Panthers' great run comes to an end

The Brisbane Broncos will be facing off against the Melbourne Storm in the NRL Grand Final after defeating the Penrith Panthers 16 to 14. This will be the first NRL Grand Final since 2019 without the Penrith Panthers.

The Panthers have played in the last 5 NRL Grand Finals, and have won the last 4 NRL Premierships. Penrith have consistently finished in the top 2 on the ladder in the regular season, with first place finishes in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and second place finishes in 2021 and 2025. This year they finished the regular season in 7th on the ladder with 13 wins, well down on the 21, 20, 18 and 17 win regular seasons they experienced in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. More from Kynan Davis on our sports pages.

 Deine Mariner sinks the Panthers with decisive try. Photo: NRL official Instagram