NRL grand final 2023: Penrith or Brisbane? Which bandwagon will Sydneysiders jump on?

The Penrith Panthers’ unapologetic approach to celebrating their well-earned NRL premiership victories has drawn the ire of fans from rival clubs.

Everybody loves an underdog and that is exactly the reason Penrith stars are expecting fans of other Sydney NRL clubs to be cheering for Brisbane on Sunday night.

After four-straight grand finals and with a historic three-peat up for grabs, the Panthers are no longer the feel good story but the dominant force of the NRL.

As the fairy tale team in 2020, league fans shared in the pain of the grand final loss at the hands of Melbourne.

This time, Izack Tago believes fans will be cheering for their demise.

“Everyone hates the winners, everyone loves the underdog,” Tago said.

“I’m not saying the Broncos are the underdog but that has always been the narrative that everyone wants to see the underdog win.

“We’ve been to four grand finals now, so we haven’t been that underdog for a while.”

Panthers celebrate their 2022 triumph. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

Penrith’s unapologetic approach to celebrating their well earned premiership victories has drawn the ire of not only rugby league fans but pundits alike.

Boom rookie Sunia Turuva revealed the playing group has learned to harness the backlash.

“Everyone just hates when the boys are on top I guess. We even get hate for the way we celebrate,” Turuva said.

“Here we really value that we don’t care what others say … you just have to embrace it.”

But five-eighth Jarome Luai believes for all the ‘hate’ Penrith still have plenty of admirers for what the side has achieved on the field.

“Naturally you would think other teams from around Sydney would get around us cause we’re not too far, but you don’t really know these days, we are either loved or hated,” Luai said.

“Either way you have to respect what we have done as a team.

“Brisbane stands in the way of that and it’s going to be a tough game.”

With or without the support of Sydney, Luai is content with knowing his side will have the support of those who matter most on Sunday.

“Hate’s everywhere no matter what you do or what you say, people aren’t going to like it anyway cause they go for other teams,” Luai said.

“It is what it is but we know how to deal with it and as long as we are loved by our teammates and families that’s all that matters to us.”

While Nathan Cleary echoed Luai’s sentiments, the star halfback also had a warning for the rest of the NRL.

“If people wanna hate they can hate but we are just going to keep doing our thing and getting better,” Cleary said.

Backrower Luke Garner believes cheering for Brisbane would be as ‘silly’ as a New South Welshman cheering for Queensland in State of Origin.

“I don’t see why other Sydney fans wouldn’t support us. We’re in NSW and it feels like half this team has played for NSW so it would be silly not to go for us,” Garner said.

Sworn enemies put rivalries aside to back Bronco bashing

Sworn enemies are putting their vendettas against Penrith aside, even if it is for one night only.

It comes as Panthers boss Brian Fletcher called on fans of arch rivals Parramatta to get on the bandwagon even though the wound from last year’s grand final loss has barely scabbed over.

Already one Eels great, Nathan Hindmarsh, who never won a title during his time at Parramatta, has found himself caught up in the Panthers frenzy.

“This is a difficult one because if Penrith win three in a row grand finals it will match Parramatta’s efforts in the ‘80s,” Hindmarsh said.

“So that will take a bit of shine off the good old Eels. So I’m a bit selfish that way.

“But living out in western Sydney, what it does for our game out here at grassroots level, I’m going to the Panthers.

“This will be their fourth grand final in a row, they are a super team we won’t see again in a long time.”

The Panthers celebrate victory in the 2022 NRL grand final. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Fletcher encouraged all of Sydneysiders though, not just Eels fans, to get behind Penrith’s three-peat.

“We’ll have plenty of support at Accor Stadium and we’ve got plenty of local support too in the city of Penrith. But we’d be hoping the fans of the other Sydney sides that don’t have a team in the grand final that they would barrack for Penrith,” Fletcher said.

“I don’t think all Parramatta fans would (barrack) for us, it would be 50-50 maybe?

“But it would be good if we could get them behind us but it’s understandable if they haven’t gotten over last year’s grand final.”

Former South Sydney great Craig Coleman has thrown his support behind Redfern’s favourite son, Adam Reynolds, even if it means cheering for the Broncos.

“I’m going for Broncos because of Adam Reynolds. I coached him as a young kid. He is a South Sydney boy like me. Born and bred in Redfern and what a player. How good has he been playing, honestly? I have never seen him play better and the young blokes are thriving playing alongside him.”

As for Souths letting Reynolds go, Coleman added: “Honestly, no one puts their hand up for it. And the Broncos are every chance of winning. I know they say you’ve got to lose one to win one. But the young blokes are fearless.”

Ivan Cleary jumped off the Wests Tigers bus but club greats Benny Elias and Garry Jack are hitching a ride on Penrith’s very own people mover on Sunday evening.

“I can get over that,” Elias laughed when asked about Cleary.

“It is how much the Origin has hurt me this year. And I love Kevvie (Walters). I toured with Kevvie. But I can’t for the life of me go for the Broncos.”

Nathan Cleary celebrates NRL grand final victory. Picture: NRL Photos

“I’ll be cheering for the Panthers, full throttle. I can’t stand Queensland. What they’ve done to us (in State of Origin).

Jack echoed Elias’ sentiments.

“There’s no way you can support the Queensland team, that is just not right,” Jack insisted.

“It has a State of Origin feel about it, no question. This is the same rivalry and I think plenty of people in NSW will see it that way too, even if they aren’t Panthers fans.”

But one Eels legend in Mick Cronin, who was part of Parramatta’s reign in the early 1980’s is gladly sitting on the fence.

“I wish there was someone else in the grand final to cheer for.” Cronin said.

“I’m going to sit there and probably change four times during the game because each side is going to do something that is going to annoy me.

“I’m barracking for who I think will be the most humble winner, I just can’t figure out who at the moment.”

WHY CHEER FOR PENRITH – By Fatima Kdouh

I refuse to believe Sydneysiders dislike their own – in the Penrith Panthers – more than they do those pesky Queenslanders.

It’s sacrilegious.

Or to believe that Penrith have climbed so far up ‘the team you love to hate’ rankings that league fans in Sydney would rather barrack for the Broncos.

Penrith’s swagger, the way they celebrate and their unapologetic approach have rubbed a lot of the fans the wrong way.

The more Penrith win, the less everyone else seemingly likes the supremely talented outfit.

The harder they celebrate, the more sour the taste they leave in everyone else’s mouth.

Brian To’o and Stephen Crichton are lethal for the Panthers. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

But winners celebrate, and everyone else picks up the garden shears.

I get it, cutting tall poppies down to size in a national past-time.

But put those garden shears down, even if it is just for 80 minutes on Sunday evening.

Let yourself enjoy history, potentially, unfold before your eyes.

Cheer for a feat – three-straight premierships – that as a fan you might not witness for another 40 years.

If arrogance is your yardstick on Sunday evening, the Panthers are the lesser of two evils.

Already, the Broncos have an air of arrogance that surpasses that of Penrith back in 2020.

That arrogance will only balloon if Brisbane win the title on Sunday night.

By 10pm on Sunday, Queensland could be home to the NRL title, the State of Origin shield and the AFL premiership.

If that’s not a good enough reason to barrack for Penrith, I don’t know what is.

WHY CHEER FOR THE BRONCOS – By Paul Crawley

Even if you don’t like the Broncos, it is impossible not to admire Adam Reynolds for what he achieved since he was basically shown the door at South Sydney.

And you can put Kevvie Walters in the same boat for all he has gone through to get where he is today.

In the Broncos captain and coach, you also have two of the most humble and gracious men in rugby league, who have won overwhelming support and respect for just being bloody good blokes.

Meanwhile, the Penrith Panthers have Jarome Luai standing smack bang at the centre of why so many fans find the reigning back-to-back champs so hard to like.

The Broncos celebrate a try to Ezra Mam. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Seriously, when it comes to the team rival fans will be cheering for in the NRL grand final, answer this question in all honesty:

Would you rather see Luai or Reynolds holding up the Provan-Summons Trophy come Sunday night?

And have Parramatta fans forgiven the Panthers for their cocky post grand final celebrations last year?

And would those same Eels supporters really want to now see a team with a few individuals whose confidence borders on arrogance equal the premiership three-peat of Jack Gibson’s legendary side of the early 1980s?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the Panthers’ overall popularity, there have been more than a few incidents in recent years that have understandably polarised many rival fans.

No one questions the Panthers aren’t a hell of a footy team, up with the best we have ever seen.

And while they have more than their share of humble heroes, with the likes of Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards leading the way, there is still no way they will go into Sunday night’s grand final as the team most rival fans would want to see win.

Not up against a Broncos side led by two of the most likeable personalities in the history of the game.

Originally published as NRL grand final 2023: Penrith or Brisbane? Which bandwagon will Sydneysiders jump on?