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Opinion

Who to go for in NRL Grand Final: The neutrals' guide to choosing a bandwagon

27th September, 2022
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27th September, 2022
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Are you a neutral NRL supporter trying to figure out which side to go for in this Sunday’s decider but just don’t know where to start?

Well, good news, because I have assembled an easy-to-follow guide to help you make that choice in an informed way.

Sure, neither of these sides can truly lay claim to being the people’s side. However, there really is a lot to like about both outfits. Let’s start with the Eels.

Why you should go for the Parramatta Eels

Ending the longest Premiership drought

Come this Sunday it will be 36 years and five days since Ray Price lifted the Winfield Cup on the SCG dais following his side’s 4-2 win – the lowest ever score in a grand final – over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. That’s 432 months – or 13,154 days – since a Parramatta Eels fan has experienced premiership glory. Even if you don’t like the Eels that much, anyone with a heart has to feel for them, especially when you consider that the last time they were in the decider they were defeated by a side subsequently found to have systematically rorted the salary cap to a very large extent.

Brad Arthur has had a hell of a time

Is there a coach whose side regularly makes the top eight who is as maligned as Brad Arthur? I don’t think so. For someone who treats people with respect and is widely acknowledged as a good bloke, the number of people who willingly hack on the guy at every opportunity is quite astounding. Seriously, the bloke deserves a break to get the trolls off his back and maybe even to shut the hell up.

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The Eels play an attractive brand of footy

As most of us know, one of the real issues with the NRL in the last two decades is the success that sides have had in pushing the boundaries of the rules in order to take advantage. Whether that has been the Storm and their wrestling/chicken wings/grapple tackles slowing the play the ball, the Roosters and the Sea Eagles deliberately conceding penalties to buy time to reset their defensive lines, teams setting up walls to protect players taking field goals et cetera, it is always great when a side wins games because they play footy that is good to watch. While I’m not going to try and claim that the Eels are beyond reproach when it comes to pushing the rules, they are not as bad as many and their brand of attacking footy is actually entertaining to watch.

(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

The Eels have some really likeable players

Several among the blue and gold are really good value and worthy of your support. Reed Mahoney plays the game with an infectious enthusiasm and effort, which is fantastic. Junior Paulo is a massive front-row forward who hits the line like a wrecking ball and plays the game cleanly. Dylan Brown has gone from an exciting attacking five-eighth with distinct defensive frailties a few seasons ago to being an electric attacking machine and arguably the very best defensive half in the NRL. As far as awesome second-row combinations go, Isaiah Papali’i and Shaun Lane are as good as it gets in 2022. Papali’i is a rampaging ball runner who loves scoring a try, and Lane has come of age this year in regards to his defence, ball running and offloads that is now a matchwinner.

Some of the Penrith players can be very bad winners

A sore loser is one thing, but a bad winner is another thing again. The Panthers have excelled at being unpleasant in victory over the last couple of seasons. The antics of Stephen Crichton and Jarome Luai in particular have often left a very bad taste in people’s mouths

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Why you should go for the Penrith Panthers

They are clearly the best side

In the last three seasons the Panthers have a win rate of 85.7 per cent. They’ve won 66 games and lost just ten, with one draw. That is an incredible record. The Eels over the same period have an excellent 63.6 per cent record, with 49 wins, 26 losses and two draws, but the reality is that when at full strength the Panthers have been the best side and deserve to be the premiers in 2022.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Penrith play a really good brand of football

In both attack and defence the Panthers are a well-oiled machine. Their defensive line is well organised and determined and there is far less rubbish in the tackles than with lots of other sides. In attack they can be amazingly dynamic but also so determined across all 17 players. Their spine players are all great playmakers, and you can throw in Isaah Yeo at lock too. When it comes to grubby play, they aren’t really on the Richter scale either.

The Panthers have some excellent players

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There is no denying that some of the Panthers players are simply a cut above. Starting with the son of coach Ivan Cleary, Nathan is not yet a superstar but is surely on the way. He’s still just a kid, but his passing, kicking, running of the ball, organisation and defence are just outstanding. He’s one of the best halves in the game without doubt.

His mate in the No. 13 jumper isn’t just a great captain and bloke; Isaah Yeo is also a superb attacking and defensive lock forward who has changed the expectations for what a lock can be, like Cam Smith did for the No. 9. James Fisher-Harris has been one of the best five props in the game for four seasons now. Mobile, durable and ferocious, he epitomises the gold standard of the Panthers pack – and there is no grub to be seen.

Then there’s the getting-more-sung player that is Dylan Edwards. In a team full of excellent players, this year he has been the very best. A definite chance for the Dally M and the king pin of the Panthers attack and defence.

Ivan Cleary is a really great coach and a straight-up bloke

Sure, Ivan Cleary is drier than Wayne Bennett marooned in the Simpson Desert and he cares less about your opinion of him than Craig Bellamy after a grand final win. However, the bloke can coach. This is a guy who got the New Zealand Warriors into a grand final. This is a bloke who took a bunch of virtually unknown Penrith juniors and styled them into a juggernaut.

I know lots of you out there might not find him to be the warmest, most gregarious bloke and therefore not like him, but I love him. He is the last word in honest, straight-up and hard working. Ivan deserves your support if for no other reason than he has built this Panthers side through his own force of will and determination.

Some of the Eels players are not loved

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There are those who take exception to Clint Gutherson doing the ‘Gutherino’ dance and with Mitchell Moses’s on-field persona – including exchanges picked up by sideline mics. I personally think both add to the game’s colour, but I understand lots of others don’t share my views.

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