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Opinion
If the Eels can knock over Penrith on Sunday night, it would be one of the biggest upsets in Grand Final history.
The Panthers are packed with size, skill and title-winning experience with only two players in their line-up taking part in their first premiership decider – winger Charlie Staines, centre Izack Tago and interchange duo Mitch Kenny and Jaeman Salmon.
Ryan Matterson, who won a title at the Roosters in 2018, and makeshift centre Bailey Simonsson, a member of the Raiders side which lost the following year, are Parramatta’s only two squad members with a Grand Final on their resume.
An Eels win, which would break their 36-year drought, would rank alongside Newcastle’s 1997 and 2001 triumphs, Penrith in 2003, Canberra (1989), the Bulldogs of ‘95, Balmain in 1969, the Cowboys of 2015 and the Wests Tigers of 2005 among the greatest Grand Final upsets since they became mandatory in 1954.
Here are the burning questions for the NRL decider
“Last time we played these guys Waqa had some difficulty under the high ball but you don’t tip blokes out on the back of one game.”
So said Eels coach Brad Arthur on Thursday when asked if he had any concerns about winger Waqa Blake being targeted by Nathan Cleary’s physics-defying swirly-whirly bombs.
But he’s hard more than one bad game under the high ball.
He dropped three of them in the 27-8 Qualifying Final loss and Arthur stuck by him. Inexplicably, Canberra barely kicked to him the next week and the Cowboys, after he coughed up a Chad Townsend kick in the first half last Saturday, failed to go back at wonky Waqa.
Cleary is not that charitable. He will test Blake out the first chance he gets on Sunday and will pepper his former teammate throughout the 80 minutes, if he’s not hooked earlier.
Arthur has the option of switching makeshift centre Bailey Simonsson to the flank from kick-off or midway through the match if Blake has another case of the fumbles but it’s a risk to be going into a Grand Final with a winger with buttery fingers when you’re facing the best bomber since Bigglesworth.
Parra’s coach has struck an early blow in the mind games department by naming Nathan Brown on the bench for what would be his first match at NRL level in three months.
It’s certainly caused a few second glances from the Panthers who think Brown has been chosen with one mission in mind – to rough up Cleary.
Nathan Brown (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The old adage is that hardly anyone gets sent off in a Grand Final so Brown will have extra leeway to rush up on Penrith’s primary kicker to dish out some heavy contact.
Brown’s aggression is a double-edged sword – his propensity for giving away cheap penalties is one of the reasons why he’s been dropped for the best part of 12 weeks.
Arthur says he’s looking to use him either side of half-time to ease the workload on middle forward mainstays Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo but don’t be surprised if Brown gets a run before then if Penrith’s attacking machine is on top in the early exchanges.
As it stands it looks like Dylan Edwards will be on the outside looking in when Australia’s World Cup squad is named on Monday because coach Mal Meninga has the luxury of switching Latrell Mitchell from centre to fullback if James Tedesco were to become unavailable in the tournament later this month.
With Jack Wighton, Matt Burton and Valentine Holmes certain to be in the squad to fill centre spots if need be, Edwards looks like being an unlucky omission despite being in career-best form.
If he can duplicate last weekend’s effort against South Sydney when he was the most influential player on the field, he will go close to a Clive Churchill Medal and will surely cause Meninga to make a last-minute adjustment to his squad.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley in his Monday briefing admitted there were three blatant try rulings that the match officials got wrong last weekend from the grand total of two matches.
The forward pass call that led to Parra’s opening try in the 24-20 triumph over the Cowboys and the bunker’s puzzling obstruction decision to deny Charlie Staines and the Stephen Crichton put-down for a late try when Penrith’s win over Souths was beyond doubt.
Feeling confident fans that they’ll get it right on Sunday? Didn’t think so.
The forward pass call was bad but unfortunately it’s one of those things that happen when a pass’s point of release and reception are obscured in the touch judge’s line of sight.
But there is no excuse for the Staines and Crichton blunders – the curse of overthinking that led to the Wests Tigers being dudded on an escort call in Townsville after the siren is still endemic in the bunker.
And the person who made that decision, Ashley Klein, will be the main whistleblower on Sunday at Accor Stadium.
Nathan Cleary is no guarantee to be wearing the No.7 jersey when the Kangaroos kick off their World Cup campaign against Fiji on October 15 in Leeds.
Daly Cherry-Evans, as the incumbent and likely vice-captain to James Tedesco, appears set to get the nod alongside his Maroons comrade Cameron Munster in the halves.
It’s still arguable about whether Cleary is the best player in the game or not but it won’t be long before he holds that undisputed title.
His predicament is shaping up as similar to Andrew Johns in the late 1990s and early 2000s when he was used as a hooker or bench utilty at Origin and Test level to accommodate Geoff Toovey and Brett Kimmorley in the teams.
That was the wrong call then and anything other than Cleary as Australia’s starting halfback would be just as incorrect now.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Now if the Eels do somehow manage to upset the Panthers, can someone alert the firefighting authorities to be on red alert.
When the club broke its first premiership drought to claim its maiden title in 1981, the fans partied so hardy that the old Cumberland Oval grandstand caught ablaze and was left in a smouldering ruin.
At least that led to the dilapidated ground being rebuilt into what was then a state-of-the-art stadium by 1986 standards before a few years ago being replaced again by what is now known as CommBank Stadium.