NRL grand final 2022: Panthers v Eels news ahead of decider
Parramatta’s famous 1986 side have had enough of waiting and have thrown their support Brad Arthur’s Eels team to finally end the club’s gut-wrenching 36-year premiership drought.
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Parramatta’s 1986 side – the last Eels team to win a first grade premiership – has implored the current side to finally and emphatically snap the club’s 36-year premiership hoodoo.
“It’s time – it’s time to start a new era,” said John Muggleton, who was a second-rower in the Eels’ 1986 team.
News Corp spoke to 11 Eels players from ’86 – plus coach John Monie – to find out how, why and where Parramatta will defeat rivals Penrith.
JOHN MONIE (coach)
“The mighty Eels – they have been the giants of the game before so to see them back on the top level, it’s fantastic. It means everything to the fans, who are very staunch and have stuck by Parramatta for a long time. Thirty-six years … it’s too long, mate.
“I just hope they can win. When you get to the end of the season, you’ve got to be doing a lot of good things; be on your game, be great defensively, trust your attack and you can’t afford to have any passengers.
“Parramatta has a well-balanced side. They have a good dummy half and the half and five-eighth can take control when (Reed Mahoney) can get them going forward. To get into the big one, you have to do a lot of things right for a long time.”
MICK CRONIN (centre)
“It would be nice to stop hearing the line that Parramatta’s last comp was 1986. It would be nice to get that out of the way. It would be great to have some bragging rights, that’s what they’re looking for.
“They seem to always ask whether this is our year, like I know something they don’t. But they are hard to win. Parramatta has been close and in contention but they haven’t won one. To break that hoodoo, you have to win one.
“But they don’t need any extra pressure. I’m sure the newspapers will provide that. While they didn’t play their best, I thought Penrith was impressive the other night (against Souths).
“Parramatta is a side everyone seems to have a different opinion about. I think the coach has done a great job.”
RAY PRICE (lock and skipper)
“Parramatta has to belt the crap out of them defensively. When your defence moves up, you want their players to be a little bit timid. If you belt Penrith, I think they can go missing, just a little bit, but that’s all you need.
“I’m not talking dirty football but if your defence is hard then you’re a 60-40 chance of winning. I would use the ‘Cumberland Throw’. I don’t care what anyone says, our pack of forwards is the best.
“Parramatta’s half and five-eighth have to play out of their arse and the forward’s defence has to be faultless. If they do those things they will win the grand final. A grand final is the best thing, it’s the game everyone wants to play.”
GEOFF BUGDEN (prop)
“The off-season is so much better if you win. I don’t follow the game much anymore – I have other mountains to climb. But I do love watching that halfback play (Nathan Cleary). He reminds me a lot of Peter Sterling. I reckon (Cleary) is a champion.
“Sterling was a champion, he was the difference between winning and losing many times. Cleary is also that player.”
PETER WYNN (forward)
“The whole area is buzzing. The majority of fans weren’t around in 1986. This is a whole new generation of fan coming through.
“They saw 2001 and 2009 when we were beaten but only the older people experienced what it was like for Parramatta to win in 1986.
“Eight weeks ago Parramatta was a chance of missing the top eight and now, all of a sudden, they are in the biggest game of their life.”
MICHAEL MOSELEY (hooker)
“We’ve got a ticket, just like they’ve got a ticket. When the referee blows the whistle, we’ve got as much chance as they have. The players have to do it for themselves and I also hope they can do it for the fans.
“We have been their bogey team over the last couple of years. I’m going to be honest, they’re going to be looking over their shoulders. I wouldn’t like to be Penrith in the last 10 minutes because I can tell you now, we’re coming home in those final 10.
“Seriously, it would be a fairytale. It would not give me any greater pleasure than to see these guys win. I think our spine is level-pegging with Penrith’s spine. If we play our natural game, we’ve got the X-factor. We’ve got the offloads.”
BRETT KENNY (five-eighth)
“Parramatta has proven to themselves that they are able to beat the Panthers.
“The games against the Cowboys and Canberra, if they can play like that – and stick to their game – they will give themselves every opportunity to win.
“This is different to premiership rounds and the last time they played Penrith they were beaten, that’s true, but if they play with that confidence then that will go a long way to winning the club’s first premiership in 36 years.
“We have been classed as the Big Brother but now a lot of people would say Penrith is now Big Brother. A win would let everyone in Penrith know Parramatta is now Big Brother.”
STEVE ELLA (centre)
“As old players, we are very proud of them and they have our 100 per cent. It will be tough and Parramatta will have to compete on every play and be in the contest.
“They are capable and have the players to do it. It will come down those key moments and hopefully we’re on the right side.
“It’s good for rugby league with Parramatta being in the grand final. An all-western Sydney grand final means it will be abuzz from Parramatta all the way to Penrith.”
TONY CHALMERS (winger)
“I’m so proud of them – they have done so well to get there. I just hope it goes for one more week. I’d be so happy to see that hoodoo end. I’m absolutely rapt for them and I hope they go well and come away with the ‘bickies’ on Sunday.
“They have been maligned for so long and maybe rightly so. They have had a lot of good players through the years and probably should have put a couple of premierships away between 1986 and now.
“This is their opportunity to silence a lot of their critics and get naysayers off their backs. I have a lot of respect for Brad (Arthur). I think he’s done a great job.”
PAUL TAYLOR (fullback)
“You’ve got to give players and supporters credit and hopefully they will do well. You only get one shot at it – you only get 80 minutes.”
JOHN MUGGLETON (second-row)
“Their problem all year was that they haven’t put two halves together but in the last couple of games in the semi-finals, they have really gone to a hard-knuckle game and put the screws in.
“First and foremost, the supporters deserve it. They have waited a long time and been faithful. It would be a great reward for all those fans who have stuck by Parramatta for the last 36 years. It’s time – it’s time to start a new era. It’s important they get it done for the fans and themselves.”
MICK DELROY (winger)
“A lot of the current team might get sick of hearing about it but if they put in a good game on Sunday then they won’t have to hear about it again. It was a long time ago.
“It’s been a long time so hopefully they can do the job. It’s tremendous for the club. Field position and forcing errors is what it’s all about. If Parramatta can ambush them and start well, you never know.”
NRL Grand Final 2022: Download your sweep here, first try and Clive Churchill medal
TV RATINGS: HOW ‘WOODEN SPOONERS’ MADE NRL HISTORY
Parramatta’s historic push for their first premiership in 36 years has delivered the most-watched NRL season of all time.
The Cowboys meteoric rise from widely-regarded also-rans to premiership contenders in 2022 has also contributed towards a record number of TV viewers.
According to statistics obtained by the NRL, 2022 has become the most watched NRL season ever recorded by the Foxtel group.
The Foxtel rugby league platforms, including Fox League and Kayo, attracted an 11% increase in viewership across all platforms in 2022.
The massive supporter base of Parramatta — as well as the on-going domination by Penrith in 2022 — are major factors in the mass intertest from footy fans.
A wooden spoon contender in the eyes of many before the season, the Cowboys fairytale season under coach Todd Payten was also a major attraction for Queensland rugby league fans.
“We have had a terrific season of football for both the NRL and NRLW competitions,’’ NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told The Daily Telegraph.
“We have the best competitions in the world. Superb athletes. Tribal clubs. Passionate fans.
“The quality of rugby league throughout 2022 was spectacular and Fox League has captured all the action, analysis and atmosphere and taken it into the homes of our fans.”
TECH DETOX: THE ROOKIE PANTHER LIVING IN 1990S
The phone of a person about to play in an NRL grand final should be blowing up right now with text messages of support.
Like that of Penrith’s Izack Tago, who will line-up against Parramatta on Sunday night.
But family and friends, or teammates for that matter, shouldn’t expect to hear back from the 20-year-old.
That’s because Tago’s flip phone isn’t made for the modern world, where instant communication and gratification rules.
While most kids born in the early 2000s have grown up in the smartphone generation, Tago is bucking the trend, putting himself on a social media and internet ban.
Starting with an old school flip phone.
“It’s one of those phones where you have to click the button four times for one letter,” Tago said. “So I don’t really message either, mostly so I’m not on my phone for long, but because it’s hard as to message someone.
“So I have to either call, or even go visit, whoever I want to speak to. It makes my connections more genuine.”
It also means if his teammates have anything to say to him, it better be done at training because not even skipper Nathan Cleary can get a text back.
“It’s hard to get in contact with him outside of training because he is barely on his phone,” Cleary laughed. “It’s a good thing, but it is very unique for such a young guy to take that initiative to take himself away from the social media world.”
After playing six games in his debut season, Tago was handed Matt Burton’s left centre starting spot at the start of 2022.
The desire to keep his place in the premiership winning outfit was the genesis of Tago’s technology detox, that started with a limit on Instagram use to eventually limiting time spent on the internet in general.
“It’s a bit like getting off social first but I just took the phone thing to the next level, I’m sort of an extremist in that sense,” Tago said.
“If I want to do something, I try to do everything possible to limit what I am trying to get rid of… so the flip phone keeps me off my phone. I can’t play games, accessing apps isn’t easy.”
And when NRL players insist they never read the headlines or the latest rugby league news, Tago actually means it. His theory is simple, if an NRL story is important enough, he’ll hear about it, again the old school way, on the grape vine.
“It has the internet, barely, it’s hard as to use too,” Tago laughed.
“But that’s another reason I have it, I really don’t like paying attention to the external noise or things like that.
“So I never read any of it. I only ever find out about it at training.
“If it’s important enough I’ll hear about it.”
While Tago has an Instagram account, he isn’t interested in keeping up appearances and has not posted photos or videos.
WHY I WANTED TO KNOCK OUT TAANE MILNE
Penrith’s Spencer Leniu wanted to give Taane Milne a piece of his mind, maybe more, if it wasn’t for the trainers separating the two players last weekend and for good reason.
Milne had just been marched from the field for a shocking headhigh tackle on the Panthers forward in last weekend’s preliminary final.
Despite being dazed by the hit, Leniu’s thoughts went straight to Sunday’s grand final and the realisation that Milne might have just robbed him of the chance to run out onto Accor Stadium in the first weekend of October.
So, as Leniu walked off the field for a HIA, he waited for Milne to get close enough to tell him exactly what he thought of the brutal coat hanger.
“I just remember seeing the replay and who actually hit me,” Leniu revealed.
“My initial thought was he’s hit me and I’m potentially not going to be available for the grand final … just the thought of not playing in the biggest game because of someone else’s actions …. that was the most frustrating thing for me. That’s what got to me.”
While Leniu is still in return to play protocols, the 22-year-old jumped the biggest hurdle on Monday after being cleared by an independent doctor to take the field.
“I think the biggest thing was that I have never had any concussion history throughout my career,” Leniu said.
“The independent doctor asked me, and told him ‘I don’t think I have ever been concussed before’.
“He was pretty shocked when I told him that too. I think that was the biggest reason he cleared me.”
Having never been concussed before, Leniu spent the drive from Penrith to Sydney’s east to see the doctor fearing the worst. That he would be robbed of the chance to play in back-to-back grand finals.
“I was more nervous going to see the independent doctor than before the Rabbitohs game,” Leniu laughed.
“Even when he was doing the testing, even though I knew I was pretty certain to play because I felt sweet … but I don’t know … it was scary.
“It was my first time having to do the protocols.
“I had butterflies sitting there in the waiting room, and while he was doing all the testing.
“Just to hear him say I’m in the clear, I have never felt so relieved in my life. God willing, He allowed me to play.”
Milne hasn’t reached out to Leniu since the tackle but the Panthers prop insisted he harboured no ill feelings over the incident.
“He hasn’t reached out to me, but don’t expect him to anyway … whatever happens on the field, stays on the field. I stand by that, and I have no ill emotions towards him and I’m sure he probably feels the same way,” Leniu said.
Leniu will join at least 10 other Penrith stars, including Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o and Liam Martin, on the open market from November 1.
Sunday’s grand final is one last audition for the NSW Blues under-20s prop in front of rival clubs, who can table offers to lure him from Penrith after the November deadline.
“One hundred per cent, I want to stay. I can’t really see myself moving or in another jersey. But that is the nature of this business … you have to take the good with the bad sometimes,” Leniu said.
“If it’s my time to leave, it’s going to be a real sad moment. But if I have too, it is what it is.”
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