BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Even at the end of Muhammad Ali’s incredible career, the legend that was Ali still had a fighting chance. The last thing to go is your knockout punch.

The defending and reigning, back-to-back Sydney Roosters were knocked out cold in the first round last weekend against South Sydney.

Destroyed.

Flat on their back.

Nobody expected them to stay down too long – the Roosters will always come back. They don’t know any other way. But on the first night of the 2020 finals, they were put to bed… for a while anyway.

The young Panthers took their best and didn’t blink in the first half.

Your writer questioned on Twitter if the Panthers looked too cocky prior to kick-off.

As they ran out onto Panthers Stadium, there were smiles, laughs and plenty of high-fives.

Then the referee blew the whistle.

If the Panthers win the 2020 premiership, they can thank the mighty Roosters for shocking them into action. Not once but twice.

Josh Morris scored in the fifth minute.

Freddy Lussick in the 8th.

All of a sudden, Penrith were being tested. All the outside noise, the hype, interviews, back-slaps from fans at the shopping centre meant nothing.

The Roosters were after them.

Fighting chance, remember?

Then the Panthers showed us what they have left in the tank compared to the old legs of the Tricolours.

Veteran winger Josh Mansour, who deserves a premiership more than any other Panther, scored in the 15th.

From there it felt inevitable.

The rock show was back on.

Nothing screams premiership-winning teams like a young halfback riding a wave of momentum. Nathan Cleary, who has already won the81stminute.com’s Arthur Beetson Medal, is about to win the Dally M. Easily. He was a class above every single other player on the field in the first stanza.

Quite a comment considering such names like James Tedesco, Luke Keary and Viliame Kikau were out there.

Cleary is so quick between the ears that he doesn’t need to be the strongest or the fastest.

He’s the brightest mind on the field in 2020.

That’s what we thought.

The 22-year-old scored a legitimate hat-trick within a fifteen minute period to give the Panthers a 22-10 lead at half-time.

They were hanging from the rafters at the stadium and across the road at the leagues club.

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Coach Ivan, somewhere deep inside would have been begging the Roosters to come again in the second-half. It’s the kind of test a young side like the Panthers need.

Well… they got more than bargained for and it proved that Nathan and Jarome Luai have lots of work to do with their game management in the late stages of a finals match.

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With the Roosters dragging their way back to 28-22 late in the contest, Penrith’s halves had a chance to take a field-goal early.

They could have easily taken a 7-point lead and defended their way to victory.

That’s what the good teams do in spring.

The Panthers’ greatest strength could end them before lifting any premiership.

Penrith got a penalty 40 metres out which could have given them an 8-point lead.

Instead, Cleary kicked for touch. A few plays later Luai, on the second tackle, put in a grubber kick. It bounced into Roosters and the visitors got the ball back.

The Roosters wouldn’t do that. Nor would Melbourne, Canberra, Souths or even Parramatta.

Tonight, they outlasted a tiring monster.

That doesn’t mean they’ll be so lucky next time round.

@woodward_curtis