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2016 Penrith Panthers season
NRL Rank	6th
Play-off result	Lost semi final vs. Raiders, 22–12
2016 record	Wins: 15; losses: 11
Points scored	For: 603; against: 497
Team information
CEO	Corey Payne (15 April – 16 August)
Coach	Anthony Griffin
Captain	Matt Moylan
Stadium	Pepper Stadium – 22,500 Carrington Park – 13,000 (round 9 only) AMI Stadium – 18,000 (round 10 only)
Avg. attendance	12,910 (Pepper Stadium only)
High attendance	15,411 vs. Sea Eagles, round 26 (Pepper Stadium only)
Top scorers
Tries	Josh Mansour (16)
Goals	Nathan Cleary (53)
Points	Nathan Cleary (118)
Home colours Away colours
← 2015 List of seasons 2017 →

The 2016 Penrith Panthers season was the 50th in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Griffin and captained by Matt Moylan, the Panthers competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines pre-season tournament.

The Panthers started their season with a string of close results, but failed to win consecutive games during the competition's opening two months. Over the course of the year, new coach Anthony Griffin redefined who was already well established within the team, and experienced playmakers Jamie Soward and James Segeyaro would later be released from their contracts mid-season. The Panthers finished the regular season with seven wins from their final eight games, securing 6th position and a place in the finals series.

Jersey and Sponsors

The Panthers' 2016 jersey, made by ASICS, was designed to commemorate the club's 50th season. The names of all those who have played 50 or more games for the club adorn the front of the jersey, while the back of the jersey features all five of the Panthers logos, past and present. Unlike the black and teal colour combination used in previous seasons, the Panthers adopted a black and golden brown colour scheme in 2016. The home jersey is black with golden brown panels and the away jersey is the inverse. OAK Milk again featured as the major sponsor, with Hertz once more on the sleeve.

On three occasions during the season, the Panthers wore unique heritage jerseys to celebrate the club's history. The celebratory jerseys were based on jersey designs from previous seasons, but were remade in the style of the current jerseys. The 1967 heritage jersey, worn against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in round 2, was based on the club's 'Chocolate Soldiers' jersey from their inaugural 1967 season. The 1991 heritage jersey, worn against the Canberra Raiders in round 9, was based on the jersey worn during the club's premiership winning 1991 season. Likewise, the 2003 heritage jersey, worn against the Sydney Roosters in round 22, was based on the jersey worn during the club's premiership winning 2003 season. Listed on each of the jerseys is the names of all those who played for the club in that respective season.

• 1967 heritage jersey
• 1991 heritage jersey
• 2003 heritage jersey

Squad

Player transfers

A † denotes that the transfer occurred during the 2016 season.

Gains Player Signed From Until End of Notes Sitaleki Akauola Wests Tigers Zach Dockar-Clay Parramatta Eels 2017 Benjamin Garcia Catalans Dragons (Super League) 2017 Chris Grevsmuhl† South Sydney Rabbitohs 2018 Josh Hall Gold Coast Suns (AFL – Australian rules) 2017 Zak Hardaker† Leeds Rhinos (Super League) 2016 (on loan) Andrew Heffernan Canberra Raiders Peta Hiku Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2018 Viliame Kikau North Queensland Cowboys 2017 Te Maire Martin Wests Tigers 2018 Suaia Matagi Sydney Roosters 2016 Trent Merrin St. George Illawarra Dragons 2018

Losses Player Signed To Until End of Notes Sam Anderson Redcliffe Dolphins (QLD Cup) 2017 Lewis Brown Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2018 Adam Docker Retirement - Daniel Foster Easts Tigers (QLD Cup) 2017 Benjamin Garcia† Catalans Dragons (Super League) 2018 Jamal Idris Released - Isaac John Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2016 Brent Kite Retirement - Apisai Koroisau Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2018 Sika Manu Hull F.C. (Super League) Kieren Moss Parramatta Eels 2016 Ben Murdoch-Masila Salford Red Devils (Super League) Nigel Plum Retirement - Sam Scarlett Brisbane Broncos James Segeyaro† Leeds Rhinos (Super League) 2016 David Simmons Retirement - Chris Smith† Sydney Roosters 2017 Jamie Soward† London Broncos (Championship) Shaun Spence Retirement - Elijah Taylor† Wests Tigers 2016

Fixtures

Auckland Nines

Rangitoto Pool

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
North Queensland Cowboys	3	2	0	1	55	36	+19	4
Newcastle Knights	3	2	0	1	48	58	−10	4
Penrith Panthers	3	1	0	2	48	37	+11	2
Wests Tigers	3	1	0	2	36	56	−20	2

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 6 February	Game 4	Wests Tigers	Eden Park	23–7	Blake (3), Mansour, Watene-Zelezniak	Cartwright (1/2), Harawira-Naera (0/1), Martin (1/1), W Smith (0/1)	37,000
Saturday, 6 February	Game 11	Newcastle Knights	Eden Park	14–15	Dockar-Clay, R Jennings, Latimore	Harawira-Naera (0/1), Martin (0/1), W Smith (1/1)	37,000
Sunday, 7 February	Game 20	North Queensland Cowboys	Eden Park	11–15	Cartwright, Garcia	Cartwright (0/1), Martin (1/1)	37,000
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Pre-season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals
Saturday, 13 February	Trial 1	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Pepper Stadium	24–20	Hall, Martin, C Smith, Taylor, Watene-Zelezniak	Moylan (2/2), Harawira-Naera (0/1), Dockar-Clay (0/1), Cleary (0/1)
Saturday, 20 February	Trial 2	Parramatta Eels	Pepper Stadium	8–22	Blake, Mansour	Soward (0/2)
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Regular season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 5 March	Round 1	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium	30–22	Hiku, Mansour, Merrin	Soward (5/5)	11,297
Thursday, 10 March	Round 2	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Pepper Stadium	16–18	Hiku, McKendry	Soward (4/4)	11,125
Saturday, 19 March	Round 3	Brisbane Broncos	Pepper Stadium	23–22	Cartwright, Hiku, Latimore, Martin	Soward (3/5), Martin (1 FG)	12,086
Sunday, 27 March	Round 4	St. George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium	14–12	Hiku, Mansour	Soward (2/3)	12,983
Sunday, 3 April	Round 5	Parramatta Eels	Pirtek Stadium	18–20	Cartwright (2), Mansour, Wallace	Soward (2/4)	15,600
Saturday, 9 April	Round 6	North Queensland Cowboys	Pepper Stadium	18–23	Merrin, Watene-Zelezniak (2)	Soward (3/4)	13,725
Monday, 18 April	Round 7	Sydney Roosters	Allianz Stadium	16–20	Blake, Martin, Watene-Zelezniak	Soward (4/4)	10,117
Sunday, 24 April	Round 8	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Southern Cross Group Stadium	20–18	Fisher-Harris (2), Moylan, Yeo	Soward (1/3), Moylan (0/1)	14,273
Saturday, 30 April	Round 9	Canberra Raiders	Carrington Park	19–18	Cartwright, Hiku, Peachey	Soward (3/4), Wallace (1 FG)	6,721
Saturday, 14 May	Round 10	New Zealand Warriors	AMI Stadium	30–18	Peachey (3), Soward, Watene-Zelezniak	Soward (5/6)	18,000
Sunday, 22 May	Round 11	Gold Coast Titans	Pepper Stadium	24–28	Latu, Mansour, Peachey, Watene-Zelezniak	Soward (4/5)	11,210
	Round 12	Bye
Saturday, 4 June	Round 13	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park	24–6	Mansour	Soward (1/1)	11,116
Sunday, 12 June	Round 14	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval	24–31	Cleary, Latu, Mansour, Peachey, Wallace, Watene-Zelezniak	Moylan (0/2, 1 FG), Wallace (3/4)	12,463
	Round 15	Bye
Friday, 24 June	Round 16	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Pepper Stadium	28–26	Cleary, Grevsmuhl, Latu, Mansour, Watene-Zelezniak	Cleary (4/5)	13,080
Saturday, 2 July	Round 17	Wests Tigers	ANZ Stadium	34–26	Fisher-Harris, Mansour, Merrin, Yeo	Cleary (5/5)	10,582
Sunday, 10 July	Round 18	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Pepper Stadium	10–26	Latu, Yeo	Cleary (1/3)	12,682
Saturday, 16 July	Round 19	Parramatta Eels	Pepper Stadium	22–18	Campbell-Gillard, Cartwright, Mansour, Peachey	Cleary (3/4)	15,251
Friday, 22 July	Round 20	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium	12–31	Blake, Fisher-Harris, Hardaker, Merrin, Moylan	Cleary (5/6), Moylan (1 FG)	30,878
Saturday, 30 July	Round 21	New Zealand Warriors	Mount Smart Stadium	20–16	Mansour (2), Peachey	Cleary (2/4)	13,026
Monday, 8 August	Round 22	Sydney Roosters	Pepper Stadium	38–18	Blake, Cartwright, Cleary, Grevsmuhl, Peachey (2), Yeo	Cleary (5/7)	9,653
Sunday, 14 August	Round 23	Newcastle Knights	Hunter Stadium	6–42	Blake, Mansour (2), Moylan, Peachey, Watene-Zelezniak (2)	Cleary (7/8)	13,771
Friday, 19 August	Round 24	Wests Tigers	Pepper Stadium	40–10	Blake, Campbell-Gillard, Cartwright, Fisher-Harris, Merrin, Wallace, Yeo	Cleary (6/7)	14,876
Saturday, 27 August	Round 25	Gold Coast Titans	Cbus Super Stadium	14–15	Blake, Moylan	Cleary (3/3), Moylan (1 FG)	18,288
Sunday, 4 September	Round 26	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Pepper Stadium	36–6	Blake, Cartwright, Mansour (2), Wallace, Watene-Zelezniak	Cleary (6/6)	15,411
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Finals

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals						Preliminary finals					Grand final
	10 Sept, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
	1	Melbourne	16
	4	North Queensland	10			16 Sept, Willows Sports Complex
						North Queensland		26
	9 Sept, Lang Park					Brisbane		20				24 Sept, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
	5	Brisbane	44									Melbourne		14
	8	Gold Coast	28									Canberra		12			2 Oct, Stadium Australia
																	Melbourne		12
	11 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium											23 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium					Cronulla		14
	6	Penrith	28									Cronulla		32
	7	Canterbury	12			17 Sept, Canberra Stadium						North Queensland		20
						Canberra		22
	10 Sept, Canberra Stadium					Penrith		12
	2	Canberra	14
	3	Cronulla	16

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Sunday, 11 September	Elimination Final	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Allianz Stadium	28–12	Blake, Mansour, Peachey, Wallace, Watene-Zelezniak	Cleary (4/6)	22,631
Saturday, 17 September	Semi Final	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium	22–12	Peachey, Watene-Zelezniak	Cleary (2/2)	21,498
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Ladder

2016 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne Storm	24	19	0	5	2	563	302	+261	42
2	Canberra Raiders	24	17	1	6	2	688	456	+232	39
3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P)	24	17	1	6	2	580	404	+176	39
4	North Queensland Cowboys	24	15	0	9	2	584	355	+229	34
5	Brisbane Broncos	24	15	0	9	2	554	434	+120	34
6	Penrith Panthers	24	14	0	10	2	563	463	+100	32
7	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	14	0	10	2	506	448	+58	32
8	Gold Coast Titans	24	11	1	12	2	508	497	+11	27
9	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	2	499	607	−108	26
10	New Zealand Warriors	24	10	0	14	2	513	601	−88	24
11	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	10	0	14	2	341	538	−197	24
12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	9	0	15	2	473	549	−76	22
13	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	8	0	16	2	454	563	−109	20
14	Parramatta Eels	24	13	0	11	2	298	324	−26	18
15	Sydney Roosters	24	6	0	18	2	443	576	−133	16
16	Newcastle Knights	24	1	1	22	2	305	800	−495	7

Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

Statistics

Other teams

In addition to competing in the National Rugby League, the Panthers also fielded semi-professional teams in the National Youth Competition's 2016 Holden Cup (for players aged under 20) and the New South Wales Rugby League's 2016 Intrust Super Premiership (NSW Cup). The NYC team was coached by Cameron Ciraldo and captained by Oliver Clark, and the NSW Cup team was coached by Steve Georgallis and captained by Zach Dockar-Clay.

Representative

Domestic

Pos.	Player	Team	Call-up
BE	Leilani Latu	Indigenous All Stars	2016 All Stars Match
BE	Tyrone Peachey	Indigenous All Stars	2016 All Stars Match
BE	Jamie Soward	Indigenous All Stars	2016 All Stars Match
BE	Will Smith	Indigenous All Stars	2016 All Stars Match
BE	Trent Merrin	World All Stars	2016 All Stars Match
PR	Reagan Campbell-Gillard	NSW City	2016 City vs Country Origin
SR	Bryce Cartwright	NSW City	2016 City vs Country Origin
PR	Leilani Latu	NSW City	2016 City vs Country Origin
WG	Josh Mansour	NSW City	2016 City vs Country Origin
BE	Tyrone Peachey	NSW City	2016 City vs Country Origin
WG	Isaah Yeo	NSW Country	2016 City vs Country Origin
18	Bryce Cartwright	New South Wales	2016 State of Origin
WG	Josh Mansour	New South Wales	2016 State of Origin
FB	Matt Moylan	New South Wales	2016 State of Origin
BE	Matt Moylan	Prime Minister's XIII	2016 Prime Minister's XIII match

International

Pos.	Player	Team	Call-up
CE	Peta Hiku	New Zealand	2016 Anzac Test
WG	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	New Zealand	2016 Anzac Test
HK	Sione Katoa	Tonga	2016 Polynesian Cup
BE	Tupou Sopoaga	Cook Islands	International vs. Lebanon
CE	Waqa Blake	Fiji	2016 Pacific Test
SR	Viliame Kikau	Fiji	2016 Pacific Test
WG	Josh Mansour	Australia	2016 Four Nations
LK	Trent Merrin	Australia	2016 Four Nations
FB	Matt Moylan	Australia	2016 Four Nations
BE	James Fisher-Harris	New Zealand	2016 Four Nations
BE	Te Maire Martin	New Zealand	2016 Four Nations
FB	Dallin Watene-Zelezniak	New Zealand	2016 Four Nations

1 – Selected as 18th Man, Cartwright did not play during the series.
2 – Hiku was initially selected to play but was ruled out by injury.
3 – Blake did not play in the match, despite being named in the original squad.
4 – Fisher-Harris was called up to replace injured Simon Mannering.

References

1. "Panthers appoint Payne CEO". penrithpanthers.com.au. 15 April 2016.
2. Nicolussi, Christian (16 August 2016). "Corey Payne has resigned as the CEO of the Penrith Panthers". The Daily Telegraph.
3. Proszenko, Adrian; Encarnacion, Matt (27 January 2016). "Matt Moylan named as Penrith Panthers captain for 2016". Sydney Morning Herald.
4. Walsh, Dan (8 June 2016). "Anthony Griffin axes 622 games worth of big name NRL talent at Penrith in 2016". Fox Sports.
5. Nicolussi, Christian (8 June 2016). "Jamie Soward not getting down over Penrith's selection bombshell". Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
6. "Magic Moylan leads Panthers over Manly". ESPN. 4 September 2016.
7. "2016 Home Jersey Revealed". penrithpanthers.com.au. 14 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
8. "Panthers launch 1967 Jersey". penrithpanthers.com.au. 25 February 2016.
9. "1991 Commemorative Jersey Revealed". penrithpanthers.com.au. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
10. "2003 Commemorative Jersey Revealed". penrithpanthers.com.au. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
11. ^ "Panthers sign Quartet of Young Guns". penrithpanthers.com.au. 10 June 2015.
12. "Panthers secure Chris Grevsmuhl". penrithpanthers.com.au. 20 May 2016.
13. Webster, Andrew (8 September 2015). "Penrith Panthers boss Phil Gould poaches Josh Hall from Gold Coast Suns". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
14. ^ "Leeds Rhinos: Zak Hardaker joins Penrith in swap deal for James Segeyaro". BBC. 22 June 2016.
15. "Two NRL Clubs Chasing Hardaker". Triple M. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016. The reigning Super League 'Man of Steel' is on loan deal with the Panthers after being granted his wish to play in the NRL but remains contracted to the Rhinos to the end of 2019.
16. "Panthers swoop for Hiku". penrithpanthers.com.au. 9 December 2015.
17. "Panthers sign Junior Kiwi". penrithpanthers.com.au. 13 July 2015.
18. "Matagi joins the Panthers". penrithpanthers.com.au. 4 November 2015.
19. Ritchie, Dean (2 March 2015). "Trent Merrin signs with Penrith Panthers, but won't harm Dragons focus in 2015". The Daily Telegraph.
20. "Lewis Brown to join Manly". penrithpanthers.com.au. 20 June 2015.
21. Ryan, Nathan (22 October 2015). "Penrith forward Adam Docker: From Test fringe to retirement at 24". Fox Sports.
22. "Easts Tigers welcome Foster". QRL.com.au. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
23. Reynolds, Ben (23 June 2016). "Catalans Dragons re-sign Ben Garcia from Penrith Panthers". Sky Sports.
24. "Official Statement: Apisai Koroisau". penrithpanthers.com.au. 2 July 2015.
25. "Manu signs Super League deal". penrithpanthers.com.au. 13 August 2015.
26. "Parramatta sign Cameron King and Kieran Moss on one-year deals for 2016". Daily Telegraph. 13 August 2015.
27. Brady, Jack (22 August 2015). "Family comes first as Plum retires". NRL.com.
28. "Panthers Flyer Calls It Quits". Triple M. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
29. "Panthers release Chris Smith". penrithpanthers.com.au. 6 April 2016.
30. Chammas, Michael (30 June 2016). "Penrith Panthers release Jamie Soward to play in second tier for London Broncos". Sydney Morning Herald.
31. "Elijah Taylor joins Wests Tigers". weststigers.com.au. 2 May 2016.
32. Kennedy, Chris (5 February 2016). "Surprise call-up sends Panthers' Matagi home". NRL.com.
33. "Panthers name Auckland Nines squad". NRL.com. 22 January 2016.
34. "Georgallis Joins Panthers". Triple M. 30 October 2015.
35. "Cook Islands, Lebanon squads named". NRL.com. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
36. "Sport: Cook Islands criticise NRL clubs after Lebanon win". Radio New Zealand. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.

• Penrith Panthers seasons
• 2016 NRL season by club