NRL Finals Wrap: Ultimate Battle of the West looms after pair of prelim thrillers

A pair of high-voltage preliminary finals showdowns have set the stage for one of the most highly-anticipated Grand Finals in recent memory as Parramatta and Penrith each powered their way to come-from-behind victories this weekend.

Eels October dream stays alive after gutsy effort in Townsville

A spirited comeback in trying Townsville conditions has the Eels on the cusp of breaking a 36-year premiership drought after outlasting the Cowboys 24-20 on Friday night.

Parramatta scored the opening points of the game against the run of play off a dubious pass from Mitchell Moses which sent Isaiah Papali’i into a gap and Will Penisini over the line. Cowboys prop Reuben Cotter answered moments later with a powerful, individual effort running a rather innocuous unders-line off Chad Townsend before Jason Taumalolo was sin-binned in the 15th minute after a stray shoulder caught Papali’i on the cheekbone. With Taumalolo in the bin, Reagan Campbell-Gillard poured through a yawning gap up the middle to crash over and put Parramatta back up by six. Still with just 12 men, the hosts hit back through a short-side raid ending with Luciano Leilua crashing over in the left-hand corner. Valentine Holmes threw over a penalty goal from in front to give the Cowboys their first lead of the game at the 50-minute mark before he capitalised on a Tom Dearden bust and sent winger Murray Taulagi over in the corner with a sharp pair of hands. With their backs against the wall, Shaun Lane plucked off a Scott Drinkwater pass to stop the Cows’ onslaught and lay the platform for Campbell-Gillard’s second four-pointer of the contest – just the second double of his NRL career – and cut the lead to two. Lane again inserted himself into the action in the 64th minute coming up with a miracle offload to send Maika Sivo over in the corner and wrestle the lead back. 2015 Grand Final hero Kyle Feldt went painstakingly close to putting North Queensland back in front not long after but was unable to keep his heel off the chalk. Lane charged down a cross-field Townsend chip in the 76th minute to perhaps save a try as the Eels would go on to defend their line stoutly and book their ticket to just their third Grand Final in 35 years and first since 2009.

Lane was phenomenal for the Eels and has been for the past few months; the 27-year-old assisted on a try, ran for 135 metres from 14 carries, broke five tackles and made 26 tackles. Campbell-Gillard was also strong running for 149 metres, making 32 tackles, and bagging a double. Parramatta’s backs were largely kept quiet but it was the work of the forward pack – who assisted on all four tries – that spurred the side to a famous victory. As for the Cows, Peta Hiku capped off his strong season with a game-high 191 metres to go along with four tackle breaks whilst Taumalolo ran for 180 metres from 16 carries and broke six tackles. Reece Robson’s breakout year ended with another 80-minute performance in which he assisted on a try and made 42 tackles. Given the Cows were a popular shout for the spoon preseason, finishing just four points short of a Grand Final was a tremendous result. Five of their squad members made their State of Origin debuts this season whilst veterans Holmes, Taumalolo, and Hiku enjoyed wildly productive seasons.

Parramatta will aim to break their 36-year premiership drought against one of their fiercest rivals when they face Penrith in the 2022 NRL Grand Final on Sunday night. Their only selection dilemma will depend on the fitness of centre Tom Opacic who was a late withdrawal from their preliminary final win over North Queensland due to a hamstring issue. His replacement Bailey Simonsson enjoyed a solid outing and has played in a Grand Final previously so Arthur may opt against relying on a less-than-100-per-cent Opacic.

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Panthers outclass Rabbitohs in Grand Final rematch, historic repeat beckons

The Penrith Panthers will advance to their third-straight Grand Final after surviving a shaky opening half-hour to brush past South Sydney 32-12 at Homebush on Saturday night.

It marked the third-consecutive year that the Panthers eliminated the Rabbitohs in the finals with Penrith becoming just the third team of the NRL era to qualify for three-straight Grand Finals, joining the ’04 Roosters and the ’18 Storm.

Izack Tago was denied the opening points of the game after a Nathan Cleary bomb bounced into his arms due to Jarome Luai holding Lachlan Ilias off the ball before Cody Walker dove on a loose, deflected Mark Nicholls offload to give the Bunnies an early 6-0 lead. An all-too-familiar left-side shift saw the Rabbits catch Charlie Staines out of position to cross for their second with Alex Johnston’s replacement Richie Kennar getting his name on the scoresheet. Penrith crossed in the 22nd minute after a Cleary bomb again yielded a result with Taane Milne spilling it and Luai sending it wide right to Staines, only for it to be denied due to a debatable obstruction call. Moments later, Penrith were denied a third try – this time off a South Sydney short dropout – with the video officials ruling a Penrith knock-on prior to Viliame Kikau diving over. The Panthers finally earnt their first points of the night through hooker Apisai Koroisau who scooted his way to try-line from outside the 20 off the back of a Kikau bust. On the stroke of halftime, Brian To’o reeled in a Campbell Graham drop to race off 80 metres downfield, dispatch of several Rabbitoh defenders, and bag a famous preliminary final try. South Sydney’s strong opening 35 minutes was dashed in the blink of an eye with Spencer Leniu the beneficiary of a Cleary grubber in the 44th minute to give Penrith their first lead of the game; the score went from 12-0 in Souths’ favour at the 35:58 mark to 18-12 in Penrith’s favour at the 45:39 mark. 10 minutes later, Izack Tago pounced on a Luai grubber to give Penrith a 12-point lead as it became clear that the defending premiers were well on their way to another Grand Final. 63 minutes in, Leniu made a barnstorming, 35-metre bust that ended with a leaping forearm to his forehead which saw Milne sent from the field just two weeks after his double sin-bin effort against the Roosters. Cleary scored off his own grubber in the dying stages to cap off an impressive night as the Panthers set up a date with destiny and the ultimate Battle of the West next Sunday.

Dylan Edwards was unsurprisingly superb for the Panthers running for 287 metres from 26 carries with an absurd 14 tackle breaks and pristine positioning and clean-up work whilst To’o ran for a game-high 293 metres from 21 carries and scored a game-turning try. Isaah Yeo put together his usual tradesman-like performance running for 148 metres and making 39 tackles without a miss. Cleary assisted on a try and line break, scored one of his own, kicked all six of his conversion attempts and ran for 115 metres. Penrith’s bench middle production will likely fly under the radar, however, Leniu and Scott Sorensen were terrific with the pair combining for 225 run metres from 19 carries and 35 tackles without a miss. For Souths, rookie Isaiah Tass capped off a great year with another strong performance running for a team-high 211 metres and assisting on a try whilst Cameron Murray led the forward pack in run metres and made a game-high 53 tackles.

The Panthers will face Parramatta next Sunday at Accor Stadium in hopes of becoming just the second team of the NRL era to win back-to-back premierships. Taylan May – who missed the win over South Sydney due to suspension – will replace Staines on the wing if he proves his fitness which is reportedly not a foregone conclusion after the rookie picked up a hamstring injury in their qualifying final win over the Eels. Leniu, meanwhile, exited the field after he was concussed by Milne and will need to pass head knock protocols to play, which he is expected to do.

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