Penrith Panthers vs Parramatta Eels; NRL grand final live Scores, blog

The NRL premiership goes on the line tonight when the Penrith Panthers take on the Parramatta Eels at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEDT).

Well, the NRL reaches its climax this weekend and it comes down to this: the minor premiers looking to go back to back against a team that hasn’t won a grand final for 36 years.

And yet, not that long ago, we watched something similar play out with a win to the underdogs. Back in 2016, Cronulla hadn’t won in 50 years and were playing the minor premiers Melbournet in the big one. The Sharks beat Canberra and the Cowboys in the lead-up – sounds familiar, right? – before holding out the Storm in a fantastic finale.

It’s a loose connection, admittedly, but is history about to repeat itself?

The Panthers found themselves 12-0 down to the Rabbitohs with five minutes remaining in the first half of their preliminary final. At no stage did they panic, as great teams never do. The two tries they scored in the shadows of half time not only levelled the scores, but sucked the life out of Souths.

Penrith will do that to you. They aren’t unbeatable, but they are close to it. The kicking games of Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai were brilliant behind a pack going forward, and Latrell Mitchell just couldn’t keep up. The second half was a clinic in the end, the Panthers running away with the match to secure a third consecutive grand final.

Ivan Cleary has named an unchanged squad, with Charlie Staines retaining his spot as Taylan May is still on the injury list. Spencer Leniu is expected to recover from his concussion last weekend and line up as well.

The Eels were brave last weekend; down by eight points with just over a quarter of their prelim against the Cowboys remaining, and with the Townsville crowd going crazy, the Eels could have looked to find excuses.

However, they bounced back instead; with two converted tries to take a slender buffer leading into the final minutes. The Eels’ defence looked tired, but they kept on coming.

The Cowboys looked certain to score at the death but somehow Parramatta held on. The Eels had made their first grand final since way back in 2009.

Brad Arthur has named Nathan Brown on the bench, in his first game since Round 17. Bryce Cartwright is the unlucky player to miss out. Tom Opacic has been named in the extended squad and, if fit, could replace Bailey Simonnson in the centres. Despite some talk this week about playing an extra forward on the bench, Jake Arthur has been named.

Prediction

The Eels’ record against the Panthers is fairly good, at least relative to everyone else, and I give them a chance here.

The battle up front will be tremendous, and the Parramatta pack will need to dominate to give their side enough opportunities in attack.

However, Penrith are too professional an outfit. They rarely make mistakes and are happy to get into the grind and wear down opponents. Nathan Cleary’s kicking game will again be key, and Waqa Blake will be having nightmares about their qualifying final contest.

Panthers to win by 4 in a close one.

Game information

Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEDT)
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
TV/Stream: Nine, Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, Foxtel, NRL Live Pass
Odds: Panthers $1.37; Eels $3.10 – odds via PlayUp

Teams

Panthers

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Charlie Staines 3. Izack Tago 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary (c) 8. Moses Leota 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo (c)

Interchange: 14. Mitch Kenny 15. Scott Sorensen 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Jaeman Salmon

Eels

1. Clint Gutherson (c) 2. Maika Sivo 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Bailey Simonsson 5. Waqa Blake 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Isaiah Papali’i 13. Ryan Matterson

Interchange: 14. Nathan Brown 15. Jakob Arthur 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Marata Niukore