It’s very rare that you can tell a grand final is over after 17 minutes.
This decider between Penrith and Parramatta was such a match.
It promised to be a Western Sydney epic but turned into an 80-minute lap of honour for the defending premiers, the match effectively put to bed the moment Panthers winger Brian To’o dived over for his side’s second try of the night.
The Panthers won 28-12 after the Eels scored two late tries that provided no consolation. This was a bloodbath, by any measure.
Leading 18-0 at half-time, Penrith captain Isaah Yeo feared a desperate Parramatta would use the ball in the second half, involving big guns like Mitchell Moses, Dylan Brown, Clint Gutherson and Shaun Lane to manufacture some sort of resistance.
It never came. At any stage. At all.
The Panthers never looked like losing the 2022 NRL grand final.Credit:Getty
When the Eels had their best chance to score and somehow get back into the match, winger Maika Sivo dropped the ball over the line.
When Eels winger Bailey Simonsson streaked downfield soon after, Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards dived at his legs and dragged him into touch.
Winger Charlie Staines scored minutes after that and Penrith’s legacy, their dynasty, whatever you want to call it, was sealed – if it wasn’t already.
Comparisons are always fraught with danger. What do they mean, anyway?
But Penrith’s two premierships confirm their standing as one of the great teams of the NRL era. Any era, really.
A Parramatta win was the romantic’s tip, but the problem was they were up against one of the most accomplished teams of the past 20 years, up there with the Roosters and Storm, even the salary cap-enhanced Storm.
A decade ago, a broken club tapped into their vast reserves of junior talent and the result has been a conveyer belt of audacious talent, all of them wanting to play for the club.
Sure, the squeeze of the salary cap means they have lost Viliame Kikau and Api Koroisau next season, but if anyone thinks their premiership window is snapping shut should consider the talent still there.
The Panthers have carried the burden of heavy favouritism, injuries, Origin hangovers and the late-season suspension of their captain, Nathan Cleary.
Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.Credit:Getty
They didn’t flinch.
In the first half, you sensed they wanted to put the Eels back in their box from the very start. And they did.
Props Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris were so physical in defence, you feared for the safety of the Eels players.
When Penrith had the ball, they peeled off play-the-balls so fast that Parramatta were barely getting back onside in time.
The experts talk about the Panthers’ rhythm. In other words, when they get on a roll they’re near impossible to stop. An immovable tide that starts in the middle before fanning to the edges where they have speed and size and skill.
Kikau remains their focal point in attack. He attracts so much attention – or is it fear? – that even when he isn’t touching the ball it disjoints the defensive line.
After Crichton scored the first try, To’o crashed over for the second. There were only 17 minutes down. You knew there and then it was going to get ugly.
Stopping Penrith’s back three of To’o, Edwards and Staines was always going to be the big ask for the Eels.
No side squeezes as many tough runs, as much yardage on early tackles coming out of trouble, as the Panthers.
Eels fullback Clint Gutherson reacts after the Panthers score another try.Credit:Getty Images
In just one half, To’o had racked a mammoth 177 metres. Edwards: 146. Staines: 89.
Penrith even had The Bunker decisions go their way.
When Kikau looked to have obstructed Moses as To’o scored his second early in the second half, the video referee erred the way of the Panthers.
Perhaps the sign of what was coming came directly after Penrith beat Souths in the preliminary final last weekend.
Koroisau scanned the field for the first teammate he could leap onto in celebration.
Fittingly, he saw Kikau. Both are headed to new clubs next season – Korosiau to the Tigers, Kikau to the Bulldogs – and they had just set up an epic grand final against the Eels.
Kikau wasn’t having a bar of it: he pushed Koroisau away, seemingly annoyed.
The look on the giant back-rower’s face matched that of other teammates standing in the middle of the field and it told an important story.
This Penrith side counts success in premierships, not grand final appearances, so the job was far from done.
Now they have two from the last three grand finals.
You reckon they’re done?
