Penrith have re-written history thanks to a 50-10 thrashing of Melbourne at CommBank Stadium | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Penrith are officially off to the hottest start to a season in 63 years after claiming their fifth straight win with an historic 50-10 domination of Melbourne.
In a performance labelled by Andrew Johns as the best of the Panthers’ dynasty, Penrith were near flawless at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Unbeaten after five rounds, Penrith’s for-and-against of +150 is now the best of any team at this stage of the season since the great St George side in 1963.
Casey McLean’s stunning try gave Penrith a 20-point lead at halftime | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Ivan Cleary’s men are also the first in premiership history to have won their first five games of a season by 20 points or more.
The result marked the first time Melbourne have conceded 50 in a game in 23 years, with this their biggest loss since the 2008 grand final.
“I’m definitely shocked by the scoreline,” Cleary said.
“I am just stoked with the discipline the boys have shown with the way they have come down from each game and prepared again for the next week.
“We’re actually getting better.”
The Storm’s third straight defeat means they now have a losing record this late in a season for the first time since 2018.
The good news for Melbourne is that Harry Grant was cleared of a serious injury after finishing early with a knee knock.
But that was where the positivity ended.
“I’m disappointed,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said.
“They’re probably head and shoulders best in competition. They don’t have many points scored against them and have scored the most points.
“It’s not that they’ve won five games. It’s how they’ve won.
“But I was just really disappointed in our defence tonight.”
In reality, no side would have beaten the Panthers on Friday night.
The clear early favourites to regain the crown after their run of four straight premierships ended last year, the Panthers look better than ever in 2026
Melbourne were left facing questions after conceding 50 points for the first time since 2003 | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Their left edge Blaize Talagi, Isaiah Papali’i, Casey McLean and Tom Jenkins tells the story of their regeneration, with none of the four having won a grand final for the club.
Jenkins’ 12 tries through the first five rounds is also the most in history, having scored a double or hat-trick in every game
And while that edge is firing, mainstays Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards and Liam Martin also played starring roles against the Storm.
Even when Melbourne threatened to get back into the game at different stages, Penrith’s class shone through.
Nowhere was that more evident than in the first half with Penrith leading 10-6, and Melbourne attacking their line to take the lead.
Penrith responded by taking Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown into touch when Melbourne pushed too wide, and on the next set Papali’i bumped off a defender, offloaded to McLean and Jenkins scored.
