But for falling at the final hurdle, the Penrith young guns hardly set a foot wrong last season as an imperious Nathan Cleary led them to 17 consecutive wins.
As far as a stat to fix goes, not a helluva lot stands out.
The Panthers weren't at their best in the grand final defeat to Melbourne, so their biggest lessons may come from that experience.
Across their 20 regular-season and two finals games before the decider, Penrith's set completion was a league-high 82.2 percent.
That plummeted to 68.8 percent against the Storm on October 25, with 18 errors cruelling their chances to lift the trophy.
If the Panthers get another shot on the NRL's biggest day in 2021, they'll be desperate to improve on that effort.
Perhaps pressure was a factor. In the previous week's qualifier, Penrith completed at 72 percent against South Sydney. Then again, they went at 95 percent in a first-up finals win over the Roosters.
They led the way in a plethora of statistical areas, but the numbers that mattered the most were 26-20 - and Melbourne finished on top.
But such is the talent at the foot of the mountains that it wouldn't surprise if they grew from the heartbreak and returned stronger.
