{"id":293815,"date":"2023-09-24T19:34:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T19:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=293815"},"modified":"2023-09-24T19:34:05","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T19:34:05","slug":"grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Save articles for later<\/h3>\n<p>Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the grand final that simply had to happen in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Penrith are the only team this year with the defence to contain Brisbane\u2019s freewheeling attack at its best. In turn, the Broncos are the only outfit that can truly trouble the Panthers and go the distance at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>Ivan Cleary\u2019s side come into their fourth-straight grand final in scintillating touch after winning 11 of their last 12 games with only Taylan May unavailable. One more win and they\u2019re throwing down serious claims as the best team this side of St George more than half a century ago.<\/p>\n<p>Brisbane, meanwhile, bear more than a passing resemblance to Penrith four years ago. Strong, fast, brash and largely homegrown, and back from the depths. On Sunday, the grand final we had to have arrives \u2013 here\u2019s how it will be won and lost.<\/p>\n<p><b>The recent history: <\/b>One-apiece in 2023 in two low-scoring slugfests. Brisbane jagged a round one boilover in Penrith, prevailing despite the premiers running for 427 metres more and enjoying 49 tackles inside the Broncos\u2019 20-metre red zone. When they met again at Suncorp in mid-May, Brisbane were without <strong>Adam Reynolds<\/strong> and Penrith were dispelling any doubts about their bid for a three-peat with a clinical 15-4 win.<\/p>\n<p><b>The stat: <\/b>23. Brisbane\u2019s offload tally against the Warriors. <strong>Kevin Walters<\/strong> was foxing afterwards when he claimed the Broncos are not \u201ca team known for doing that\u201d. Brisbane\u2019s 10.9 offloads a game are the third most of any side in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.555%2C$multiply_0.5855%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_67%2C$y_11\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/84a127f7fc0951da2a0b5e64905bcae45555df6e\" height=\"349\" width=\"620\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Payne Haas on the charge against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.<\/span><cite class=\"ojLwA\"><span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>Still, they doubled their second-phase play to unpick a strong Warriors defence \u2013 the same blueprint Parramatta have used to good effect in recent years against the Panthers. All seven of the Broncos\u2019 preliminary final tries featured an offload leading up to points but the true key was their 82-per-cent completion rate. Not many teams can give the ball air while hanging onto it.<\/p>\n<p><b>The main man: <\/b><strong>Reece Walsh<\/strong>. On both sides of the ball, the No.1 is numero uno. For Brisbane, his speed and injection both around the ruck and on the edge is the biggest point of difference, especially given <strong>Izack Tago\u2019s<\/strong> pec issue seemed to limit him when <strong>Justin Olam<\/strong> breezed through for one of Melbourne\u2019s few moments of joy last Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Walsh favours a swing to the right more often than not, but <strong>Herbie Farnworth<\/strong> and <strong>Ezra Mam<\/strong> are no strangers to Walsh\u2019s incisions on the left either.<\/p>\n<p>For Penrith, sliding or rushing on Walsh will be the balance their five-star defence has to strike whenever Brisbane push past their own 40-metre line. Walsh\u2019s own kick defence held up under Cleary\u2019s examination in Origin. But Penrith are their own beast again, and Cleary will have noted Walsh defends in Brisbane\u2019s line more than most fullbacks, and punt accordingly.<\/p>\n<p><b>The breakdown: <\/b>For all the deserved focus on <strong>Payne Haas<\/strong> and <strong>Patrick Carrigan<\/strong> as two of the game\u2019s best middle forwards, nowhere near enough credit is given to <strong>James Fisher-Harris<\/strong> and<strong> Moses Leota<\/strong> for their opening 20 minutes in last year\u2019s grand final.<\/p>\n<p>Parramatta pair <strong>Junior Paulo<\/strong> and <strong>Reagan Campbell-Gillard<\/strong> came into that contest in career-best form. Leota and Fisher-Harris bashed them, before <strong>Isaah Yeo <\/strong>marshalled Penrith\u2019s middle third superbly.<\/p>\n<p>If Brisbane are getting driven backwards, look for Adam Reynolds to swing wide early in the tackle count. Farnworth and <strong>Kotoni Staggs<\/strong> have been strong in exactly that situation all year, and Walsh\u2019s speed can give them time and space anywhere on the paddock. Expect <strong>Jarome Luai\u2019s<\/strong> shoulder to go under the microscope again opposite Staggs.<\/p>\n<p>Penrith have their own edge strike weapons in <strong>Stephen Crichton <\/strong>and <strong>Liam Martin<\/strong>, whose running off Cleary is among the best in the NRL.<\/p>\n<p>Both Reynolds and Cleary have the kicking nous to turn a contest around if they\u2019re pinned in their own end. And if defences rush outside-in, they\u2019ve also perfected crossfield kicks for <strong>Selwyn Cobbo <\/strong>and <strong>Brian To\u2019o <\/strong> respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Penrith hold the advantage though at the start of sets with <strong>Dylan Edwards<\/strong>, <strong>Sunia Turuva <\/strong>and To\u2019o. Brisbane have the fitness and athleticism to go with Penrith, even if the premiers have more impact off the bench and <b>Spencer Leniu\u2019s <\/b>leg speed.<\/p>\n<p><b>Jack Cogger\u2019s <\/b>likely retention as cover for <b>Luai <\/b>does effectively leave them playing with 16 men, however.<\/p>\n<p>If the Broncos come with something different, and that something different \u2013 be it offloads, early shifts or scrum moves \u2013 sticks, it\u2019s down to the individual game breakers.<\/p>\n<p>Walsh, Cleary, Edwards, Reynolds, Staggs, Crichton \u2026 take your pick.<\/p>\n<p>Or just sit back and enjoy.<\/p>\n<h3>Everything you need to know about the 2023 NRL grand final<\/h3>\n<h3>When does it start?<\/h3>\n<p><strong> <\/strong>Sydney and Melbourne: 7.30pm AEDT<br \/>Queensland: 6.30pm AEST<br \/>South Australia: 7.00pm ACDT<br \/>Western Australia: 4.30pm AWST<br \/>Northern Territory: 6.00pm ACST<\/p>\n<h3>Ticket sales and how to watch<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Tickets<\/strong> on sale at https:\/\/www.nrl.com\/tickets\/2023-nrl-telstra-premiership-grand-final\/<\/p>\n<h3><strong>TV broadcast<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The big day will be shown on Nine and 9Now, starting with the<em> Sunday Footy Show<\/em> at 11am and continuing into the night.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Grand Final Day schedule<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Gates open:<\/strong> 1pm<br \/><strong>NRL State Championship &#8211; Brisbane Tigers v South Sydney:<\/strong> 1.20pm<br \/><strong>NRLW grand final &#8211; Newcastle v Gold Coast:<\/strong> 3.55pm<br \/><strong>NRL grand final &#8211; Penrith v Brisbane:<\/strong> 7.30pm<\/p>\n<h3>Pre-game entertainment<\/h3>\n<p>Special performance from <em>Tina &#8211; The Tina Turner Musical<\/em> and ARIA Award-winners King Stingray.<\/p>\n<h3>Odds<\/h3>\n<p>Penrith $1.65, Brisbane $2.25 (Sportsbet)<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b><b><i>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b><b><i>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2>Most Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n<h3>From our partners<\/h3>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbane-s-blueprint-to-halt-penrith-s-shot-at-history-20230924-p5e745.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It\u2019s the grand <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It\u2019s the grand &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Grand-final-form-guide-Brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-Penriths-shot-at-history.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/\",\"name\":\"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby League\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-league\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstons\",\"description\":\"sportstons.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Dennis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dennis\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons","og_description":"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It\u2019s the grand &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/","og_site_name":"Sportstons","article_published_time":"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","author":"Dennis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Grand-final-form-guide-Brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-Penriths-shot-at-history.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dennis","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/","name":"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history - Sportstons","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/grand-final-form-guide-brisbanes-blueprint-to-halt-penriths-shot-at-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby League","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-league\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Grand final form guide: Brisbane\u2019s blueprint to halt Penrith\u2019s shot at history"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/","name":"Sportstons","description":"sportstons.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Dennis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dennis"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}