Is Penrith's era of NRL dominance coming to an end?

There's a long way to go and it's certainly not 'panic-stations' yet, but the Panthers' hopes of a three-peat are already being put to the test just nine rounds into the 2023 season.

The Panthers currently sit seventh with a 4-4 record, but a look at the numbers tells us that, bye or not, all but one premiership-winning outfit of the NRL era has had at least five wins to their after the opening nine rounds of the season. The Panthers have been no exception to this rule during their previous premiership runs, even back in 1991.

When it comes to defending premiers the bar is even higher, despite the small sample size. The Panthers got their successful premiership defence off to a remarkable start, especially compared to this year - but the Roosters did the same in 2019.

In the entirety of the NRL era, just one side has managed to win the premiership after winning less than five games in nine rounds. In fact, they'd won just three by that point.

For the trivia fans - that team was the 2005 Wests Tigers.

We all know the old saying that 'defence wins premierships' - and that's an area where the Panthers are as strong as ever, once again leading the league despite their poor results - a great sign given the departure of Api Koroisau in the off-season. The Panthers have been the best defensive side in the game every year since 2020. In 2019, when they finished the regular season in 10th, they had the eighth-best defence in the competition and the fourth-worst attack.

They came a long way, and they did it quickly.

But what about 2023? While the critics may point to results alone, the context is worth noting. Despite their current record, the defending premiers still have the lowest average losing margin (2 pts) and the biggest average winning margin (20 pts) in the competition. While it's clear that they need to make a few adjustments, a few small tweaks can have them back to their best in no time - and we know just how dangerous they can be.

What do you think? Are the Panthers a spent force? Or are they just lulling everyone into a false sense of security? Can they claim the first back-to-back-to-back first grade premierships in 40 years? Or does it look beyond them in 2023?