NRL grand final 2023: Panthers and Broncos could be Australian sport’s next greatest rivalry

The young brash Broncos or the never-say-die Panthers? Pick a side in the NRL’s newest epic duel, writes DAVID RICCIO.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Nathan Cleary of the Panthers gets past Reece Walsh of the Broncos before scoring a try during the 2023 NRL Grand Final match between Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos at Accor Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

One thing is certain, every footy fan should clear their calendars for the next five years for Australian sport’s greatest rivalry.

Who do you want to be on over the next five years?

A Penrith side that doesn’t know how to quit? They lose star after star and they just keep winning.

Or a young and brash Broncos side that were on the verge of winning their first grand final in 16 years?

The argument for the Panthers is that they are loaded with class, led by Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo and James Fisher-Harris.

We know they have a rich production line of next-generation players ready to step up.

The Broncos/Panthers rivalry could be all-time. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Yet they are losing two major players in Stephen Crichton (Bulldogs) and Spencer Leniu (Roosters).

“We’re still just getting started,’’ Cleary, the Clive Churchill medallist, said confidently post-match.

For the Broncos, they have a star in Ezra Mam, but so too an ageing champion in Adam Reynolds.

They also lose Thomas Flegler and Herbie Farnworth, two of their best, to the Dolphins in 2024.

Kevin Walters’ side will garner strength from the despair losing a grand final ring they should be wearing today.

“We’ll be back, bigger and stronger next year,’’ Reynolds promised Broncos fans.

But it will be hard to top Sunday night, which left many pundits questioning whether we had just witnessed one of the greatest grand finals of all-time.

The question is, is it the greatest ever?

Sunday night’s epic grand final began with a throwback to the great 1990s when Tina Turner stole our hearts.

The match itself was better than any trip down memory lane.

The Panthers were almost stopped – until they weren’t. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

It sits in the annals alongside Darren Albert sealing the 1997 grand final for Newcastle.

It had all of Panthers legend Royce Simmons scoring against the might of Canberra in the 1991 decider.

It had everything of John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson scoring without his boots the year before to crush Balmain.

“This is one of the greats,’’ Nine commentator Billy Slater said.

“2015 was a great grand final between the Broncos and Cowboys, but this is right up there.’’

Down 24-8 with 25-minutes remaining against a humming Broncos side, and Penrith, the champions they are, found a way.

They did what no team has done in 40-years, since Jack Gibson’s Parramatta in the early 1980s, to win three consecutive premierships.

Kids at Accor Stadium last night will remember that for the rest of their lives.

They’ll remember thinking Brisbane were home.

But somehow, Penrith found a way.

Adam Reynolds is nearing the end of his career. Picture: Adam Head

They lost their strike five-eighth Jarome Luai in the 51st minute to a shoulder injury. Jack Cogger, the back-up half comes on.

They lost star forward Yeo and workhorse Scott Sorensen for long periods to concussion. The Panthers go down to a 14-man bench.

Then Cleary steps up with a 40-20 in the 64th minute that the immortal Andrew Johns calls the most courageous play of the night.

What unfolded from there was a level of sporting theatre that rivals Scottie Pippen’s Chicago Bulls; the man himself ironically watching it all unfold from inside Accor Stadium.

Cleary played on a level that nobody has seen him play before.

“20-points in 20-minutes, you don’t see that,’’ Luai said.

Penrith fullback Edwards explained what the players said to each other when prop Moses Leota crossed for the comeback try late in the second-half.

“Keep believing in each other. We thought if we jag one try, we’d be back in the fight,’’ Edwards said.

Originally published as NRL grand final 2023: Panthers and Broncos could be Australian sport’s next greatest rivalry