The Penrith Panthers have exacted their revenge on the Melbourne Storm, beating the premiers 10-6 for a spot in this year’s NRL grand final.
Last year’s runners-up avenged their 2020 grand final loss to the Storm with the hard-fought victory at Lang Park to set up a showdown with South Sydney.
Next week’s decider marks the first time the last game of the season will be played outside Sydney and, ironically, the first time since 2014 that both teams are from the NSW capital.
2014 was also the last time Souths were in the grand final, winning their first premiership since 1971.
The grand final will be a rematch of week one of the finals, when the Rabbitohs won 16-10.
And just like that night two weeks ago, it was a superb Nathan Cleary kick that set up Stephen Crichton for the opener against Melbourne.
Just as Penrith did against Parramatta last week, a Melbourne trainer controversially stopped play to treat prop Christian Welch for a head knock, with the Panthers peppering the Storm line in the third minute.
In next week’s grand final, the Panthers will face South Sydney, who beat them in week one of the finals.(
Getty: Bradley Kanaris
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But the stoppage merely gave the Panthers a chance to organise an unorthodox set play, with Cleary kicking from dummy half right on the tryline for Crichton, who was completely unmarked on the right wing, to score the opener in the third minute.
The Storm, led by halfback Jahrome Hughes, kept creating chances to hit back, but their own ill-discipline and Penrith’s resolute defence combined to stop the premiers from hitting back.
Winger George Jennings dropped the ball cold with the line at his mercy, Justin Olam and Jahrome Hughes were both stopped on the line in successive plays, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona slammed the ball down under the posts but was denied by a Dale Finucane obstruction.
The Panthers defence kept turning up and the error-riddled premiers kept putting the ball down, fittingly ending the first half down 6-0 with a poor pass and a Reimis Smith knock-on.
Making matters worse for Melbourne, prop Christian Welch and hooker Brandon Smith were both ruled out with head injuries, and Penrith extended their lead immediately after the resumption, with a slick left-side shift sending Brian To’o over on the left wing.
On the other side of the ball, Hughes and fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen ended two excellent Storm sets with more dropped ball.
The game settled for the next 20 minutes, with Melbourne playing some percentage football and finding some field position, the pressure of which finally broke the Panthers’ line in the 63rd minute.
After another line break from Hughes, Cameron Munster chipped into no man’s land behind Viliame Kikau, and Papenhuyzen won the race for the ball.
Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Munster cracked the Penrith line for the first time in the 63rd minute.(
Getty: Bradley Kanaris
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The Panthers resumed their impenetrable defensive stand from there, but it all almost came undone in the final moments.
With three minutes left, Kurt Capewell, perhaps exhausted from his game-high 51 tackles, dropped the ball on halfway, then the defence gave away a penalty on the other side of the field to give the Storm one last crack.
But the disjointed attack could not make it through, with Hughes’s cross-field kick ending in the hands of Jarome Luai.
Penrith will be anxiously awaiting the match review committee’s report, with Cleary under scrutiny for a first-half lifting tackle on Kenny Bromwich.
Storm hooker Harry Grant was also placed on report for a crusher tackle on Dylan Edwards in the second half.
Source:: ABC News
