Really, though, these “making of you” questions were posed with a certain hollowness the past couple of years, especially. They were not really about the Broncos or the Storm, but about the Panthers and their ever-extending reign over the competition. The more Ivan Cleary’s side won, the more hegemonic their presence and the less relevant their rivals became – even the ones who made it all the way to the decider.
Adam Reynolds after slotting his match-winning conversion on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
With that in mind, we are embarking on rather a novel week. We watched the Broncos lose a grand final to the Panthers, then watched the Storm lose a grand final to the Panthers. Now the famous dynasty is over (according to the public, not Ivan Cleary), and these very recent runners-up are going to play each other. Whoever loses this one better have their “making of you” response ready.
This is the anti-dynasty, which feels different and also a bit samey and even kind of confusing. What is the chat now if it is not “can Penrith do the five-peat?” and “what else can Nathan Cleary possibly achieve?”
Whatever the answer, it seems both clubs are doing their best to limit their own input by holding their media interviews on Monday morning, keeping most of the players free of commitments for the rest of the week, and leaving only Thursday’s official press conference, which is more of a fan experience anyway.
It is smart to keep the powder dry the closer it gets. Let the outside noise try to establish the new narrative.
Who is the underdog here when there is no Penrith as the default warm favourite? Is it Brisbane because they have two days fewer to recover and prepare? And because Bellamy enters his 11th grand final and holds a 14-2 head-to-head record against his former assistant Maguire?
The focus will be on Reece Walsh instead of Nathan Cleary this week.Credit: Getty Images
And because Jahrome Hughes really is back, and Ryan Papenhuyzen’s shoulder seems OK, and Harry Grant and Cameron Munster have no problem helping this spine break the backbone of the other team?
Or should the Storm watch out because their opponents have, in the past two finals matches, come back from a combined 30-point deficit to pip the minor premiers and then the four-time defending premiers? And because Pat Carrigan is back and Payne Haas is “a freak” (says Nathan Cleary), and Reece Walsh is a star.
And then there’s Reynolds, the veteran who managed to extract his own emotions from his body for that clutch sideline conversion; placed the tip of his wand to his temple and uttered “Obliviate” to erase the painful memory of the one he missed in 2021 and execute the process he had committed to muscle memory.
And we should probably pay more attention to Maguire’s enviable record of breaking droughts, literally wherever he goes (let’s forget about the Tigers for a second): from Wigan to South Sydney and New Zealand to the NSW Blues, who he led to a game-three victory at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since Ricky Stuart in 2005. It has been 19 years since Brisbane last lifted the trophy, under Wayne Bennett – against Bellamy’s Storm.
It is also worthwhile pointing out that, despite Maguire’s personal record against Bellamy, the pair are actually equal this season: the Storm won in Melbourne in August (22-2) and the Broncos won in Brisbane in September (30-14). The third meeting will take place on neutral territory at Accor Stadium, but just how neutral will it be?
Will Ashley Klein be replaced as referee, as has been suggested? If so, what will that mean for the penalty count and the flow and potentially season-defining decisions that could determine which side has to declare this loss will one day be the making of their team?
Let’s be real, the preceding seven paragraphs are mostly gibber. Water cooler chat for the befuddled who woke up on Monday morning without a world order. The global power structure has shifted, and gravity no longer has a centre. And no, we are not talking about the United States and the West, or China or Russia or emerging economies.
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The NRL is multipolar now, and that means a week full of commentary and hot takes and pub chat. The Roman Empire has fallen and left in its place our own Roman Empire: who will win on Sunday night and why?
And regardless of the outcome, the identity of the participants did not exactly buck the trend in the way the regular season suggested it might. Despite the Raiders finishing top and the Bulldogs’ ascension and the Sharks (and Panthers) disrupting the finals series, there is nothing wild about a Storm v Broncos grand final.
It might not change much next year, either, given the Penrith dynasty may just be readying for the next assault.
“What’s over?” Ivan Cleary said on Sunday night at the suggestion it was all over. “I’d like to think there’s more in us.”
