Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP
That’ll be all from me tonight. We have a heap more sport coming, though, so please do head over to our AFL grand final live blog here, and keep your eyes peeled for the rugby in a couple of hours.
In the meantime here’s a round-up of this match courtesy of AAP. Catch you next time.
Penrith have pulled off a sensational upset win over Melbourne to set up a NRL grand final clash with South Sydney but star halfback Nathan Cleary is facing a nervous wait on his availability for the game.
The Panthers’ playmaker was placed on report midway through the first half of Saturday’s stunning 10-6 preliminary final win at Suncorp Stadium for a lifting tackle on Kenny Bromwich.
Cleary will be eagerly awaiting Sunday’s judiciary report from the match review to discover if he will be charged for the incident, potentially placing his spot in the decider in jeopardy.
Panthers’ coach Ivan Cleary had another halves concern moments later when Jerome Luai left the field after copping a stray Cameron Munster arm to the back of his head following a linebreak.
The Panthers were livid when Munster escaped unpenalised as a groggy Luai left the field, but the Penrith five-eighth returned after the halftime break to play out the game.
Tipped to be under the cosh against well-rested defending champions and minor premiers Melbourne, the battle-hardened Panthers’ flipped the script from the outset as they exacted revenge for last year’s grand final defeat.
A heads-up kick from dummy half by Cleary found an unmarked Stephen Crichton out wide to score untouched in the second minute and leave the Storm rattled.
Shortly after that Storm prop Christian Welch left the field following an earlier collision with Matt Burton, the Queensland State of Origin star subsequently being ruled out of the game after failing his HIA.
Melbourne were down to just two players on the interchange bench by mid-point of the half when Brandon Smith also came off with a HIA as well as a shoulder issue.
The hooker was also subsequently ruled out by medical staff, putting huge pressure on the Storm’s remaining 15 players.
The Panthers clearly came with a plan and rattled Melbourne with stirring defence as the Storm finished with a plethora of uncharacteristic errors.
Some of those were especially costly with George Jennings and Reimis Smith both dropping the ball as the Storm threatened the tryline.
Some sensational Panthers’ defence also kept the Storm out in the opening half with Crichton and Burton pulling off separate try-saving efforts to deny Justin Olam and Jahrome Hughes.
Penrith made the most of another error at the start of the second-half by the Storm, extending their lead when a sweeping move to the left allowed Brian To’o to score and put the Panthers 10 points clear.
The Storm battled their way back into the match when a Cameron Munster grubber in the 63rd minute deflected off Viliame Kikau and into the hands of a grateful Ryan Papenhuyzen who converted his own try to set up a grandstand finish.
A Kurt Capewell error followed by a penalty with three minutes to play gave Melbourne one last shot at saving their season.
But the Panthers’ resolute defence held firm to send them to a second straight grand final and rematch with their conquerors in the opening week of the finals.
Cleary has this to say of another taxing final.
“Last week was pretty tough but I think it just went to another level this week. Things weren’t perfect but we just kept turning up for each other and having each others’ backs. We were totally process-driven and stayed in the moment.”
I daresay next week won’t be any easier.
That’s all she wrote at Suncorp Stadium. An upset to rival great upsets. Last month the Panthers lost 37-10 to the Storm. This month they had them in their back pocket with an excellent defensive showing rendered all the more impressive given Cleary’s side had a week’s less rest to work with.
Grant, by the way, was put on report for that tackle on Edwards. It had a bit of crusher about it. But it matters little to Penrith, who have a ticket to the season decider against Wayne Bennett’s South Sydney, who are on a high after thrashing Manly 36-16 on Friday night.
Full-time! Storm 6-10 Panthers
80 mins With 40 second to play, Hughes is trying to dodge Luai with little joy. They have six again but are pinned inside their own 30, and unless they pull something out of the hat here next weekend will be a ... Panthers v Rabbitohs grand final.
Updated
78 mins Capewell appears to have dropped the ball under pressure but Penrith challenge it anyway in what is surely a futile exercise. The replay shows he did in fact fumble it out of his own hands, meaning Melbourne have another shot with about three minutes on the clock. There is some tactical talk going on between apenhuyzen and company and the result is a play to the left, where Munster feeds Kenny Bromwich on the fourth. The kick is collected by Penrith.
76 mins The Storm give their attack another whirl. Still they are off-colour by their standards. Bromwich runs into some pink shirts at the halfway mark before Reimis Smith drops the ball at a time they really could have done with keeping it. Each have an attacking phase before Melbourne gift Penrith a penalty after an iffy tackle by Grant.
73 mins Storm make a captain’s challenge to a knock-on by Jennings while in an aerial contest for the ball with Burton. It is unsuccessful. Penrith have the scrum feed and make it count. In the second of two sets, they shift the ball out right, and then left. On the fifth Cleary, who looks to be running on the fumes of an oily rag.
69 mins If Storm manage another Cleary may be left to rue his earlier missed conversion. A Penrith set finishes inside Melbourne’s 10, and there they remain until the fourth tackle, when Sorensen works it marginally forward. That won’t do the trick. Cleary and Bromwich, meanwhile, clash awkwardly and both are momentarily stopped in their tracks. Gould is back by popular demand. “This is proof of why this really is the greatest game on the planet,” he says.
Try! Storm 6-10 Panthers
64 mins They need just a sniff to shift the momentum in this game. They have been lacking in rhythm, cohesiveness and composure for much of this match. Here they have it, as Grant goes left and plays to Munster, who puts in a delicate kick with which Papenhuyzen makes no mistake. He makes no mistake with the extras, either, and suddenly there’s only a try in this.
PAPENHUYZEN ⚡
— NRL (@NRL) September 25, 2021
We have a game on our hands! #NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/BNTy7wtK7o
Updated
62 mins Cleary kicks long into the corner and Addo-Carr is under it without hesitation. There are less than 20 minutes left in this and the Storm’s time is running out. The ball pops out behind their attacking line and Kaufusi tracks back to smother it. In the ensuing six again Hughes evades Kikau and is darting this and that with promise, but his efforts are ultimately fruitless. No breakthrough. Hughes has injured himself too and is getting strapped up.
58 mins There are some zealous calls for a knock-on on social media. Munster, bizarrely, kicks on tackle two and the ball goes out of play before it’s brought back into play. But now the Panthers are challenging a tackle in mid-air of Luai hoping for a penalty. It goes to the bunker, and the decision is overturned on the basis that Luai was in fact offside. Penrith keep the challenge but their decision to do so in the first place results in them being penalised.
51 min The Panthers, on the fifth, take the kick and Papenhuyzen, under immense pressure, holds firm for the catch. Meanwhile, there are yet more nervous moments for the Storm’s medical department as Kenny Bromwich is assessed after appearing to suffer a head knock in a hard tackle. He’s pointing to his eye, which may or may not mean the problem is only his eye.
48 mins It’s still seemingly not a long way for Melbourne if they can muster something to turn it around. But they can’t seem to complete their sets. Asofa-Solomona loses it prematurely this time. Again when Papenhuyzen makes a run and comes up short in the face of a lurking Papenhuyzen.
Try! Storm 0-10 Panthers
44 mins Melbourne need a spark this period or they could soon find themselves further adrift. No sooner I’ve had that thought than Olam drops a ball no player, let alone one of his standard, should drop. That sort of needless error can result in tries. On this occasion it does. Penrith have the ball again and they work it expertly out to the left. The last man is To’o and he’s only the line in a jiff. He missed last week’s match with an ankle injury and his team will be glad to have him back here. Cleary kicks the conversion wide.
The @PenrithPanthers STRIKE! 🐾#NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/62aD70nC8I
— NRL (@NRL) September 25, 2021
Updated
Second half!
The teams are back out on the field. The music is blaring. The crowd are waving flags. Forty minutes to go.
Half-time! Storm 0-6 Panthers
40 mins The Panthers approach the line again, on the left-hand side, and the nervous look on Bellamy’s face in the coach’s box says the Storm need to get to the break without conceding a second try. Hughes has got the memo and the ball, racing up field so fast he’s barely caught in time. That was a very entertaining half of football, and one that has flown in the face of bookie predictions.
Updated
37 mins It’s getting a little messy out there with a couple of strips in short succession. And it comes as news filters out that Brandon Smith has been ruled out after failing a HIA. That’s both Smith and Welch now, and the Storm are in big trouble.
34 mins Off Melbourne go again. Olam is forcing his way forward. He’s a big guy but he can move, and he changes direction with ease to ward off three pink shirts before he’s finally brought down. About a minute later, Luai is making his way off the field for a HIA and mandatory 15 minutes on the sideline after a tackle around the legs shifts him off balance and his head hits the turf. The tackle, by Munster, is deemed accidental and no penalty is awarded.
31 mins They go oh so close, short of the line by a few blades of grass, before Cleary cleans up and there’s a line dropout. The Storm have had the ascendancy in terms of attack but Penrith’s defence has been the difference.
28 mins Half-time is not a million miles away and while the Panthers have their tails up the lead is still only six points, and Cleary’s men will have to sustain the intensity if they’re to stop the Storm getting back into this. To wit, Melbourne embark on a ferocious run. Papenhuyzen shifts the ball to Olam and he would have been a sure thing were he not held up magnificently by Crichton and Capewell. Some defence. Melbourne have six again.
24 mins Try disallowed! The Storm are on the end of this decision and it may be harsh. Asofa-Solomona is denied the four-pointer. Finucane gives away a penalty while in possession for obstruction late in the tackle count. Panthers are off the hook.
20 mins Penrith attack hard on a new phase. They have it within 2m of the target on the fourth. Cleary looks left for a winger and ends up finding Kikau, before To’o fumbles a would-be finish.
News just in that Welch has failed his HIA and will not be returning.
16 mins Some heavy hits out there are practically shaking my living room – and I’m not even in Melbourne. I wonder how much the Panthers are feeling this physicality with a week’s less rest than their opponents. Apparently not all that much, because Edwards sweeps out and around and is on the dash. Cleary has it now and Smith dives in hard in chase and now looks to be in some pain. A trainer is checking it out his shoulder.
Penrith have the scrum feed and a sneaky Storm kick below the throng and across the tunnel disrupts the plan and forces a knock-on. Some pushing and shoving ensues, which Phil Gould is far too enthusiastic about on the commentary.
Updated
12 mins Welch has left the field now following that collision. Meanwhile, Capewell bursts free and eats up some metres. The Panthers are 10m out from Storm’s line on the second. Yeo passes to Luai before Edwards makes a run towards the middle, but he’s stopped suddenly and brutally in his tracks. Melbourne are getting run ragged here but they make a good go of this phase before another error gifts possession back to their counterparts.
8 mins That was flawless, and Bellamy had only just spoken pre-match about Cleary’s kicking game, calling it the best in the competition. To get you up to speed, that small break in play before the try was to allow a trainer to tend to Welch, who was involved in a head clash. The prop is still on the field, so must have passed an initial assessment? It seems premature to allow him to continue playing.
As I write this Jennings has dropped a golden opportunity for a try in effectively the same spot as Crichton up the other end of the field. He fumbles the pass and the ball hula hoops around his legs before bobbling forward.
Try! Storm 0-6 Panthers
4 mins The penultimate match of the season is under way. The Storm start with possession and then kick deep. It’s scooped up by To’o and run forward. Jarome Luai is searching for an opening and he gets it via Edwards. No sooner have the Panthers hit the fourth tackle, Melbourne gift them more field possession after some confusion at the back between Jennings and Papenhuyzen. They have six again and, after a brief break in play Cleary, at dummy half, picks up the ball and kicks out wide where Crichton is waiting at the corner flag. Smooth start that. Cleary converts.
WOAH
— NRL (@NRL) September 25, 2021
The vision from Nathan Cleary! 👏#NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/BLcbOt1Z9V
Updated
Melbourne looked pretty damn relaxed in the warm-up and appear every bit a team preparing to deliver another superb defensive display. Cleary will have to have a blinder for the Panthers to make headway. That, though, can never be ruled out!
The players are out on the field and we’re getting close to kick-off.
So no changes in the Storm line-up but the Panthers have undergone a reshuffle, with Brian To’o returning on the wing while Tevita Pangai Junior starts at prop after Moses Leota was earlier ruled out with a calf complaint.
Here are the teams:
LATE MAIL 📬 The Panthers side to face the Storm has been confirmed.
— Penrith Panthers (@PenrithPanthers) September 25, 2021
📝 https://t.co/JWRbnIE4De#pantherpride #NRLFinals #NRLStormPanthers pic.twitter.com/1jWg1pA0cw
We will start 1-17.
— Melbourne Storm 🏆 (@storm) September 25, 2021
Tommy Eisenhuth 18th man.#PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/DwPcvzBqE7
Nathan Cleary has just had a brief chat with Nine and said the key for the Panthers will be to “winning the field-position battle”.
“Melbourne are really fast out of the blocks,” he says, acknowledging that the Storm have enjoyed an extra week of recuperation.
“It definitely helps [them] and we definitely had a tough game [against the Eels] but we’ve rested the bumps and bruises and are up for it today.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the NRL’s second preliminary final. Isn’t this the grand final, you say? It very well could have been. It was last year. But this season only one of the top two finishers will make it to the big dance against Souths.
The Bellamy v Cleary show is the hottest in town between the strongest-performing teams of the season. The Storm set a record for the most wins in history, then lost one, but finished with the minor premiership before making light work of Manly in their qualifying final.
The Panthers, meanwhile won their first 12 on the bounce, shuddered a little through Origin and then righted the ship, only to squeeze past Parramatta 8-6 in a controversial semi-final.
We know who are favourites, and that is where what we know ends until the full-time whistle blows.
