The following are previews with betting tips for the Grand Final of the 2022 NRL season.
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Panthers v EelsSunday, October 2, 6:30pm AEDT |
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The 2022 NRL grand-final will bring a Western-Sydney derby between a Penrith outfit looking to produce back-to-back titles for only the second time in the NRL era in what would be a magnificent achievement. They will face the Eels, who have been under enormous pressure at different stages of the season after failing to convert their on-field success over the last few years to silverware. To make the grand-final is a massive milestone for Parramatta, with their last grand-final appearance all the way back in 2009 and their last title in 1986.
Penrith were pushed by Souths in the first half, but proceeded to pile on 32 unanswered points to pencil-in their third-straight grand-final appearance. Meanwhile, the Eels held-out a fast-finishing Cowboys outfit for a narrow victory.
Eels’ coach Brad Arthur has recalled Nathan Brown on the bench in place of Bryce Cartwright. Tom Opacic has also failed to overcome a hamstring injury with former Raider Bailey Simonsson retaining his place at centre after an impressive display against North Queensland. For Penrith, coach Ivan Cleary has the luxury of naming an unchanged line-up after his team’s powerful win over Souths.
Parramatta will be confident heading into this game after handing their opposition two of their four regular-season losses this year. Brad Arthur’s squad boasts a massive, mobile forward rotation who can punish quick line-speed hugely through the offloading ability of the likes of Junior Paulo, Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson. Expect Penrith to deploy their typical game-plan that has brought so much on-field success, aiming to start-fast and overwhelm their opposition. While the reigning premiers struggled to contain the Eels at times this year, Ivan Cleary’s troops have played only two games in four weeks leading into this match, giving them a huge fatigue advantage, particularly against a supersized Eels pack who have taken a long road to the big-dance, with physical contests against the Raiders and Cowboys in recent weeks. While Parramatta are one of the few teams in the competition capable of matching the Panthers’ tempo, Penrith’s defensive systems should work to smother their opposition and limit their attacking opportunities. Expect Penrith to claim back to back premierships for the first time since the 2018/2019 seasons.
Betting Tip: Panthers -8.5 @ $1.91 (Bet365)
Best Bet
Panthers -8.5 @ $1.91 (Bet365)