Jahrome Hughes of the Storm and Nathan Cleary of the Panthers. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
All the information for Sunday night's big decider in Sydney.
Storm v Panthers
Kickoff: 9:30pm, Sunday 6th September
Accor Stadium, Sydney
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
In what's tipped to be one of the biggest NRL showdowns of all time, Dally M medal winner Jahrome Hughes and the Melbourne Storm take on Nathan Cleary and the Penrith Panthers in the NRL grand final.
Penrith have a chance to make history with a win over Melbourne on Sunday making it four consecutive NRL titles in a row, whilst Melbourne have shot at breaking the Panthers' dynasty and re-establishing themselves as the true powerhouse club in the NRL competition we have known them to be over the years.
Whilst these two clubs have had some seriously great matches over the past five years, Sunday night's battle will top them all with so much at stake for both clubs. The Panthers farewell more club legends in Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris, with the club struggling to retain its core group of players after such a sustained amount of success. This could be their last real shot at a premiership for a while.
But just try telling that to Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy, the coach of a club that's seen so much success over the years he's seen more players come and go than anyone in the game. Player retention isn't an issue for the man who could seemingly pull any random person off the street and turn them into an NRL grand final winner, and with a squad that's running red hot at the moment, Bellamy will be walking away with yet another NRL title if he plays his cards right.
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy. Photo: Photosport
Here's a look at the teams:
Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Will Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. JAhrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant (C) 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero
Interchange: 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Christian Welch 16. Lazarus Vaalepu 17. Ale MacDonald
Penrith: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary (C) 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Luke Garner 12. Liam Martin 13. Issah Yeo
Interchange: 14. Brad Schneider 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Matthew Eisenhuth
Storm selections
Nelson Asofa-Solomona made headlines this week after he was stood down on Monday night after being ruled out through suspension. Asofa-Solomona was charged with a grade 3 careless high tackle following an incident involving Roosters prop Lindsay Collins in the opening minute of the game last week - he will now miss five games, including those for the Kiwis in the Pacific Championship.
Besides foward Lazarus Vaalepu coming on to the interchange bench with Tui Kamikamica taking Asoga-Solomona's starting spot, the Storm remain unchanged from last week.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary. Photo: Photosport
Panthers selections
Luai and Fisher-Harris run out in Penrith jerseys for the last time ever as they looks to cement their legacy with a fourth straight title. All eyes will be on Cleary's shoulder to see whether it holds up for the entire 80 minutes as father and head coach Ivan Cleary names a virtually unchanged side from last week's triumphant 26 - 6 victory over the Cronulla Sharks.
Photo: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts/ Photosport
Past results
Storm 8-0 Panthers
Storm 24-22 Panthers
These two clubs have had some fiercely contested match ups throughout the 2024 season with the opening round seeing the Storm cling onto an 8-0 win over the Panthers in one of the lowest-scoring games in recent years. The two clubs then met again in round 24 as they both scrapped it out with the Storm again coming out the victors 24-22 over the Panthers.
Prediction
This game truly has the potential to go down as one of the all-time great grand finals, and if it's anything like the matches we've seen played out between these clubs in the past, then we're in for some stellar viewing.
Look for this game to go right down to the wire in what could result in a relatively low-scoring affair - a youthful an explosive Melbourne Storm backline will be looking to seriously test the pace of the Penrith Panthers' back five - but experience might prove the winner on the day, with the Panthers having all been here before.
