- Penrith stars celebrated their triumph as Prime Minister
- Ivan Cleary took a cheeky swipe at Reece Walsh
- Players wore goggles to protect their eyes
Penrith’s 26-24 win over Brisbane will go down as possibly the biggest decider ever played, and the team posted pictures on social media after the match of how they celebrated.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary gave an emotional speech after the game, thanking his team and their families.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone in this room and everyone who has ever supported us,” Cleary said.
‘It’s been a long journey. I know this year’s team has been a great team, that’s one thing, but this is also part of three in a row.
Cleary made a crafty move on Brisbane’s polarizing fullback Reece Walsh, which Nathan evaded to score the match winner.
Panthers stars celebrated late into the night after their big final win
Nathan Cleary posed with his teammates, the Provan-Summons Trophy and the wrestling belt the team had made for the final
Many players wore goggles to protect their eyes from the champagne being sprayed
‘He got past two or three defenders, I think it was Reece Walsh?’ the coach said before the cheers broke out.
‘Reece Walsh is a phenomenal player. That kid is going to have a great career,” he added, before a fan responded with: “He’s a scourge.”
After this the party really started, with Nathan Cleary, who orchestrated the late comeback, posting clips to his Instagram of the team singing and dancing in the barns.
The superstar halfback also posted a photo of himself with a wrestling-style belt around his waist, lying on the pitch.
The players worked under the theme of ‘undisputed champions’ after the idea was pitched to them by the coaching staff late in the season.
A belt was made, on which the Panthers had the results of their matches engraved as they marched through the finals.
To the left of center is their 32-6 week one score over the Warriors, and to the right is ‘Panthers 38, Storm 4’.
“We added the Warriors in that first week and then Melbourne last week,” utility Jack Cogger told AAP after Sunday night’s grand final.
The scores of the final matches are engraved on the undisputed belt (photo).
Jarome Luai doubled down on his controversial post earlier this season with a cheeky post
Panthers stars sang songs, drank beer and celebrated an incredible win over Brisbane
Panthers star Moses Leota celebrates with his daughter after the game
“And the last piece was put on tonight.”
That last piece is a large gold logo that reads: 2023 NRL Premiers, Undisputed.
In several clips, Panthers players could be seen wearing glasses on their heads – and the reason is that their eyes came out of champagne.
It is an American tradition for winning teams to wear the glasses because of the high alcohol content of French bubbly, which can cause damage to the eyes.
It is a long-standing American trend to wear goggles during wild celebrations of winning the premiership, to avoid French bubbly getting into their eyes.
NRL villain Jarome Luai doubled down on his controversial post earlier this season with a cheeky Instagram post in the early hours of Monday morning.
Luai shared a photo of herself and Sunia Thompson pointing to the camera with the caption: “Who has work tomorrow?”
The five-eighth caused a huge backlash when he wrote: “Chill, you idiots have to work tomorrow morning,” accompanied by several tears of joy emojis after the Blues lost Origin 2.