by Nathan Cleary vs Ryan Papenhuyzen
When Brisbane won the grand final last year, Nathan Cleary got the win back by producing 17 of the greatest minutes in rugby league history to win 26-24. It secured Cleary a second Clive Churchill Medal as best fielder and many expect him to collect a third on Sunday. His biggest rival? 2020 Churchill winner Ryan Papenhuyzen.
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Papenhuyzen was the man who beat Penrith in 2020. The brilliant young Storm full-back scored a runaway attempt at 35.6km/h – just one of 46 high-speed attempts at 20km/h or more in the game – to secure the 26-20 victory. But the New South Wales-born No. 1 has struggled with bad luck, mental health issues and a shocking series of injuries since that day.
Cleary’s shoulder is “hanging by a thread” after the Storm blasted her in round 24. But that won’t stop the bombs he’ll throw against Papenhuyzen all day and which the injury-plagued Storm star will catch and bring back to Penrith. How Cleary and Papenhuyzen deal with their pain will be crucial to the result on Sunday. An injury to one of the stars at the end of the game could turn the game around – and ruin a brilliant career.
Cameron Munster vs Liam Martin
“He’ll want to rip my head off and vice versa.” Storm playmaker Cameron Munster has no doubt about what awaits Panthers enforcer Liam Martin on Sunday. The two talismans have a long history of inciting each other’s turmoil in major battles. Munster were fined for intentionally kicking Martin in the 2021 Origin series, and Martin retaliated by targeting Munster’s injured ribs in 2023.
Both are great characters for their team and each burns brightest in the heat of competition. Munster is a free spirit who often doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing until it’s done. He has the hands of a surgeon, the feet of a dancer and the mind of a madman. Martin is a lovely guy off the field. But on the field he is a fiery Tasmanian devil – a dervish full of energy, be it as a damaging runner or devastating tackler.
Munster said this week that he and Martin “didn’t like each other” even when they were teammates for Australia. “I thought we were fine, but obviously that’s not the case,” Martin replied. “If that’s how he feels, then that’s his problem. Nothing will change on Sunday.”
Craig Bellamy vs Ivan Cleary
The Storm boss is in his tenth grand final, while for coach Cleary it is his fifth successive decision and a chance at a fourth successive Premier title. In 2020, the last time these two teams met in a Premiership decider, Bellamy got the chocolates. And in two meetings this season his men have beaten Cleary’s. But the duel on Sunday is what both want.
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For the 53-year-old Cleary, a win would avenge 2020 and elevate him to true greatness alongside ARL/NRL “super coaches” Jack Gibson, Tim Sheens and Wayne Bennett. The 62-year-old Bellamy is already there with his five titles in 22 years in Melbourne. Cleary is an iceman, calm and cunning. “Bellyache” Bellamy is an arsonist, brutal and brilliant.
In two teams full of stars, the coach who disrupts the constellations wins. Can Bellamy Cleary’s back three stop Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o and Sunia Turuva? Will Cleary’s creative minds, Jarome Luai and son Nathan, counter the running game of Dally M Player of the Year Jahrome Hughes and scheming hooker Harry Grant?
Both teams compete at high rates and bring injured playmakers into the game. Moments of individual genius make decisions, but human management creates dynasties. What coach will inspire his good players to greatness and his greats to immortality? And will it be Cleary or Bellamy who take the title of best coach of this decade?
NRL vs AFL
Sunday’s skirmish is part of a larger code war: rugby league vs. Australian rules.
Over four million people watched the AFL Sydney-Brisbane grand final – the most-watched TV event of 2024 – and the NRL wants a record of its own. Last year’s Penrith-Brisbane decider attracted 3.52 million viewers, but will Melbourne be as involved as Queensland?
It’s about more than just TV ratings. NRL boss Peter V’landys is desperate to regain some pride after the Swans and Lions rounded up bi-codal football fans to attract a record crowd for the home finals of the SCG and Gabba. It hurt the NRL as the Cronulla-Penrith playoffs attracted a paltry crowd of 33,753.
The grand final at the Accor Stadium is sold out, but even if V’landys can’t top the ratings, he can claim victory with a bigger spectacle. The Kid Laroi – a Redfern rapper with a global following – already seems a smarter choice than the AFL’s Katy Perry and hosting the NRLW grand final at 3.55pm will also win hearts and minds.
