‘Penrith are the best right now’: Finals come early with heavyweight battle to decide minor premiership

Penrith and Melbourne have been the best two teams of the modern era, with the sides to add another chapter to their epic rivalry.

Penrith and Melbourne will add another chapter to their rivalry on Thursday when the top two teams battle it out for the minor premiership. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

NRL fans in Sydney could get a grand final preview on Thursday when the Storm travel to town to take on the Panthers, and Melbourne halfback Jahrome Hughes has already set the stage by declaring the hosts “the best right now” as the teams fight for the minor premiership.

The Storm is two points clear at the top and can all but seal the minor premiership with a win, while they can also maintain a slender advantage if they lose by no more than two points.

They still have two more games against teams in the top eight, while Penrith’s three remaining fixtures are all against sides that are unlikely to make the finals.

Penrith and Melbourne will renew their rivalry on Thursday with the minor premiership on the line. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

“You want to come up against the best, and Penrith are the best right now and have been for the last couple of years,” Hughes said ahead of the showdown with the three-time defending premiers.

“It’s going to be a good test for us, and I feel like we need it.

“We’ve got a lot that we want to do in our game with what we’re trying to build towards at the end of the year. This is probably the perfect game to go against the best at their home stadium.”

The rivalry between the teams always heats up this time of year, with Melbourne beating Penrith in the 2020 decider only for the Panthers to then knock them out of the comp in 2021 and 2023.

Both teams were far from their best last week, with the Storm picking up the win over the Rabbitohs despite a sloppy second half, while Penrith produced the most incredible comeback of the year to stun the Eels with three late tries.

The Storm won 8-0 when the sides met back in March. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

While they won’t admit it, both sides probably had an eye on this blockbuster bout in what will be their first meeting since round 1 when the Storm kept Penrith scoreless for the second time in three years with a gritty 8-0 win.

And while they’ve only lost four games all year, Hughes concedes they’ll need to be a lot better on Thursday, with Storm coach Craig Bellamy firing a warning shot to his troops following last week’s win.

“If we do that next week, the bloke up in the scoreboard is going to be busy on one side,” the master coach said.

“And it won’t be our side.”

The Storm defended brilliantly back in round 1 but a lot has changed in five months, with Penrith’s attack humming now that Nathan Cleary is back in the team.

Nathan Cleary has been the best player in the competition since returning from a hamstring injury. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

“If you look back at our game, some of the things that we did well (that night) we probably haven’t been doing so well recently,” Hughes said.

“We can take a couple of things out of that game, but a lot of things have changed over those 25 weeks.

“They’re such a good defensive team as well, so we need to try to break that down.

“It’s an all-round game, and that’s how they play. They’re such a good footy side and they don’t beat themselves, so we need to be on top of our game.

“I feel like we’re not losing the games (recently) but we’re doing a few things that are really hurting ourselves, so we need to be on top of that. If we don’t, we’ll struggle this weekend.”