10 THINGS TO CONSIDER AHEAD OF THE NRL GRAND FINAL
* STORM AT HOME ON THE BIG STAGE
Craig Bellamy’s men are in their third straight grand final and can become the first team in a unified competition to go back-to-back since Brisbane in 1992-93. Of the eight deciders they’ve played, they’ve won five. The Roosters have played in 13 grand finals but only won four.
* STORM HAVE WOOD OVER ROOSTERS
Going back to 2015, the Storm have dominated the Roosters having won six of eight meetings. They have also won five of their last six clashes.
* THE PURPLE WALL MEETS THE BONDI WALL
This will be a showdown of the NRL’s two best defensive teams. These two sides concede the fewest points (Roosters 14.5, Storm 15.3 per game), linebreaks (Roosters 3.1, Storm 3.4) and miss the fewest tackles (Roosters 21.5, Storm 22.6).
* REFEREE SMITH
Head referee Gerard Sutton says Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith isn’t given any special consideration. Regardless, the Storm are awarded the most penalties in the competition with 9.1 per game. They also concede the fourth fewest (7.7).
* EARLY START CRUCIAL
Since 1999, only four teams have gone on to win a grand final after trailing at halftime. This year, the Roosters have won 15 of 16 when ahead after 40 minutes while the Storm have converted 13 of 16 halftime leads.
* ROOSTERS’ LETHAL LEFT EDGE
This year 44 of the Roosters 95 tries have come down their left edge which features Latrell Mitchell and Daniel Tupou. This is compared to just 17 tries being scored through the centre and 34 down the right.
* THE CRONK AFFECT
Cooper Cronk is battling a shoulder injury. Should he play, he will become the first player since Ron Coote in 1965-75 to play in eight grand finals (this is excluding Ray Price and Steve Edge who both played eight grand finals, but one was a replay). It would also be his 349th NRL game, equalling Steve Menzies as the fourth most capped player in league history.
* THE ROOKIE HALVES
This contest could come down to a pair of rookie halves. Melbourne’s Brodie Croft has just 16 NRL games under his belt – making him the least experienced grand final halfback since Shaun Johnson in 2011 (15 games). If he wins, he’ll be the least experienced starting No.7 to win a grand final since Manly’s Gary Stephens in 1976 (14 games). Should Sean O’Sullivan (one game) replace Cronk, he will become the least-experienced halfback in grand final in history.
* THE FERGO 5000
Sydney Roosters winger Blake Ferguson has this year run for 4878 metres – more than any other player. He has a chance to become just the third player in history to run for 5000m in a season behind Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (2015) and Jason Taumalolo (2017).
* THE BIG MEN
The Sydney Roosters have run for an average 1437m, the second most of any side this season. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, and Boyd Cordner all average more than 100m/game. However they’re well-matched by the Storm pack, who concede the least metres (1283m).
