It’s the first Sunday of October; spring is in the air, the barbeques are sizzling, and the beers are ice cold. Its grand final day, baby! The Penrith Panthers are taking on the Brisbane Broncos, which will no doubt be the best matchup we will see all year. Penrith are looking to take out a historical three-peat, which has never been done in the NRL era! Brisbane’s young and energetic pack will be looking to ruin the party and claim their first premiership title since 2006.
No doubt rugby league fans would have been disappointed if it weren’t for the two best teams going head-to-head for the Provan-Summons trophy this Sunday; it’s simply mouth-watering. Both Penrith and Brisbane finished the competition with 42 points (18 wins, 6 losses). Both clubs played each other twice, snagging a win each, which now proceeds to a decider at 1-1.
The matchup cannot get any sweeter: Walsh vs. Edwards, Reynolds vs. Cleary, Haas vs. James Fisher-Harris, and Carrigan vs. Yeo. We can’t forget about the Father-and-son matchup of Ivan and Nathan Cleary against Kevin and Billy Walters. Where’s my popcorn?!
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Whichever way you look at it, you simply have to applaud Penrith for making their fourth straight grand final and eyeing an historical three-peat; it’s become clockwork for the riff! The team is such a professional outfit; each player knows their role, their defence is enervating, and their attack is exceptionally special, with play after play coming off a string, led by the Prince of Penrith, Nathan Cleary. Each year, they’ve lost players to other clubs, making us fans wonder: will they drop off this year? If you lost two big-name players, Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau, you would think they would be huge losses. It really hasn’t worried Penrith; their system is so elite. Mitch Kenny and Scott Sorenson took over those positions and have filled those roles to perfection!
Brisbane have been an absolute joy to watch this year; the exhilarating Reece Walsh, the damaging Payne Haas, and the calm head of Adam Reynolds have made for an exciting Rugby League outfit. Its wild to think that in 2020 the Broncos were handed the dreaded wooden spoon. Fans were literally throwing wooden spoons on their training field at Redhill! Three years later, they are on their way to Accor Stadium, looking to claim their seventh premiership. They’ve lit up Suncorp all year; the big question now is: can they light up Accor? They’ve only played three games in Sydney all year, claiming all victories; the big task is now upon them. Will Reynolds get revenge after his loss to Penrith in 2021? It’s going to be an almighty game for the ages.
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2023 GRAND FINAL TEAM LISTS
PENRITH v BRISBANE
- Dylan Edwards VS Reece Walsh
- Sunia Turuva VS Jesse Arthars
- Izack Tago VS Kotoni Staggs
- Stephen Crichton VS Herbie Farnworth
- Brian To’o VS Selwyn Cobbo
- Jarome Luai VS Ezra Mam
- Nathan Cleary VS Adam Reynolds
- Moses Leota VS Thomas Flegler
- Mitch Kenny VS Billy Walters
- James Fisher-Harris VS Payne Haas
- Scott Sorenson VS Kurt Capewell
- Liam Martin VS Jordan Riki
- Isaah Yeo VS Patrick Carrigan
Interchange:
Penrith – 14. Jack Cogger 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Luke Garner
Brisbane – 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia
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THE MOCK SPORTS GRAND FINAL PREDICTIONS
POTTSY:
Grand Final Winner – In my eyes it’s going to be a flip of a coin. If Brisbane play to their strengths by dominating in the forward pack and not fall into Penrith’s systematic trap, they most certainly can cause an upset. Realistically, I think the class and grand final experience of Penrith will just get them over the line and go on to claim their 5th premiership, to become three-peat champions! Penrith 16-10.
Clive Churchill – Nathan Cleary.
CASHY:
Grand Final Winner – I got to go with Penrith. Am I a genius for saying so? No. But anybody with eyes can see that they are just the best club top to bottom, inside and out, any way you look at it the boys from the Rith are the best in the NRL. A 3rd straight Premiership seems a formality at this point.
Penrith 22-16
Clive Churchill – Stephen Crichton
NICKO:
Grand Final Winner – The boys from the Rith are just too good. They should be getting the job done, albeit probably in a tight one, as the Broncs are better than Parra were this time last year.
Penrith 24-18
Clive Churchill – Dylan Edwards