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AAP
Scott Bailey

Penrith will take some stopping to deny NRL three-peat

Nathan Cleary has steered Penrith to their fourth consecutive NRL grand final by belting Melbourne. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

Over to you Brisbane or the Warriors.

Good luck stopping Penrith and their bid for a third straight title, after Ivan Cleary's men put on a comprehensive 38-4 preliminary-final win over Melbourne on Friday night.

Penrith are beatable, but whoever wins Saturday night's other grand final qualifier between the Broncos and Warriors will need to do everything right in next Sunday's decider.

Firstly, the Panthers cannot be given an inch.

While Penrith completed at 100 per cent in the first half on Friday, all of their points before the break came off errors or penalties from the Storm.

Marion Seve gave away a needless piggyback penalty to put Penrith on the attack for their first try, and attempted a terrible offload before the Panthers' second.

Trent Loiero was then penalised before Penrith's third, after Izack Tago evaded five Melbourne defenders to get out of his own in goal.

Time and time again, the Panthers took advantage.

For the first two tries they got quick play-the-balls in the middle and spread to their right for Brian To'o to score, while Sunia Turuva was the beneficiary on the left for their third.

By the time the halftime siren went, the game was over.

Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary were able to pull apart a tired Melbourne, with Yeo Penrith's best while Liam Martin also wreaked havoc on the right edge.

In contrast, Melbourne wasted their best chances.

It's something the winner of Brisbane and the Warriors can ill afford to do at Accor Stadium next week.

Melbourne could have led 8-4 early in the first half on Friday, but Loiero failed to execute a draw-and-pass play and put the ball behind his centre Justin Olam on attack.

Then at 18-4 down right on halftime, Nick Meaney sent a pass into touch and relinquished any chance of arresting the momentum of the match.

Penrith have now won eight finals matches in a row, conceding no more than 12 points in any.

Next week's rivals will also need to find a way to outlast Penrith in the middle.

Melbourne matched it with the Panthers for the first 17 minutes on Friday night, going metre-for-metre while Nelson Asofa-Solomona was on the field.

When Asofa-Solomona went off, Harry Grant came on and the territorial battle was virtually over.

In comparison, Penrith's main middle James Fisher-Harris lasted 33 minutes, and when he was replaced by Spencer Leniu there was no let up.

Brisbane have beaten Penrith this year, shocking them 13-12 in the opening round.

The Warriors have not, and were trounced by the Panthers 32-6 in the first week of the finals.

The NRL's first three-peat in 40 years is not yet locked in, but it is looking increasingly inevitable.

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