Who Can Stop Penrith? | NRL Finals Week 1 Review & Responding To That Viral TikTok Video

The NRL Finals are heating up! Week 1 of the 2026 NRL Finals delivered massive moments, huge upsets and plenty of controversy — and the big question is now:

WHO CAN ACTUALLY BEAT THE PANTHERS?

In this episode of The Chad Townsend Show, we break down EVERYTHING from Week 1 of the NRL Finals:

- Are the Dolphins now genuine premiership contenders?

- Dolphins stun the Warriors 26-16 in Auckland and book a Preliminary Final

- Isaiya Katoa, Herbie Farnworth & The Hammer step up in a huge finals win

- Knights knock out Souths — how good is Newcastle's turnaround from wooden spooners to a Preliminary Final threat?

- Dane Gagai vs Latrell Mitchell — the battle everyone was talking about

- Cody Walker's injury — did it change Souths' finals campaign?

- Sharks eliminate the Cowboys — are Cronulla good enough to go all the way?

- Nicho Hynes delivers a huge finals moment

- Can the Cowboys bounce back from 18 errors and a disappointing finals exit?

- Are the Roosters actually a bigger threat than people think after pushing Penrith all the way?

- Penrith survive another huge finals test — are they STILL the team to beat?

- Nathan Cleary sin-binned for dangerous contact on Hugo Savala

- We break down the Cleary kicker-contact incident and the previous NRL precedents

- Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o and the Panthers' big-game mentality

- Week 2 preview — Warriors v Knights + Roosters v Sharks

Plus: our biggest winners, losers, performances and predictions heading into Week 2.

Who wins the 2026 NRL Premiership?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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