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AAP
AAP
Scott Bailey

Penrith, Brisbane shape as NRL's new heavyweight bout

NRL grand finalists Penrith and Brisbane are tipped to be competition front runners for years. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

Welcome to the next era of the NRL.

Sunday night's grand final between Penrith and Brisbane marks the first decider to be played between the two teams.

NRL great Petero Civoniceva believes it can be the first of several over the next few years.

Civoniceva is one of 17 players to have represented Brisbane and Penrith, having captained both clubs in the late 2000s.

And after an era of Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters providing the NRL's biggest heavyweight bout, the power is now shifting.

For the first time in the NRL era, the sport has gone three seasons in a row without either the Storm or Roosters in the grand final.

And while at least one of those teams played in all bar five deciders between 1999 and 2020, it is Penrith who are now preparing for their fourth straight grand final.

Long touted as the two best young teams in the competition, the Brisbane group have taken a little longer than Penrith to reach a decider, after picking up the wooden spoon in 2020.

But with both now at the top and the average age of their sides around 25, Civoniceva sees no reason why the two teams won't stay there.

"With what the Broncos could potentially do and what the Panthers have already achieved, it's pretty frightening," Civoniceva told AAP.

"That majority of the Penrith team are of a similar age, the same as the Broncos.

"They've both got every potential as well to be front runners in this competition for many more years."

Brisbane and Penrith are also locked in with their rosters, with Jarome Luai the last of the big-name Panthers still needing to re-sign beyond 2024 and the Broncos reasonably stable.

Civoniceva has been prominent during the finals as part of the 'Get It 2gether' campaign and grand final ticket competition which aims to save 84,000 lives before 2040 through the free National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

On the field, he sees a Broncos team still on the rise, buoyed by a forward pack that has fast become the best in the NRL.

"If they hold that group together, there can be many more years of success," he said. 

"It's something that has always been a part of the Broncos' makeup. 

"All the successful years we have had, it's always been on the back of a strong, powerful pack that work hard for each other. They've definitely got all those traits."

It's part of the reason why he believes Kevin Walters' men can be the side to rattle Penrith in the decider.

"They've got the physicality, energy and line speed that they can unsettle until the Panthers pack," Civoniceva said. 

"It's about the duration of being able to maintain the rage. 

"I think they've got it in them. That's where it'll be won."

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