NRL grand final 2022: Panthers v Eels news, Tom Opacic, Taylan May ruled out, Nathan Brown shock recall
Parramatta has confirmed one of its key players has failed to prove his fitness to face Penrith in Sunday’s Grand Final, describing the blow as “devastating”.
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Parramatta centre Tom Opacic has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s decider against Penrith.
Opacic was named on an extended bench earlier this week but will miss what would have been his farewell game after signing with England’s Hull KR for 2023.
“Tom won’t play, we wanted to give him every opportunity,” coach Brad Arthur said on Thursday.
“We’re devastated for Tom.
“I remember the day before his debut he guaranteed the group he be would ultra reliable and he has been that for us. It is sad for Tom, but he is still part of the 22.”
EARLIER: BIG NAMES OUT IN SHOCK GRAND FINAL TEAMS
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur and Panthers counterpart Ivan Cleary have named their teams for Sunday’s NRL grand final at Accor Stadium.
Injured Tom Opacic has been named on an extended bench but is expected to miss the decider in a crushing blow for the England-bound Parramatta centre.
Bailey Simonsson has kept his spot at left centre in place of Opacic after playing in the Eels’ thrilling win over North Queensland last Friday.
For the Panthers, Charlie Staines remains on the wing with Taylan May falling short in his bid to overcome a hamstring injury.
Arthur has named Nathan Brown on the bench, pushing Bryce Cartwright onto the extended bench. Coach Arthur’s son Jakob has been retained in the Eels’ 17 on the bench after he didn’t get any game time against the Cowboys.
NRL GRAND FINAL TEAMS
Panthers v Eels, Sunday October 2, 7.30pm at Accor Stadium
Eels: 1. Clinton Gutherson, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Will Penisini, 4. Bailey Simonsson, 5. Waqa Blake, 6. Dylan Brown, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Isaiah Papali’i, 13. Ryan Matterson
Bench: 14. Nathan Brown, 15. Jake Arthur, 16. Oregon Kaufusi, 17. Marata Niukore
Reserves: 18. Bryce Cartwright, 19. Makahesi Makatoa, 20. Tom Opacic, 21. Ofahiki Ogden, 22. Ky Rodwell
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Charlie Staines, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. James Fisher Harris, 11. Viliam Kikau, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo
Bench: 14. Mitch Kenny, 15. Scott Sorensen, 16. Spencer Leniu, 17. Jaeman Salmon
Reserves: 18. Sean O’Sullivan, 19. Matt Eisenhuth, 20. J’maine Hopgood, 21. Sunia Turuva, 22. Chris Smith
EELS STAR SET TO MISS GRAND FINAL
Injured Tom Opacic is set to be ruled out of Sunday’s grand-final blockbuster against Penrith in a crushing blow for the England-bound Parramatta centre.
News Corp can reveal Opacic (hamstring) is virtually no hope of being fit for the western Sydney derby decider and needs a miracle recovery over the next 48 hours to be a late inclusion for Parramatta’s shot at glory at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
The former Broncos and Cowboys centre was named in Parramatta’s extended squad on Tuesday but the Eels are resigned to being without their Mr Reliable three-quarter on grand-final day.
It is a heartbreaking outcome for Opacic, who tweaked his hamstring in Parramatta’s 40-4 semi-final defeat of the Raiders a fortnight ago.
The 28-year-old, who missed last week’s preliminary final win over the Cowboys, underwent sprinting drills at Parramatta training on Monday in the first step towards proving his fitness for the biggest game of his career.
Opacic has been a mainstay of the Eels top team, playing 40 games in the past two seasons since his arrival from the Cowboys, but Parramatta coach Brad Arthur is bracing for his rugged centre to be scratched.
Opacic will join Super League side Hull KR next season and was hoping to depart Parramatta with a premiership ring in his maiden grand-final appearance, but it is increasingly likely his Eels career is over.
In the absence of Opacic, Arthur is set to keep faith in 24-year-old Bailey Simonsson, who played centre against the Cowboys and is bracing for his second NRL grand final after playing for Canberra in the 2019 decider.
Opacic told News Corp he is wary of putting himself before the team, backing Simonsson to handle a Penrith onslaught in a three-quarter alliance with Eels winger and former Panther Waqa Blake.
“He (Simonsson) did a great job last week,” Opacic said.
“I daresay I’d have to run fully on Wednesday or by the main session on Friday. It’s all about running at high speed and under fatigue.
“I have to be 100 per cent right before I play, otherwise it’s not worth the risk.
“I wouldn’t want to do that to my teammates who have worked so hard to get here. If I can’t get to 100 per cent, well, that’s footy.
“I haven’t had the conversation with Brad, but I’m sure I’ll be in the 22.
“There are blokes who play 10 or 15 years and never get the chance to play in a grand final. If I don’t get the chance to play then I’ll still feel great that I got the chance to play my part in the team. If I play and we get the job done, even better.”
Meanwhile, Penrith has suffered an injury blow ahead of Sunday’s grand final with winger Taylan May failing to overcome a hamstring injury.
Charlie Staines, who replaced May in last week’s preliminary final against South Sydney, has retained his place in coach Ivan Cleary’s side for the decider.
There was better news for forward Spencer Leniu, who has been cleared by an independent doctor to take the field, after he was concussed following a head high shot by Rabbitohs’ Taane Milne.
“I copped a pretty big whack but pulled up surprisingly well. After seeing the footage it was pretty bad but on Sunday I woke feeling alright,” Leniu told The Daily Telegraph.
“I saw the independent doctor yesterday and he cleared me.”
Milne was sent off for the shocking hit and is facing a six week ban. - Fatima Kdouh
ARTHUR OPENS UP ON GRAND FINAL BOMBSHELL
By Peter Badel
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has made one of the biggest calls of his career by axing Bryce Cartwright and recalling Nathan Brown for Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith in Sydney.
Speaking exclusively to News Corp, Arthur confirmed Brown will be sensationally recalled after a three-month absence for the biggest game of the season as Parramatta look to fight fire with fire with Penrith in the midfield.
It is a heartbreaking relegation for Cartwright, who played soundly in last week’s 24-20 preliminary final defeat of the Cowboys in Townsville.
Parramatta announced their 21-man grand-final squad on Tuesday and Arthur revealed Brown will play in the decider - emphatically scuppering speculation of a feud between the coach and hard-running forward.
Brown hasn’t played NRL since July 9, largely due to a broken thumb which sidelined him for six weeks.
“I’m going with ‘Browny’, I think for this game, this is the game that suits him,” Arthur said.
“I’m not one to play games with team selections. It’s the right thing to do for the fans and the players and I’ve spoken to the boys.
“You want to pick them all for a grand final because they have all played a role along the way, but it’s my job as coach.
“I have to do what I think is right and my gut instinct says Nathan Brown is the best thing for the team this week.”
Arthur confirmed his son Jakob will remain on the bench with back-row utility Cartwright to make way for Brown as the Eels look to muscle up in the middle third.
“Carty was unreal about it,” the Eels coach said.
“He was disappointed but he still wants to be a part of it and support the team through the week and be there on game day.
“I said I want you there as part of the squad.
“Every week I have looked at my bench and I pick my bench for different reasons and to do a different job.
“I have a very good forward pack that plays lots of minutes for me.
“Reg (Campbell-Gillard), Junior (Paulo) and ‘Matto’ (Ryan Matterson) all play 60 minutes … that leaves me 60 minutes of the game to find time for four bench players, why do I always need four middles?
“Last week, I felt I needed back-row coverage, this week I feel it will be tough through the middle and Nathan gives us that grunt.”
Arthur rubbished suggestions of a fallout with Eels firebrand Brown.
“The talk about me and Nathan is total bullshit,” he said.
“Browny didn’t play for six weeks because of a broken thumb. It had nothing to with this crap about us not getting on.
“Nathan didn’t come back until the first week of finals and he played in the NSW Cup.
“I felt he was a bit short of running in his legs, but he has had some work now and for this game, Nathan is what I need.”
The Eels coach also defended the use of his interchange rotation, saying he is comfortable using only 16 men, with Jakob Arthur failing to appear in last week’s disposal of the Cowboys.
“On six occasions this year I’ve used 16 players and we have won five times,” Arthur said.
“In those games, we beat Melbourne, Penrith and Canberra with 16 men, so we’re going OK.
“Our 17th player averages less than 10 minutes a game, so why is it such a big deal?
“Jake is there to cover the spine. If ‘Gutho’ (fullback Clint Gutherson), Mitchell Moses or Dylan (Brown) gets injured, Jake is there.
“People forget, if Reed Mahoney (hooker) comes off, who goes to dummy half and gives us good service? Jake is better with service than Nathan Brown and Bryce.
“If Jake doesn’t get on the field, well, bad luck, I don’t need him to get on the field then.
“You need your best players on the park and our front-rowers are paid big money to win us games. What’s the point of them sitting on the bench playing 30 minutes?
“I’m entirely comfortable with my selections and I know if we work hard this week, we have the team to beat Penrith.”
BATTLE OF THE WEST SELLS OUT
The NRL and NRLW grand finals have officially sold out.
Billed as the Battle of the West, bitter rivals Penrith and Parramatta will face-off in a grand final for the first time in front of a sold-out Accor Stadium.
Newcastle and Parramatta scored shock semi-final upsets to make the NRLW grand final.
With the matches now sold out, both Parramatta Eels and Penrith Panthers will host live sites for members and fans who missed out on tickets to Grand Final day.
“The Grand final teams represent the beating heart of rugby league. Clubs that represent modern day Australia. Confident, vibrant and growing communities. Heartland areas that have more kids picking up a football for the first time than ever before” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
“The demand for tickets has been overwhelming. I would like to thank rugby league fans for their loyalty and support.
“There is much to look forward to this Sunday – a traditional rivalry that has never been played on the NRL Grand Final stage before and an NRLW Grand Final between two teams in just their second Premiership seasons. History will be made.
“We are delighted that Clubs will be celebrating community based live sites for fans.”
PANTHERS ACE REVEALS PARRAMATTA’S DANGER MEN
Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards has been impressed with the workloads of Parramatta backrowers Isaiah Papali’i and Shaun Lane and knows limiting their impact will go a long way to beating the Eels in Sunday’s grand final.
“It’s hard to sort of pinpoint one area, the middle four just get forward all day, they’re really strong so we’ll have to be physical through the middle,” Edwards told SEN Radio.
“Their back rowers on the weekend … they do so much work for them. (As a team) they’re pretty dangerous.”
Edwards and the Panthers will train in front of fans on Tuesday morning as they gear up for the battle of the west at Accor Stadium.
The fullback is looking forward to seeing the Penrith supporters at the session after last year’s Covid-enforced grand final relocation to Brisbane.
“(I’m) looking forward to getting out in front of the fans and having a training session in front of them,” Edwards added.
“We missed out on this opportunity last year being up in Queensland, it’s a bit wet today but I’m sure we’ll still have a good turnout.”
CURSE BREAKER? MESSAGE STERLO SENT TO MOSES
— Dean Ritchie
Surely the curse of the Parramatta No. 7 jersey can now be laid to rest.
Mitchell Moses has led the Eels back to the promised land, giving him the chance to do what no halfback has been able to do since the great Peter Sterling masterminded Parramatta’s 1986 premiership win.
A grand total of 36 halfbacks have tried and failed to get the Eels over the premiership hump since Sterling retired in 1992.
Jason Taylor and Jeff Robson have come closest, having played halfback in the 2001 and 2009 grand final losing sides.
Moses is the latest and arguably greatest to take Parramatta within touching distance of premiership glory. He arrived at the Eels after a controversial move from the Wests Tigers and has been a magnet for criticism at times since.
Moses came with one goal in mind – to lead Parramatta to a premiership. He now stands on the cusp of doing just that, albeit with the Penrith juggernaut and their superstar half Nathan Cleary standing in his way at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
“The curse of the seven jersey – I don’t look at it at all,” Moses said.
“You see things being written but … when I first signed up, I looked at it as a challenge. Hopefully I have risen to the challenge and I can get the job done on the weekend.”
Eels fans are counting on him. The challenge is immense but Moses wasn’t looking for the easy option when he left the Tigers and slipped on arguably the most pressure-laden jersey in the NRL.
Sterling has been among Moses’ most ardent supporters. He has publicly backed Moses, most notably in the aftermath to their win in the preliminary final over North Queensland last Saturday night.
Sterling sent Moses a text, urging him to get the Eels over the line. It was a feeling shared by all the members of the 1986 side, who yearn for the day when Parramatta will once again lift the premiership trophy.
“He [Sterling] texted me the other day,” Moses said.
“All those old players are outstanding. We know we have their full support and they want us to get one. They said it is our time.
“They want us to achieve what they did and have that feeling of winning a comp.”
A victory would silence even Moses’ most ardent critics. He has overcome one of the most difficult and emotional weeks of his career to lead his side into the grand final. He will carry the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
Glory awaits.
“We have such a good supporter base and they have been behind us all year – the five or six years I have been here,” Moses said.
“They have been enormous. They really get behind us – every time we play at Commbank [Stadium] it is packed out. They get us home in games.
“There his no hiding we haven’t won it for a while. If we can win it, it would be unbelievable.”
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