It’s western Sydney against western Sydney as Parramatta Eels take on Penrith Panthers in the NRL grand final. Will it be Parramatta ending their 36-year premiership drought or defending champions Penrith securing back-to-back titles?
You can almost fear the tension and excitement building on Church Street. After 13 long years, the Eels are back in the big dance, with a chance to win their first grand final since 1986.
It’s a huge weekend for the Paramatta club, as its women’s team is also contesting the NRLW grand final against Newcastle Knights. One of the heavyweights of the NRL, the blue and gold has not reached a title decider since 2009. On that day its dreams were crushed by the Melbourne Storm, later revealed to be boosted by salary cap rorting.
Now the Parra faithful are dreaming once more. After finishing fourth in the regular season, the Eels have done it the hard way after being beaten by the Panthers in the first week of the finals, and then bouncing back to dominate the Raiders and then upset the Cowboys up in Townsville to book their spot in the grand final.
Parramatta were bashed 27-8 by Penrith just three weeks ago, but now the opportunity for revenge has presented itself against their local rivals.
The two neighbours have never met in a decider. Now the mantle of “kings of the west” is there to be won.
Facing adversity
The Eels have battled their fair share of adversity just to get this far. Brad Arthur’s men have faced feuds and agendas from radio shock jock Ray Hadley and News Corp, while their star halfback Mitchell Moses missed the birth of his first child and dealt with the death of a grandparent to play in the win over North Queensland.
Thanks to its size and passionate fanbase, and the golden era of the 1980s when it won four grand finals between 1981 and 1986, the spotlight on Parra has always been huge. But Sunday presents a golden chance to silence the critics and quieten the haters.
To do it, though, it will have to topple the preeminent juggernaut in rugby league. Penrith is gunning for its second title in a row, as it prepares for its third consecutive grand final appearance since 2020.
Keen for more silver
Ivan Cleary’s charges are experienced winners – young, hungry, talented and eager for more silverware.
In the past three seasons they have lost just nine games from a total of 77 regular season and finals matches. That is a remarkable feat, in any sport, in any competition in the world, and demonstrates their consistent excellence.
This year has been no exception. This year the Panthers notched 20 victories from 24 fixtures, winning the minor premiership by four points and then claiming epic semi-finals over Parramatta and South Sydney.
The “Chocolate Soldiers” boast not only the NRL’s best attack, averaging 26.5 points per game, but also the most miserly defence, conceding just 13.8 points per game.
Led by champion halfback Nathan Cleary, son of head coach Ivan, and with a raft of Polynesian stars to call on such as Jarome Luai and Brian To’o, Penrith have their eyes set on the record books.
Seeking consecutive titles
Only a handful of clubs have managed to win consecutive NRL premierships in the modern era, and the Panthers are seeking that. The Mountain Men might have more than just first-grade to celebrate too, with their reserve grade side taking on the Queensland Cup’s Norths Devils in the NSW State Championship as one of the warm-up matches.
While the odds might be stacked against Parramatta, and Penrith rightly favourites, all is not lost for Arthur and co. These two teams have already met three times this year – on May 6, on July 29 and in the semi-finals – and the Eels have won on two of the three occasions.
Parramatta smashed the Panthers 34-10 in July and edged them 22-20 in May. It knows how to beat the Panthers and with the skill of Moses, the running game of Dylan Brown, the power of Maika Sivo combined with the grunt of Junior Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Isaiah Papali’i up front, they possess the weapons to do it again.
The stage is set for an all-mighty western showdown that even John Wayne would be proud of. Will it be Penrith victorious again, and the likes of Apisai Koroisau and Vikiame Kikua farewelled as winners? Or will the Eels end nearly four decades of pain and finally be crowned premiers again?
All eyes of the rugby league world will be fixed on Accor Stadium this Sunday.
