NRL GRAND FINAL: PENRITH PANTHERS vs SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS (odds correct as of 28/09/21)
H2H: Panthers ($1.67) vs Rabbitohs ($2.25)
Line: Panthers (-3.5 @ $1.90) vs Rabbitohs (+3.5 @ $1.90)
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Date: Sunday, 3 October
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
For all your latest TAB odds on the Panthers vs Rabbitohs, CLICK HERE.
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PENRITH PANTHERS:
Ins: Charlie Staines, J'maine Hopgood, Mitch Kenny, Moses Leota
Outs: Tevita Pangai Junior
- Dylan Edwards
- Stephen Crichton
- Paul Momirovski
- Matt Burton
- Brian To'o
- Jarome Luai
- Nathan Cleary
- Moses Leota
- Apisai Koroisau
- James Fisher-Harris
- Viliame Kikau
- Kurt Capewell
- Isaah Yeo
- Tyrone May
- Scott Sorensen
- Spencer Leniu
- Liam Martin
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS:
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Ins: Braidon Burns, Jed Cartwright, Taane Milne
Outs: N/A
- Blake Taaffe
- Alex Johnston
- Dane Gagai
- Campbell Graham
- Jaxson Paulo
- Cody Walker
- Adam Reynolds
- Mark Nicholls
- Damien Cook
- Tevita Tatola
- Keaon Koloamatangi
- Jaydn Su'A
- Cameron Murray
- Benji Marshall
- Jacob Host
- Thomas Burgess
- Jai Arrow
KEY MATCH-UPS
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Nathan Cleary vs Adam Reynolds
If either side hopes to get their hands on the coveted Provan-Summons Trophy come Sunday night, then these two will need to be instrumental for their respective teams. The Panthers faithful were sweating on the availability of Nathan Cleary for this weekend after the star halfback was put on report against the Melbourne Storm. Thankfully, though, he has been given the green light to play and will be hoping to guide his club to its first Premiership since 2003 following last year's heartache. Cleary has been in incredible form for Penrith this season - and Saturday night's victory over the Premiership-favourites was no different. Despite coughing up the ball on a couple of occasions against the Storm, the talented 23-year-old was devastating with the boot once again. Cleary's first lofty bomb resulted in a repeat set on the Storm's line, while his second quick-thinking kick direct from dummy half set up the Panthers' first try with less than three minutes played which immediately put Melbourne on the backfoot. He ended up finishing the game with 616 metres off the boot from a total of 16 kicks .His ability with the right boot is unquestionable, but it's his knack of dictating the pace of the game with the ball-in-hand which would cause the Bunnies all sorts of trouble.
As for Reynolds, he'll undoubtedly be praying for a fairytale ending to his time in South Sydney. This Sunday, Rabbitohs junior Reynolds will play his last ever game in green and red, so expect him to empty the gas tanks and leave everything out on the pitch against the Panthers. In last weekend's demolition job on the Sea Eagles, the skipper had a pretty quiet outing in comparison to some of his fired-up teammates. During the warm-up, he appeared to pull up short during one of his kicks, leading for many to believe he was carrying an injury.Clearly wanting to savour every last minute in a Bunnies jersey, the No.7 decided to soldier on and still had a hand (or boot for that matter) in a few of his team's tries. When he's firing on all cylinders, there's arguably no better kicker in the entire competition than Brisbane-bound Reynolds - mind you, Cleary would probably have something to say about that.
Isaah Yeo vs Cameron Murray
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Most rugby league pundits will be deep-diving into the battles across the star-studded backlines of these two stacked teams - and rightly so. But perhaps the most fascinating Grand Final match-up will take place between the two blokes wearing the No.13 jumper. Last weekend, Isaah Yeo and Cameron Murray were phenomenal - like, seriously. Penrith Panthers star Yeo made 38 tackles and ran for 123 metres in the upset victory over the Storm - and that was deemed to be a quiet day for him. Elsewhere, Murray had 27 tackles with zero missed to his name while also running for a whopping 195 metres against the Sea Eagles. These elite lock forwards not only hold the middle of the park together like glue with their toughness and tenacity in defence, but they're also equally-as-effective with the ball-in-hand. While the Panthers and Rabbitohs halves pairings often take all the plaudits for finishing plays with their devastating runs and pinpoint passing, it's mainly the actions of first-receivers Yeo and Murray who start off the plays and ultimately free up their teammates to get into these threatening positions.
There'll be plenty of firepower in other areas of the pitch for both teams come Sunday night, but if either Yeo or Murray can claim victory over the other in the middle of the field, then they stand in good stead of guiding their team to a Premiership. As far as picking your perfect ball-playing hard-hitting lock goes, it's honestly a flip of a coin between this duo. Although when it came to making that tough call during this year's State of Origin series, New South Wales Origin coach Brad Fittler opted for Yeo as his No.13 and shifted Murray out onto the edge. Read into that what you like.
BEST BETS (odds correct as of 28/09/21):
First try scorer:
Brian To'o (PEN) - $8
Stephen Crichton (PEN) - $8
Matt Burton (PEN) - $13
Alex Johnston (SOU) - $9
Jaxon Paulo (SOU) - $10
Dane Gagai (SOU) - $16
Anytime try scorer:
Brian To'o (PEN) - $1.95
Stephen Crichton (PEN) - $1.95
Matt Burton (PEN) - $2.70
Alex Johnston (SOU) - $2.15
Jaxon Paulo (SOU) - $2.25
Dane Gagai (SOU) - $3.20
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