In a 2009 interview, Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher notoriously described his brother and bandmate Liam as, “a man with a fork in a world of soup.” Four months later the band was kaput.
Penrith Panthers fans who’ve already booked Grand Final tickets are hoping their own Gallagher brothers—Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai—don’t end the final tour prematurely, lest they be the ones with forks in a stadium of soup-eaters.
Unless the Panthers suffer an unexpected loss to the Sharks this Saturday, the pair are likely to headline the NRL’s, and their last game, on 6 October.
It should be a cracking way to go out—the pair are a much more reliable duo than Noel and Liam Gallagher ever were. For starters, they actually like each other.
Whether Luai’s move to the Tigers next year comes after a fourth consecutive premiership for Penrith or not, one of the greatest bands in rugby league ever will break up for good, imminently.
The reality is weighing heavy on the club and fans. Despite the endless accolades under Cleary and Luai’s leadership, there’s a feeling they’ll be going out with a whimper, not a bang, if they can’t top it all off with one final ring.
That’s a bit unfair given all they’ve done, but excellence often tends to demand more excellence. It’s a lot of pressure to try and contain, as musicians and athletes know all too well.
Nathan and Jarome might not actually be brothers by blood, but for two boys who have grown up learning their craft together and translating it to the big stage, that bond is the next closest thing.
Nathan’s been the club’s “Noel,” the great songwriter of all their hits on the pitch these glorious years, the glue that maintains Penrith’s structure.
Luai’s their “Liam,” the flashy star—you never quite know what he’s going to do.
The number six will be busy in 2025 forming his own Beady Eye when he takes to Concord with him fellow Penrith winger Sunia Turuva, to join former Panthers Api Koroisau, Brent Naden and Charlie Staines. Cleary will try and steady the ship along a new bandmate.
Some fans feel there’s no cause for concern. Other players have come and gone from the long reigning dynasty without a blip, just as bass guitarists and drummers often make way for new ones.
But as the signs were there once upon a time for Britain’s favourite pop-rock band, it’s happening now for the NRL.
What a Penrith team looks like without these two together feels like what Oasis are without the Gallaghers—at worst, non-existent, at best, hard to imagine.
But the Penrith boys have one key edge over their Manchester counterparts, in that these stars have the chance to go out on their own terms.
And who knows. Maybe, just maybe, the band might one day get back together.
Noel and Liam have recently put their differences aside after 15 years to go touring across Britain once more, so there’s every chance Nathan and Jarome also return side-by-side, maybe as soon as in the Origin jersey next year.
If things don’t pan out in this last run to the finals, it’ll certainly feel like a tambourine to the head for Penrith and many rugby league fans.
But when it’s all done, remember the great times they gave us, and dream that they’ll come again. For now, don’t look back in anger.