When the Panthers play the Storm in Sunday’s grand final, rugby league fans will get a matchup of champion sides that carries the weight of history
Penrith playmaker Jarome Luai will be key to the their quest for four straight premierships when they play Melbourne Storm in the grand final.Penrith playmaker Jarome Luai will be key to the their quest for four straight premierships when they play Melbourne Storm in the grand final.more important than others and the 2020 decider between Melbourne and Penrith certainly had that air.
Melbourne, as they had done so often in the past, seemed far too good and blew Penrith off the park to lead 22-0 at half-time. The young Panthers rallied to score three tries in the last 12 minutes but the Storm held on to win 26-22. Another challenger had been vanquished but Craig Bellamy’s men hoisted the trophy knowing Cleary’s side would come again.
Lost in all of this has been how good Melbourne have been over the same timeframe. Across the last five years, the Storm have won the minor premiership twice and finished second, third and fifth the other seasons. They are 87-29 in regular season footy, just a beat behind the Panthers. Yet the Storm have not featured in a decider since 2020, with their season ended by the Panthers in two of the last three years since that famous grand final four years ago.
NRL fans will get that next Sunday. Sport occasionally throws up matchups at the most important of times that not only elevate the grandest of events but also carry the weight of history.has a mixed history when two great teams of an era square off. The Bulldogs and Eels met twice in the 1980s but the Raiders and Broncos sadly never contested a decider in the 1990s. We got one Canterbury-Roosters clash in the 2000s and a single Roosters-Storm matchup in the 2010s.
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