Finally, the good people of Parramatta will be able to cheer on a Grand Final winning side, as the Penrith Panthers take over Parramatta Stadium as the major tenant of the ground until the completion of their brand new stadium at Penrith in 2027.
No longer will people in Parramatta need to deal with terrible heartbreak. No longer will they have to watch on as another halfback fails to live up to the hype. The Panthers have arrived, and they will save the souls of the people living in Parramatta with their breathtaking football and their, well, winning ways!
The best team of the modern era, the Penrith Panthers have won the last 4 NRL Premierships over the last 4 years. That is more premierships than the Parramatta Eels have won in their entire history stretching back to 1947!
Lodged firmly in that incredible run is a blowout victory over the Parramatta Eels in the 2023 NRL Grand Final. The Panthers had that game wrapped up after just 20 minutes. It such a devastating, soul destroying loss for the Eels that they would sack their coach and look to rebuild from the ground up within 8 months of that game being played!
Now the Panthers have taken over their home ground!
So, what can Parramatta Rugby League fans expect to see when the Panthers take over their stadium?
Well, look for the Panthers to win a lot of game. They’ll play great defense, and put on some of the best attacking play to have been seen at the ground on a regular basis since the 1980’s.
There won’t be any “flash in the pan” runs of success. This will be real excellence. Sustained excellence.
Parramatta Rugby League supporters can look forward to regular NRL finals football being played at the ground. It is just something that the Penrith Panthers, who currently hold the longest winning streak in Rugby League finals history dating back to 1908, expect every single season.
Parramatta Rugby League supporters will be able to marvel at the excellence of Nathan Cleary, the leadership of Isaah Yeo, the brutality of Moses Leota, the barnstorming of Brian To’o, the relentlessness of Dylan Edward….and that is not even to mention the amazing coaching of Ivan Cleary!
Parramatta supporters are so lucky they will get to experience all of this, even if it is only for the next two years. Then, the Penrith Panthers will leave, moving back into a fully refurbish Penrith Football Stadium, back to Sydneys golden, winning west to continue their dominant run as they set record after record the likes of which we have not seen since the 1960’s.
When that happens, everything that is special about Parramatta Stadium will leave, and it will just become another ground again. Just another venue, or as we Panthers fans like to call it, a drive up the M4 for two easy competition points.
