NRL grand final 2022: Panthers v Eels news ahead of decider
Rugby league legend Cooper Cronk was a grand final specialist and he has come up with a game plan for nullifying Penrith Panthers ace Nathan Cleary.
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Queensland halfback legend Cooper Cronk has urged feisty Parramatta rake Reed Mahoney to launch a seek-and-destroy mission on Penrith maestro Nathan Cleary in Sunday’s NRL grand final.
Grand-final specialist Cronk, who won six premierships from nine deciders, knows all about delivering on the biggest stage and he outlined Parramatta’s blueprint to shock Penrith in the monster western Sydney derby at Accor Stadium.
There is a view Penrith cannot be stopped if Cleary produces his A-game after the champion halfback terrorised the Eels in the Panthers’ 27-8 pummelling of Parramatta in the opening week of the finals.
But Cronk believes the Panthers are beatable – if Parramatta are prepared to apply pressure and bash Cleary out of the contest.
Cronk was a young halfback in the Melbourne team that suffered a huge boilover in the 2006 grand final when Brisbane hooker Shaun Berrigan terrorised Greg Inglis to inspire the Broncos’ 15-8 victory.
Now Cronk believes the Eels can orchestrate a similar upset by ordering Queensland Origin squad member Mahoney to harass Cleary and cut down his thinking time.
“They (Parramatta) have to make sure he (Cleary) is on the ground for the majority of his kicks,” said Cronk, the 372-game Storm and Roosters icon.
“If I am Brad Arthur (Parramatta coach), I am telling someone with leg speed like Reed Mahoney – ‘get yourself in position for tackle four and five and level Nathan Cleary’.
“In week one of the finals, Cleary was coming back after being suspended for five weeks and he didn’t have a hand laid on him (by Eels defenders) with his first two kicks.
“They need to shut down Nathan Cleary.
“The blueprint is what the Eels have done in the regular season (when they beat Penrith twice).
“For 50-odd minutes of the first week of the finals, they went punch for punch with Penrith.
“To beat the Panthers, you need to go toe to toe and you need to take them to the deep end.”
JOHNS CALLS FOR DAYTIME GRAND FINAL
— David Riccio
Matty Johns has called on the NRL to revert to a daytime grand final.
The Fox League commentator says fans would be treated to a greater spectacle and atmosphere if the NRL scrap playing the biggest game of the season at night.
Johns also said the NRL had lost their sense of tradition compared to that of the AFL, who have stuck with afternoon grand finals.
This Sunday’s NRL decider between Parramatta and Penrith at Accor Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 7.30pm
“I would love to see a day grand final return to the NRL,’’ Johns told Victorian SEN radio’s Garry Lyon and Tim Watson.
“I think it’s a better standard of football. In our game, you move the ball around a lot more.
“And I just like the atmosphere of a daytime grand final.
“You see the MCG (for the AFL grand final) and you just see it jammed with everyone in there.
“At night, you don’t really get a great perspective of whether it’s a full house.
“I like that tradition that the AFL have of a daytime grand final and I’d hate to see it change for the sake of just a few more eyeballs watching it.
“Because I certainly think advertisers, which is the thing (people say) that it’s all about the TV ratings, they mustn’t understand that when it’s a day grand final, you’ve got families and friends gathering, there’s just the same amount of eyeballs on it.
“It’s just that they’re watching it in groups and barbecue’s.
“Last week (AFL grand final between Geelong and Sydney), as far as that game is concerned, some people are panicking saying that the ratings are down, well the game was over in 10-minutes.
“That was the bottom line.’’
CONTRACT BONANZA: ‘KING ARTHUR’ TARGETS PARRAMATTA DYNASTY
— Travis Meyn and Peter Badel
Brad Arthur will become the longest-serving coach in Parramatta’s history as part of a multimillion-dollar plan for the Eels mentor to lead a dynasty in western Sydney.
Ahead of the biggest game of his career in Sunday’s grand final against Penrith, News Corp can reveal Eels bosses want Arthur to emulate the likes of NRL super coaches Craig Bellamy (Storm) and Trent Robinson (Roosters) by overseeing a decade-plus reign at Parramatta.
Addressing his future, Arthur outlined his desire for another term at Parramatta – scuppering speculation the 48-year-old is being secretly shopped to rival NRL clubs.
Arthur is already contracted until the end of 2024 and will equal Brian Smith (1997-2006) with his 10th consecutive season in charge of the Eels next year.
And if the Eels beat the Panthers at Accor Stadium, “King” Arthur’s reign at Parramatta is set to be extended.
Parramatta CEO Jim Sarantinos confirmed the Eels want Arthur at the helm for years to come as he looks to break the club’s 36-year premiership drought.
“Brad is contracted until 2024 and hopefully we achieve the ultimate success in that period,” he said.
“If we do, there’d be no reason why Brad wouldn’t continue on.
“The common thing with those (top coaches) is they are winning premierships on a regular basis. If we are winning premierships regularly then why would you change your coach?
“We haven’t won yet, but we are one game away and hopefully we can continue to be consistent and among the top teams in years to come.”
Arthur coaches his 230th game in the Penrith decider and is on track to become Parramatta‘s most-capped mentor, surpassing Smith, who masterminded the Eels in 243 games, including their 2001 grand final loss to Newcastle.
While he has enjoyed consistent success in recent seasons, leading the Eels to five finals appearances in the past six years, Arthur is yet to deliver Parramatta an NRL title.
Summating Everest is the final frontier for Arthur, who can set himself up for at least the next five years by snapping the longest premiership drought in NRL history.
Ever the pragmatist, Arthur concedes he has an expiry date at the Eels, but insists he still has more to offer the club.
“I would like to stay on but I’m also a realist,” he said.
“I get it. At some stage the club will get sick of me and the players might get sick of me.
“I don’t want to outstay my welcome here. I just want to be valued here and be doing my job.
“If I get to the stage where I feel I can’t have an impact, it’s time for me to change, but at the moment, I love my job and I love the club. I know the players like having me here, but nothing is forever.
“It’s not about records or any games I coach. I don’t do it for that. I just want to do my job the best I can and go home to my family and enjoy my family. I’m a very simple bloke. I go to work or I go home or I go to Bali for my holidays.
“Why would I want to leave? I live up the road near Parramatta Stadium. Why would I want to leave my local area, my kids are set up here, there’s no sense to me leaving.
“I know coaches move clubs all the time, but while I am doing a good job and the club is happy to have me, I will stay at Parramatta for as long as I can.”
Star Eels duo Dylan Brown and Shaun Lane backed Parramatta’s plan to keep Arthur for 2024 and beyond.
“I am the player I am today because of ‘BA’,” Brown said.
“He has made me more professional around my weekly processes whilst also encouraging me to play what I see and back my ability on the weekend.”
Lane added: “Early in my career I moved from club to club but it wasn’t until I worked with Brad that I realised my potential.
“He encourages me to play what I see on the field. I haven’t come across a better coach in my time and he’s a big reason why I extended my time at the Eels.”
The Eels have shown tremendous faith in Arthur, who guided them into last week’s grand final qualifier against the Cowboys with a 3-7 play-offs record.
A loss would have raised questions about whether Arthur could take Parramatta to the Promised Land, but the Eels have backed him for nine years and been vindicated.
“Whilst we haven’t got past week two of the finals in the last few years, we feel as a club that we’ve got improvement in the team and Brad plays a big part in that,” Sarantinos said.
“It’s also about the cohesiveness of having some stability amongst the coaching unit as well as the senior players spending more time together. That gave us the confidence we would be able to get here at some point. We felt as though Brad would be able to unlock that.
“We made the finals in 2017, got the spoon in 18, then have made the finals since 2019.
“We’ve made the finals in five of the last six years and in those years we’ve had three top four finishes. Now we’ve made it through to the grand final.
“There was a general feeling there was still improvement left in Brad with this playing group that could be unlocked.”
Arthur’s manager Chris Orr hit out at suggestions he explored other options for the Eels coach midway through this season.
It is understood one NRL rival made inquiries about Arthur, but Orr says the former Blacktown Council worker has no plans to quit the club.
“Brad is one of the most successful coaches Parramatta have ever had,” said Orr of PSM.
“Of course Jack Gibson is a Parramatta legend, but Brad goes into his 10th year with the Eels next year and no-one will have coached as many games for the club as him and he has done a terrific job.
“Parramatta is in his blood. So long as he is doing a good job, the players want him, the club wants him and they all buy in on the same strategy, Brad will happily do a new deal.”
EELS TO HOST SYDNEY’S BIGGEST GRAND FINAL PARTY
By Adam Mobbs
The Eels are planning Sydney’s biggest grand final party for fans who missed out on tickets to Sunday’s historic NRL decider.
With nearby Accor Stadium already sold out for the clash between Penrith and Parramatta, the Eels will be opening the gates to CommBank Stadium as they turn it into a huge grand final live site.
Already, around 4000 tickets have been sold for the event, with the club expecting at least 10,000 people to flock to the stadium.
Giant screens will be rolled out on to the field and the eastern grandstand opened up for a blue-and-gold live double feature.
First up will be the NRLW decider between Parramatta and Newcastle at 3.55pm, followed by all the pre-match interviews and the main event, the Eels-Panthers grand final at 7.30pm.
Parramatta Leagues Club next door is already close to its 2500-person capacity, with officials forced to make it a free ticketed event to control crowd numbers.
Should the Eels break their 36-year grand final drought, the Parramatta precinct will turn into a party zone not seen since Eels fans burnt down the Cumberland Oval grandstand following their first premiership in 1981.
Tickets are just $15, free for children under five, and gates open at 3.30pm.
Officials are urging fans to use public transport.
Originally published as NRL grand final 2022: Panthers v Eels news ahead of decider
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