Whether it is the Penrith Panthers hoisting the Provan-Summons Trophy aloft for the third straight season next Sunday or whether it is the Brisbane Broncos playing the role of David bathing in premiership glory, greatness awaits the winner.
Some premiership deciders are mismatches. Some mean less in the grand scheme of history than others. Some are ideological battles and others lack identity. Some feature two teams that either don’t appeal or don’t necessarily contain the top two teams this season.
That is not the case this year. Penrith and Brisbane cleared out at the top of the table. They were not only the two most dominant teams but they both succeeded on the back of two very different philosophies and styles. This is also a grand final with as much history and meaning and importance as any we have seen in 40 years.
The Panthers are in rare air now, becoming just the fourth team in the 70 years of the mandatory grand final era to play in four straight deciders. No team has won three consecutive titles since Parramatta in 1983. The Storm from 2006 through 2009 are the only team in the last half-century to win their way to four straight deciders and that was tarnished by the salary cap breaches exposed in 2010. The Panthers are, by any measure, one of the greatest teams the premiership has ever known.
The St George team that won 11 in a row are untouchable in the pantheon of great teams but there is a very real argument that the Panthers of the last four seasons are the best team since, and the second-best of the competition’s 115-season history.
They were utterly ruthless in putting Craig Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm to the sword like they were wooden-spooners. The final tally of 38-4 hardly did the Panthers justice. They gave the Storm absolutely nothing, just heaping pressure upon pressure through disciplined use of the ball, relentless line speed in defence and a near-perfect kicking game.
The Storm managed to run with the Panthers for 15 minutes but as soon as Penrith got their backs up over a Nelson Asofa-Solomona late shot on Nathan Cleary, Melbourne were done. Penrith have gears other teams do not. It isn’t flashy or visually all that pleasing but it is effective, a slow-building tidal wave rising and rising and rising.
In Penrith’s last eight finals matches, they have conceded just 10 tries. Theirs is a dynasty based on defence, a belief that no matter how much their attack stumbles, they can choke the air from a team like Rowdy Roddy Piper laying on the sleeper hold. They are now 80 minutes away from not only another premiership, but history and the continuation of a truly spectacular streak.
That puts Brisbane in a remarkable position, one that will inspire the young, fearless, unflappable Broncos. The chance to slay a giant does not come often but it makes even the sweetest of successes that bit sweeter. At Belmore, they still talk about that famous Saturday when Canterbury, as massive underdogs, ended St George’s run of 11 premierships with a 12-11 preliminary final win. The Berries lost the grand final but not their place in history.
There is not another team in the premiership who would see Penrith standing between them and grand final glory and not bat an eyelid. It is Brisbane’s biggest advantage and greatest characteristic this year. They do not know the meaning of the word fear, they play with a freedom and flair that defies the significance of their games.
They decimated the Storm to open their finals campaign and then lit Suncorp alight in a seven-try showing that saw them pull out an astonishing 23 offloads that led to 11 line breaks. They rode their luck – the forward pass that went uncalled to set up Jordan Riki’s try was a howler for the ages – but their willingness to chance their hand and and use the width of the field ensured New Zealand were always on the back foot. No lead was defendable, no single try would put Brisbane off their game.
There will be plenty of narratives drawn out this week. There will be father and son against father and son for the first time in a grand final. Ivan Cleary’s position among the all-time coaches will be analysed. There will be views on how this Penrith team stacks up against the early 1980s Parramatta sides. This week though is about philosophy and the battle between two very different ones. Penrith – stoic, ruthless, methodical, defensive – against Brisbane – fun, fearless, brilliant, scorers. With everything on the line, we are in for a grand final – and a grand final week – for the ages.
