Penrith Panthers NRL grand final, will face South Sydney Rabbitohs

Penrith Panthers beat Melbourne Storm 10-6 to reach second straight NRL grand final, will face South Sydney Rabbitohs

The Penrith Panthers have exacted their revenge on the Melbourne Storm, beating the premiers 10-6 for a spot in this year’s NRL grand final.

Last year’s runners-up avenged their 2020 grand final loss to the Storm with the hard-fought victory at Lang Park to set up a showdown with South Sydney.

Next week’s decider marks the first time the last game of the season will be played outside Sydney and, ironically, the first time since 2014 that both teams are from the NSW capital.

2014 was also the last time Souths were in the grand final, winning their first premiership since 1971.

The grand final will be a rematch of week one of the finals, when the Rabbitohs won 16-10.

And just like that night two weeks ago, it was a superb Nathan Cleary kick that set up Stephen Crichton for the opener against Melbourne.

Just as Penrith did against Parramatta last week, a Melbourne trainer controversially stopped play to treat prop Christian Welch for a head knock, with the Panthers peppering the Storm line in the third minute.

Stars headline grand final entertainment while King Wally gets royal treatment

A galaxy of stars will headline the NRL grand final entertainment while Brisbane will pay tribute to rugby league royalty in the lead-up to the game with King George Square renamed King Wally Square.

Grand Final Week will officially kick off on Sunday evening with Brisbane City Hall, King George Tower and the Hilton lit up with iconic images from the season, tributes to Penrith and South Sydney, the game’s fans and a thank you to the Queensland community for their hospitality.

The pre-game entertainment at Suncorp Stadium will have a Queensland theme with home-grown star Kate Miller-Heidke to sing the national anthem and the award-winning singer-songwriter will also lead the entertainment with Ian Moss, respected across the globe as one of Australia’s most iconic musicians.

Globe-trotting DJs and producers The Stafford Brothers, multi-Platinum DJ, producer and live instrumentalist Timmy Trumpet, internationally acclaimed didgeridoo player and composer William Barton and a 40-piece Orchestra will complete the grand final entertainment which will also include a spectacular light show.

King George Square in the Brisbane CBD will be renamed King Wally Square in honour of Queensland Immortal Wally Lewis as part of a two-day NRL Fan Fest on Thursday and Friday, culminating with the appearance of both teams on Friday afternoon.

source https://thedailyrugby.com/penrith-panthers-nrl-grand-final-will-face-south-sydney-rabbitohs/