Photograph: Mark Evans/AAP
Some grand finals just seem more important than others and the 2020 decider between Melbourne and Penrith certainly had that air. The second half in particular, in which the Panthers roared back from 26-0 down, seemed a portent that these two sides were waging a generational struggle for rugby league greatness.
The Storm, perennially great, were ushering in a new era of stars, with future Immortal Cameron Smith the last of their champions left from the four premierships won (and lost – the 2007 and 2009 titles stripped for salary cap breaches) in the decade 2007-17. The Panthers had come from nowhere to make the grand final, losing just a single game in that Covid-shortened season, Ivan Cleary’s second stint at the helm.
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.
And boy did they come again. The next four years have elevated the Penrith Panthers to a side that competes with the Eastern Suburbs teams of the 1930s and the South Sydney sides of the late 1960s and early 1970s as claimants to the title of second greatest in rugby league history, behind only the famous St George squads that won 11 straight premierships from 1956 to 1966.
Last year the Panthers became the first team since Parramatta in 1983 to clinch three premierships on end. No team has played in five straight grand finals since South Sydney’s 1967-71 run. Penrith have won grand finals convincingly (28-12 over Parramatta in 2022) and they’ve won grand finals with historic comebacks (26-24 against Brisbane last year). Over the last five seasons they’ve finished minor premiers three times and second twice. They are 94-21-1 for win-loss-draw in regular season play and have won 13 of 15 finals matches. This is Penrith’s time, the Panther era.
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. Penrith may have broken away from the pack but their only legitimate threat has remained Melbourne.
For those of a certain age and inclination, the biggest event imaginable was Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant standing toe-to-toe at Wrestlemania III, the irresistible force against the immovable object. For those young and innocent enough not to see behind the curtain of professional wrestling, it had an aura, a genuine feeling of titans clashing, a moment full of anxiety, excitement and drama, one that would bring a certain decisiveness, an answer to a philosophical question.
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. Rugby league 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.
This will be Craig Bellamy’s 10th grand final in his 22 years at the Storm. He guided a golden generation to success and has now taken a second to the peak of the game. Melbourne have finished in the top four in all bar three seasons after 2006. Since Bellamy’s first premiership in 2007, their longest run without a title has been five seasons.
Penrith’s greatness has been far more concentrated, spanning only the last five years. But, while it has been shorter, it has reached higher altitudes. The Storm never won three premierships on the trot. They never played in five straight deciders. They never dominated as the Panthers have.
The Storm have regrouped in 2024, readying themselves for Penrith, knowing that is the goal. They have beaten them twice this season but know it is all about this third and final meeting. Penrith will be striving to maintain their extraordinary streak. Melbourne are trying to bookend two decades of greatness with titles to prove nothing beats sustained success.
Penrith v Melbourne is a true battle of giants, a clash of destiny. We had the opening salvo in 2020. On Sunday night we get an encore four years in the making.
