3 minute read
Penrith have gone from close-to-the-worst in the NRL to leading the ladder in the majority of key statistics in a sign of their drastic improvement in 2020.
Penrith have gone from being close-to-the-worst in the NRL for errors and missed tackles to the competition's best as the stats bear witness to their stunning 2020 turnaround.
Sitting second heading into Saturday night's grudge match against the Wests Tigers, the Panthers are arguably the most improved team in the NRL this year.
And they have done it off getting the absolute basics of the game right.
A close look at Penrith's numbers from this year compared to last on Fox Sports Stats shows just how much they have turned their game around.
In 2019, the Panthers averaged the second-most missed tackles in the competition, with 29.3 per game.
This year, Ivan Cleary's men are missing nine fewer per match, giving them the lowest figures in the NRL.
They were also ranked 15th in completion rates last year, with 73.3 per cent. This year, they are first at 82.4 per cent.
Crucially, they are far more reliable with ball in hand too. In 2019 they coughed the ball up in their own half 3.8 times a match - again ranking 15th.
But just as in most other 'attitude-type' departments in 2020, the Panthers are now ranked first in the category, with just two errors in their own half per match.
"We have had a lot of changes in our club," Cleary said.
"We have changed things culturally and the make up of the team is different.
"This year is a different set of circumstances and we learned a fair bit out of last year.
"It's a different approach that has grown from last year. We are concentrating on trying to be consistent week to week.
"I am pretty happy with how we have evolved and I look forward to how we keep doing it."
That evolution has made all the difference for the Panthers.
The better completions and fewer errors in their half mean they are dominating field position, meaning they have been forced to make the fewest tackles of any team inside their 20-metre zone.
It has also helped them stave of the worst six-again record in the NRL, having received the fewest set restarts and been pinged for the most.
"Every team wants to be consistent. And we're no different," Cleary said.
"Each week we have played a similar type of footy and have been competitive in our fair share of games.
"That's very pleasing. That manifests itself with ball control and that sort of thing.
"That's always going to help. It's around having consistent performances and playing the style of football you want to."
Meanwhile Nathan Cleary is in no doubt for Saturday's match after training every day following the skin complaint and hospital stay that threatened to overshadow last weekend's win over the Rabbitohs, with Josh Mansour also set to return on the wing.
HOW PENRITH'S MATCH STATS COMPARE TO 2019
Points scored: 2019 - 17.2 (13th), 2020 - 20.4 (9th)
Errors: 2019 - 10.6 (13th), 2020 - 9 (1st)
Completion rates: 2019 - 73.3 per cent (15th), 2020 - 82.4 per cent (1st)
Errors inside own half: 2019 - 3.8 (15th), 2020 - 2 (1st)
Points conceded: 2019 - 19.8 (8th), 2020 - 14 (5th)
Missed tackles: 2019 - 29.3 (15th), 2020 - 20.7 (1st)
Linebreaks conceded: 2019 - 4.6 (15th), 2020 - 2.7 (2nd)
