LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
After a year of fighting for a shot at the top spot again, the Penrith Panthers have won the NRL 2021 Premiership, causing the image of an escaped circus panther to appear eclipsed by a setting sun on the horizon.
Sensing the presence of the semi-mythical being that has not been spotted in 18 years, Panther co-captain Nathan Clearly looked out at the suspicious second sunset and gave a deep nod to the being for which the team gets its name.
The feral panther known as the Lithgow Panther, or the Blue Mountains/Hawkesbury Panther depending on which town you stopped in for petrol, is believed to have escaped from a travelling circus in the ‘60s and has survived to this day either by breeding with large feral cats or simply by being magical.
Although the existence of the creature has long been denied, many have given their lives to proving the existence of the Panther, with a wing in the Hawkesbury Museum dedicated to a deep state theory that the media and government are trying to keep the big cat under wraps.
However, no longer can this legendary animal be denied of its existence as it proudly watched the boys cross the line for the third time in it’s long life, letting out a deep and primal roar that Ivan Clearly will have stuck in his head for the remainder of his life.
According to Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary, before the fabled panther turned to slink away into the dense undergrowth it shared a telepathic message of hope with him in which it promised to make the trip to Dubbo to see if there are any more guys like Burton knocking about out there.
