The cliche of it being more difficult to defend a title than win one is well-worn for a very good reason. The fire of a challenger is a more dynamic and reliable fuel than the heat of being a champion.
But Penrith's 26-12 win over South Sydney in the grand final rematch confirmed what we already knew — the reigning premiers will finish Round 4 as the only unbeaten team in the NRL and, after one month of matches, they are the league's undisputed top dogs.
There is still so much of this season to go and plenty of teams will sort out their issues and rise to Penrith's level.
Origin will hit them like a speeding truck, just like it did last year and, while Penrith will likely contend for many years to come, this season is the last time these particular Panthers will be together.
Viliame Kikau, who finished with two line break assists and two try assists in one of his best ever games for Penrith, will be an enormous loss once he leaves for Canterbury, as will Api Koroisau when he goes to Wests.
So many of these Panthers are so accomplished now. There is no way to keep them all.
But, by God, the Panthers are going to enjoy every single second of this last ride.
The previous powerhouses, the Roosters and Melbourne, had a cool inevitability about their dominance, a quiet confidence that they could navigate the darkest of waters and come through the other side.
There is nothing quiet about these Panthers and nor should there be, because if they were they would be pretending to be something they're not.
Panther Park is going to be the greatest party in the west in it's final season of use and the black-clad hordes, 20,521 of whom crammed into the stands, are going to be a howling menace to any team who comes to the foot of the mountains.
This was their 19th straight win at the only home they've ever known. It is not inconceivable to think they might never lose there again before they camp out at Parramatta Stadium for a couple of years.
So no wonder the club and the fans are feeling themselves. This success is still new enough to them to remember what came before, and riding so high you're looking down at everyone else is all the more sweeter when you know what it's like to have strained your neck for looking up.
Arrogance has been a charge thrown at the Panthers over the last 12 months but that does them a disservice. They are absolutely confident in who they are as a team, what they want to do and how they are going to do it.
They can be flashy and fun, especially when Luai is in one of his moods down the left, but the true core of this team is the fact that only thing they love more than a hard fight is a hard win.
That's what won them the title last year, when they were broken down to their most basic elements — athletic carries, Cleary's kicking game and a defence fuelled by indomitable will — and they fought and fought and fought until that was enough for them to be called champions after that fateful night at Lang Park.
South Sydney were worthy opponents back then and they were again in the rematch, especially in the first half, when they gave as good as they got, and they stayed in the game until May's second try of the night midway through the second half, which became an eight-pointer after some illegal contact from Lachlan Ilias.
It was a tough moment for the young halfback, but Ilias had the best half of his first grade career in the opening 40 minutes before a tougher outing in the second, but as he improves so will the Rabbitohs
Once Jai Arrow, who had a real crack even as things fell apart around him, goes to the middle permanently, the team will be better for it. Latrell Mitchell now is far from the player he will be in a few weeks time but still had some nice touches and the Rabbitohs are still working out their three-quarter line.
That's what the start of the season is for, working stuff out.
Melbourne are working out how to handle their middle rotation after losing Christian Welch for the season. The Roosters are working out their own middle forward issues and are trying to get Sam Walker and Luke Keary to fit together.
Cronulla have been so impressive, but are still so new. Other teams, like Manly, are still trying to work out what kind of team they will be after the tweaks to the six again rule.
There is nothing for the Panthers to work out. Taylan May has been in the team for five minutes and is playing like Brian To'o with a dodgier haircut. Izack Tago is replacing Matt Burton, the reigning centre of the year, and looks great doing it — he won his battle with Campbell Graham, one of the best defensive centres in the league, hands down.
Dylan Edwards, who ran for 289 metres but still had the energy to cut down Alex Johnston with a terrific cover tackle in the dying stages with the match well won, is slowly going from one of the game's most underrated players to becoming more properly rated.
Other teams fall apart without their halfback. Penrith though, were able to keep Cleary on ice for as long as they liked because, while he is their most important player, they know how to keep going without him. There are halves who dream of passing like Isaah Yeo does and Jarome Luai is playing like he could walk on water.
Now that Cleary has returned, Penrith feel inevitable in the same way the Roosters and Storm did for so long.
They are the monster at the end of the nightmare, with claws out and teeth bared, and even though they have achieved so much they are still ravenous for more.
Slick Sharks power past Knights in windy Cronulla
An impressive Sharks outfit beat Newcastle in a Cronulla gale, nabbing their third straight win with the 18-0 shutout.
The five-point defeat to Canberra in the first round remains the only loss of the season for a Sharks side that seems to be improving each week.
Conditions at Shark Park were far from perfect, with strong winds making many things difficult, primarily any sort of kicking.
It was fitting then, that the first try came off a short ball to a front rower, and extra special that it was AIden Tolman, who celebrated his 300th NRL game with a rare four-pointer.
The Sharks were perhaps somewhat unlucky not to have another soon after when Siosifa Talakai steamed onto a brilliant offload by Matt Moylan, only for the bunker to find a line-ball obstruction call in the lead-up.
Cronulla did take a two-try lead into the break thanks to a superb flying finish from Sione Katoa on the right wing in the 39th minute, but Nicho Hynes could not kick either goal in the swirling wind.
The Sharks remained the better side with the wind at their back in the second half, while the Knights only got more disjointed.
Talakai eventually got a well-deserved try in the 68th minute, before fullback Will Kennedy finished off the try scoring on the end of a sensational break and grubber kick back in-field from winger Ronaldo Mulitalo.
Hynes even managed to slot a goal to end the night at the end of another strong night for the star signing.
AAP
