NRL Round Up: Panthers upset Storm to win 4th Grand Final in a row!

Oct 22, 2024

Here is what went down in the NRL Grand Final 2024.

Panthers Rise to the Occasion to Beat Storm 14-6

Amazingly, the Panthers, who had already won three Grand Finals in a row, were the underdogs coming into this matchup as the Storm cruised to the minor premiership and racked up two wins over Penrith during the regular season.

However, the Panthers didn’t seem to mind putting their stamp on the game early with a bruising defence. In the 13th minute, Penrith probed Melbourne’s line and, on the 5th tackle, kept the ball alive with a chip kick by Dylan Edwards and an off-the-deck pass from Liam Martin before a great tackle denied Isaah Yeo a try.

Then, in the 19th minute, the Panthers were again hounding the Storm. This time, a quick play of the ball and a grubber from Paul Alamoti almost saw Brian To’o bag a try.

Despite Penrith being on top in the opening 20 minutes, it was Melbourne who drew first blood. The Panthers were caught on the back foot as Harry Grant took advantage of lazy markers to dart over the line from 8m out in the 22nd minute.

Just four minutes later, Penrith responded in true Panthers fashion with a lovely backline play featuring Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai before finding Sunia Turuva, who dived into the corner. Unfortunately, Cleary missed the kick, and the Panthers trailed 6-4.

Just before half-time, Cleary ran through a hole and played the ball on the 30m. Yeo then took a solid hit up and got Penrith within 18m from Melbourne’s line. On the 5th, Luai switched the direction of the play and threw a looping pass to Cleary, who found a rampaging Martin who crashed over the line, giving Penrith a 10-6 lead at half-time.

Panthers Too Good in Defence as Storm Fail to Mount Comeback

Penrith showed desperation defence as they held up Jack Howarth in the in-goal. Cleary brought the Panthers that much closer to victory in the 60th minute with a massive bomb that was caught by Martin. The lock kept the ball alive, and ultimately, Alamoti dived and placed the ball down with one hand.

Despite testing Penrith’s defensive line over and over again in the last 20 minutes, the Panthers refused to wilt. In the end, Penrith won 14-6 and secured their record-breaking 4th Grand Final in a row!