Ciraldo’s defensive principles.
‘Ciraldo’s been away from the club now, this is his third year away. But all those teams that went four (premierships) in a row, all those players learnt the defensive principles off Cameron Ciraldo.’
Johns’ point is backed by the Bulldogs’ incredible defensive record so far this season.
Canterbury currently tops the NRL table after having gone unbeaten after their opening five matches but it’s their points difference that is so impressive.
They have a difference of 66 points, which is the same as the Brisbane Broncos, but have conceded the least amount of points (58) of any side in the league.
Former Panthers assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo (pictured) left Penrith to join the Bulldogs back in 2023
And the Bulldogs are now flying under Ciraldo, rising to the top of the NRL ladder having dropped the least ammount of points this season of any side in the league
‘Now what we’re seeing and what Cameron Ciraldo is doing at the Bulldogs shows how good he is defensively, how well he teaches defence,’ Johns added.
‘So that’s a challenge for Ivan.’
Considering the Panthers’ dominance over the past four seasons, it will be interesting to see how Ivan Cleary’s side deal with the gathering pressure. He too has even explained that his side are in ‘uncharted waters’.
‘How you navigate your way through it, it’s all part of the NRL rollercoaster, you know?’ Tom Eisenhuth said.
‘It’s probably good for them to experience it.
‘They’ll learn a lot of good lessons, as will the rest of the playing group, the senior boys too. In the long run, it’s going to be good for us.’
Coach Cleary had also appeared to side with Johns’ comments that his side were lacking in experience compared to previous premiership sides he has coached.
‘The week was good but it’s clear that our flow isn’t there and some of the errors are uncharacteristic from players who wouldn’t usually do that,’ he said, following Penrith’s 22-18 defeat by the Cowboys this weekend.
Penrith, meanwhile, have endured their worst start to a season since 2013, having now conceded 118 points
After their defeat by the cowboys this weeekend, Coach Cleary admitted his side were in ‘uncharted waters’
‘We’re in sort of uncharted waters a little bit to some extent. We’ve all lost games and that but the flow that you’d like isn’t quite there.
‘We have to prioritise the things we can control and we’ll be better for it.
‘We feel like we can win every game … but what may have once come easily, we’re making it look hard at the moment.
‘A lot of these players haven’t been there so it’s new for me too to come from where we’ve been so used to winning.’
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