By all accounts, the Penrith Panthers are a historic NRL team.
The reigning three-time premiers, they sit just one win away from making their fifth-straight grand final, setting a standard of continued excellence.
But the Panthers are also set to make history with their uniforms this week, as they will become the first team to wear a cultural-themed jersey in an NRL finals game when they face off against Cronulla.
MORE: NRL 2024 finals results, schedule | NRL casualty ward, latest injury news | Every NRL player retiring in 2024 |
Panthers set to make NRL jersey history during preliminary final
When the Panthers take on the Sharks this Saturday, they will do so wearing their Pasifika-inspired alternate jerseys, making them the first team to don a cultural-themed kit during the finals.
For Penrith, a team which so proudly embraces their cultural background and diversity, this was a massively meaningful moment, and one which embraces what has made the team such a dominant franchise from grassroots all the way through to the senior side.
"It's massive from Ivan [Cleary] to allow us to do that," said Jarome Luai.
"It's a very diverse, multicultural community that we have here and individually we just all celebrate each other and it's pretty cool, nice touch there from Ivan, hopefully we can bring it home for him in that jersey."
"It's pretty cool that we have the opportunity to wear that kind of jersey with obviously the Pacific culture and background behind it," added Brian To'o.
"It's our DNA, our foundation of what we build on at the club."
The Panthers will take on the Sharks on Saturday at 7:50 pm, with a spot in the 2024 NRL Grand Final on the line.
