- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
A total of 200 games have been run and won and now we arrive at the final match in what has been in tremendous NRL season.
The Cronulla Sharks are aiming to break a 50-year premiership drought, while the mechanical Melbourne Storm are aiming for their third (legitimate) premiership victory since their inception 19 years ago.
Both teams are fortunately able to name essentially full strength rosters, which should make for a terrific contest.
This will be an interesting clash due to the conflicting styles of the two teams. The Sharks flourish when they play ad-lib football whereas the Storm are in their element when they play high-percentage controlled football.
So where will it be won?
Despite the incredible backlines of both teams, the winner of this clash will be decided by the dominant forward pack on the night.
The reason the Sharks obliterated the Cowboys last week is because they learnt from the Broncos epic semi-final clash against North Queensland. The Broncos dominated the first half on the back of incredible charges by Sam Thaiday and his fellow forwards.
That dominance by the Brisbane forwards in the early stages nullified the effectiveness of Johnathan Thurston and Jake Granville. It was a tactic the Sharks then employed to perfection themselves.
Aside from being steamrolled by Valentine Holmes, Thurston was non-existent until the final ten minutes of the preliminary final and that allowed the Sharks to skip out to a 32-6 lead without having to rely on their outside backs, it was instead the Sharks halves who took it to the opposition.
Melbourne is well versed in playing through the middle third. Their entire game relies on dictating the tempo of the match through dominating the play the ball. The most effective way for the Storm to do that is by creating a forward roll-on and that occurs through specifically through Dale Finucane, the Bromwich brothers and Jordan McLean.
They all know how to offload and they are all adept at getting a quick play the ball. That brings Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Munster into the game and that spells trouble for opposition teams.
The biggest hurdle in this match is undoubtedly pressure, and it’s the Sharks who will be feeling that more than anyone. On their shoulders are 50-years of heartbreak that could get the better of the players if the game is tight towards the end.
The rest of the team will be looking towards Paul Gallen, Ben Barba, Michael Ennis and particularly James Maloney, who has featured in three of the past six grand finals, for guidance.
These two sides have met twice this season, sharing the winning spoils. Melbourne claimed the most recent victory, a battle for the minor premiership in Round 26, with the Storm’s defence frustrating Cronulla in a 26-6 victory.
Both of these sides are very good front-runners so gaining the lead in this match is going to be hugely important. The Sharks in particular play well from in front, if they can skip 12 or more points clear in the first half they will go in with things. By the same token, the Storm is more likely to force a come from behind victory.
In my crystal ball, I see an epic encounter heading to extra time, Cameron Smith kicking a field goal before a late try to Cooper Cronk seals a 25-18 victory and secures him the Clive Churchill medal.
Tip: Storm 1-12
I hope you’ve enjoyed Preston’s previews in 2016 and I look forward to analysing the 2017 season for you.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.