October 4, 2025 • 10 mins
There's hype growing in Sydney as the NRL Grand Final looms.
The Storm tackle the Brisbane Broncos in Sydney despite an injury-ravaged back-end to the season.
FOX sports commentator Jake Duke joined Piney to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
NRL Grand Final tonight in Sydney. Melbourne Storm v Brisbane
Broncos set to go at nine thirty, although I think
that might be arbitrary, and just before we move on
last night I had a couple of text saying I
thought the game was kicking off at ten forty five.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It was.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We were told right across the week that game last
night was going to kick off at team forty five
New Zealand time eleven o five. It kicked off twenty
minutes after we were told that it would. And this
tends to happen on NRL Grand Final Day as well,
doesn't it. So anytime from nine to thirty you'll find
the Melbourne Storm taking on the Brisbane Broncos tonight, the
Storm looking for redemption after last year's Grand Final heartbreak,
(00:49):
the Broncos looking to win their first premiership in nineteen years.
There is, also, of course, from Warrior's involvement on Grand
Final Day. Today the reserve grade site will play the
Burly Bears for the state championship after Warriors won the
New South Wales Cup for the very first time last weekend.
That game is underway in just over an hour twenty
(01:11):
past three at the same venue, a Core Stadium in Sydney.
Let's bring in Jake Duke from Fox Sports League. Jake,
always great to have you on the show. Thanks for
joining us. Made it seems a little bit weird talking
about a Grand Final without Penrith and it they've won
the last four, they've been in the last five. Was
there lost to the Broncos last weekend any surprise to you.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Look, I saw a funny stat today. It was like
the last time Penrith went in a Grand Final, the
COVID nineteen pandemics hadn't happened yet, which kind of puts
in context how long it's been since we've had a
Grand Final without them. Look, I think maybe you could
argue they just ran out of juice, you know, the
fourteen meal, fourteen points up, I think the fourteen mil
(01:54):
at halftime and then they lost. And I think there
was another ridiculous stat that like if whenever they had
a twelve point lead, they were ninety eight to zero
over this last five years, like in that run. So
that just shows you that they haven't been run down
by that kind of margin for a very long time.
Whether they run out of juice, whether they just ran
into a good Bronco side that are kind of riding
(02:17):
high on belief and can kind of score points from
anywhere and never believe they're done. We saw them do
it against camera. They came from sixteen meal down. So
I don't think anyone could default Penrith and say, oh
they you know, they're not me or anymore. They've lost it.
They just lost one game and I'm sure they'll be
back bigger and better than next year. Whether the effect
(02:37):
of having to win all those games towards the back
end of the year just to make it and stuff
took a toll, We'll never know. But I wouldn't be
writing them off and saying the dinnersty is over by
any stretch.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
All right, let's look at the two teams. Who are
the Melbourne Storm Brisbane Broncos. When you analyze these two teams,
what do your eyes naturally land in terms of the
most important players tonight?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Look, I think this is the best Grand Final we
could have asked for in terms of sheer entertainment value.
Who is what might happen? Sheer point scoring ability? I
think these are probably the two best attacking teams in
the competition. On their day, They've got great amount of
points in them. They are stars across the board. So
(03:20):
it kind of looks to where where you can find
a weakness and deficiencies in both sides, and I think
both sides have some questionable edge defense at certain times.
We saw Jack Howith on that left edge for the
Storm get caught out a couple of times last week
for by Penrith, and then you know some of the
Panthers right edge with young Casey MacLean and it might
(03:44):
be Paul Adam Molly out on that side they've had
some issues as well. So I think that's where you
might see this one I lost because in terms of
you know, forward packs and superstars, they've just got strike
all over the place, and it will be who can
pick apart the other's deficiencies better than the others. And look,
they are these two teams aren't as probably full proof
(04:07):
defensively as we've seen other teams be in recent years,
like Penrith, when you think about their run over the
last five years, they've been almost impossible to score against.
So you think about Penris, you know kind of issued
that the defense that they've showne over the previous years,
and then you look at the Melbourne Storm and the
Broncos sides we've got this year that there's points that
(04:28):
can be scored.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
All right, Well, then to manufacture those scoring opportunities, I
guess you'll end in the Halves Cameron Munster, Jerome Hughes
so somehow has miraculously recovered from a broken wrist about
eight weeks ahead of schedule, Ben Hunting, the returning Adam
Reynolds for the Broncos. How big I say, might those
four guys have?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Yeah, Look they're the superstars, they're the key, right. You know.
Michael McGuire's had the chance to kind of decide whether
he wants to go with Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt
or Adam Reynolds and Ezra Man, and it appears that
tonight will go with the older Halves per and they're
actually the older Harves pairing NRL history, Adam Reynolds and
(05:10):
Ben Hunt, so look, they've been there before. Adam Reynolds
is obviously trying to win his second Grand Final, this
will be his fourth, so we saw him kind of
step up in those clutch moments last week against against Penrith,
Can he do it again? Ben Hunt? The ultimate redemption
story after what happened a decade ago, So there's so
many interesting parts to that. And then you've got Hughes, Grant, Munster,
(05:35):
Pappenhausen like the superstar spy and Jerome Hughes. I don't
think he's geting enough credit for what he did last
week and the fact that he played that game with
a busted arm on the same shoulder that's also busted.
He's going to need surgery on that shoulder in the
off season, which will real him out of the Key
weeks campaign like he is playing hurt. It's kind of
folklore stuff if Jerome Hughes can kind of go out
(05:56):
there and lead Melbourne to a Grand Final win tonight
because he's, yeah, he's playing absolutely busted and you know,
and piloting this team. He was so good in that
prelim final, So looking forward to seeing how he performs,
and I think he's the key for Melbourne. I know
Harry Grant's obviously a freak and they've got superstars, but
if Jerome who runs and straightens their attack and it
(06:18):
kind of exploits some of that Brisbane defense I was
talking about then, I think he's the key.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
How much does Grand final experience count in a Grand Final?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think a lot. And they say you've got to
lose one to win one, right, So both these teams
have lost Grand Finals in the last two years, so
they've all been there, they know what's gone wrong. They've
they've all had a chance to kind of assess and
suss what worked what didn't. So there's no real excuses
in terms of, you know, one being more experienced and
then the other. Obviously some of the Melbourne guys have
(06:52):
tasted victory before, but that was a different team. You know,
that was five years ago. Cameron Smith was still there.
So this is a very kind of different Melbourne storm side.
Some of their real older statesmen like Bromige Boys and
all that Agorne. So this is a new test in
a new era for this storm side to win a
premiership in this era. And then you got the Broncos
(07:13):
that they had it won, right, they had a Grand
Final one. They just for whatever reason, you know, some
say they stopped playing trying to protect the lead. Other
say Nathan Cleary just pulled them apart. But I think
you know they would obviously learn a lot of lessons
from that kind of Grand final. So yeah, god, it's
it's such a tough one to pick. I honestly don't
(07:34):
know who's going to win this game. I think you could.
You could have a tight tussle, you could have a
blowout either way, you could have a shootout where it
ends thirty two thirty who knows? Who knows?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Can ask about the two coaches. This is Storm coach
Craig Bellamy's eleventh Grand Final. I think they'd take some
past Wayne Bennett as the coach who's overseen the most,
and then Michael McGuire of course with the Brisbane Broncos.
How much influence of those two guys had on their
respective teams.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Well, it's funny how they know a lot of the
coaches in the NRL obviously either come through the Craig
Bellamy or Wayne Bennett system all these days. Trent Robinson
as well, but like Madge obviously worked with Craig Bellamy
and they're very similar kind of guys, similar kind of coaches, intensity,
(08:21):
you know, ruthless trainers, kind of just super intense guys.
So it's funny how both their styles kind of match
up the Sea in that match. And also, like you know,
they've obviously got this intensity and they've you can see
that in the Broncos kind of fight and resilience they've
(08:43):
shown in the finals that's probably hasn't been there before.
Melbourne's always had that kind of you know, tough underbelly
that Craig Bellamick sides have. So but then you're adding
to the fact that you know they're they're actually really
good points scoring teams as well, and they just they're
very good at exploiting the opposition. So that's what I
mean when you say it's hard to pick whether it's
(09:03):
going to be a defensive battle plenty of points scored.
Are they just too good of attacking sides that you
know that they're going to score thirty points each and
it's going to come down to them who runs out
of time first, you know. So it is really one
of the most intriguing Grand Finals and it'll rate really
well too because you get the massive Queensland audience, you
get the Victorian audience, and then you obviously have places
(09:27):
like New Zealand and New South Wales that when they
have rusted on rugby league kind of supportership. We'll just
watch anyway. So it's shapes to be one of the
all time great Grand Finals. The weather here in Sydney
is amazing. It's going to be hot, actually hot hot
this evening when they run out of the field. So yeah,
(09:47):
it shapes as a great Grand Final, and you know,
keeps things dry and allows these two teams to kind
of play football because of daylight saving. So it technically
is a six just after six pm kickoff, So yeah,
at all shapes as.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
One of the great unmissible Yeah, unmissible. You've painted a
great picture. Could be twelve teen, it could be thirty
four to thirty two, could be anything tonight, Jack, So
I won't ask you to pick a wind of What
I will do is thank you for your time mate,
Enjoy tonight and there's always appreciate your time across New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
I no problem if I give you a winner. I
think Melbourne might get it done, but who.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Knows, who knows? Indeed, who knows? Thanks Jack, Jack, Joe.
Get a Fox Sports.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
League for more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen
live to news talks. It'd be weekends from midday or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
NRL Grand Final tonight in Sydney. Melbourne Storm v Brisbane
Broncos set to go at nine thirty, although I think
that might be arbitrary, and just before we move on
last night I had a couple of text saying I
thought the game was kicking off at ten forty five.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It was.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We were told right across the week that game last
night was going to kick off at team forty five
New Zealand time eleven o five. It kicked off twenty
minutes after we were told that it would. And this
tends to happen on NRL Grand Final Day as well,
doesn't it. So anytime from nine to thirty you'll find
the Melbourne Storm taking on the Brisbane Broncos tonight, the
Storm looking for redemption after last year's Grand Final heartbreak,
(00:49):
the Broncos looking to win their first premiership in nineteen years.
There is, also, of course, from Warrior's involvement on Grand
Final Day. Today the reserve grade site will play the
Burly Bears for the state championship after Warriors won the
New South Wales Cup for the very first time last weekend.
That game is underway in just over an hour twenty
(01:11):
past three at the same venue, a Core Stadium in Sydney.
Let's bring in Jake Duke from Fox Sports League. Jake,
always great to have you on the show. Thanks for
joining us. Made it seems a little bit weird talking
about a Grand Final without Penrith and it they've won
the last four, they've been in the last five. Was
there lost to the Broncos last weekend any surprise to you.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Look, I saw a funny stat today. It was like
the last time Penrith went in a Grand Final, the
COVID nineteen pandemics hadn't happened yet, which kind of puts
in context how long it's been since we've had a
Grand Final without them. Look, I think maybe you could
argue they just ran out of juice, you know, the
fourteen meal, fourteen points up, I think the fourteen mil
(01:54):
at halftime and then they lost. And I think there
was another ridiculous stat that like if whenever they had
a twelve point lead, they were ninety eight to zero
over this last five years, like in that run. So
that just shows you that they haven't been run down
by that kind of margin for a very long time.
Whether they run out of juice, whether they just ran
into a good Bronco side that are kind of riding
(02:17):
high on belief and can kind of score points from
anywhere and never believe they're done. We saw them do
it against camera. They came from sixteen meal down. So
I don't think anyone could default Penrith and say, oh
they you know, they're not me or anymore. They've lost it.
They just lost one game and I'm sure they'll be
back bigger and better than next year. Whether the effect
(02:37):
of having to win all those games towards the back
end of the year just to make it and stuff
took a toll, We'll never know. But I wouldn't be
writing them off and saying the dinnersty is over by
any stretch.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
All right, let's look at the two teams. Who are
the Melbourne Storm Brisbane Broncos. When you analyze these two teams,
what do your eyes naturally land in terms of the
most important players tonight?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Look, I think this is the best Grand Final we
could have asked for in terms of sheer entertainment value.
Who is what might happen? Sheer point scoring ability? I
think these are probably the two best attacking teams in
the competition. On their day, They've got great amount of
points in them. They are stars across the board. So
(03:20):
it kind of looks to where where you can find
a weakness and deficiencies in both sides, and I think
both sides have some questionable edge defense at certain times.
We saw Jack Howith on that left edge for the
Storm get caught out a couple of times last week
for by Penrith, and then you know some of the
Panthers right edge with young Casey MacLean and it might
(03:44):
be Paul Adam Molly out on that side they've had
some issues as well. So I think that's where you
might see this one I lost because in terms of
you know, forward packs and superstars, they've just got strike
all over the place, and it will be who can
pick apart the other's deficiencies better than the others. And look,
they are these two teams aren't as probably full proof
(04:07):
defensively as we've seen other teams be in recent years,
like Penrith, when you think about their run over the
last five years, they've been almost impossible to score against.
So you think about Penris, you know kind of issued
that the defense that they've showne over the previous years,
and then you look at the Melbourne Storm and the
Broncos sides we've got this year that there's points that
(04:28):
can be scored.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
All right, Well, then to manufacture those scoring opportunities, I
guess you'll end in the Halves Cameron Munster, Jerome Hughes
so somehow has miraculously recovered from a broken wrist about
eight weeks ahead of schedule, Ben Hunting, the returning Adam
Reynolds for the Broncos. How big I say, might those
four guys have?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Yeah, Look they're the superstars, they're the key, right. You know.
Michael McGuire's had the chance to kind of decide whether
he wants to go with Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt
or Adam Reynolds and Ezra Man, and it appears that
tonight will go with the older Halves per and they're
actually the older Harves pairing NRL history, Adam Reynolds and
(05:10):
Ben Hunt, so look, they've been there before. Adam Reynolds
is obviously trying to win his second Grand Final, this
will be his fourth, so we saw him kind of
step up in those clutch moments last week against against Penrith,
Can he do it again? Ben Hunt? The ultimate redemption
story after what happened a decade ago, So there's so
many interesting parts to that. And then you've got Hughes, Grant, Munster,
(05:35):
Pappenhausen like the superstar spy and Jerome Hughes. I don't
think he's geting enough credit for what he did last
week and the fact that he played that game with
a busted arm on the same shoulder that's also busted.
He's going to need surgery on that shoulder in the
off season, which will real him out of the Key
weeks campaign like he is playing hurt. It's kind of
folklore stuff if Jerome Hughes can kind of go out
(05:56):
there and lead Melbourne to a Grand Final win tonight
because he's, yeah, he's playing absolutely busted and you know,
and piloting this team. He was so good in that
prelim final, So looking forward to seeing how he performs,
and I think he's the key for Melbourne. I know
Harry Grant's obviously a freak and they've got superstars, but
if Jerome who runs and straightens their attack and it
(06:18):
kind of exploits some of that Brisbane defense I was
talking about then, I think he's the key.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
How much does Grand final experience count in a Grand Final?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think a lot. And they say you've got to
lose one to win one, right, So both these teams
have lost Grand Finals in the last two years, so
they've all been there, they know what's gone wrong. They've
they've all had a chance to kind of assess and
suss what worked what didn't. So there's no real excuses
in terms of, you know, one being more experienced and
then the other. Obviously some of the Melbourne guys have
(06:52):
tasted victory before, but that was a different team. You know,
that was five years ago. Cameron Smith was still there.
So this is a very kind of different Melbourne storm side.
Some of their real older statesmen like Bromige Boys and
all that Agorne. So this is a new test in
a new era for this storm side to win a
premiership in this era. And then you got the Broncos
(07:13):
that they had it won, right, they had a Grand
Final one. They just for whatever reason, you know, some
say they stopped playing trying to protect the lead. Other
say Nathan Cleary just pulled them apart. But I think
you know they would obviously learn a lot of lessons
from that kind of Grand final. So yeah, god, it's
it's such a tough one to pick. I honestly don't
(07:34):
know who's going to win this game. I think you could.
You could have a tight tussle, you could have a
blowout either way, you could have a shootout where it
ends thirty two thirty who knows? Who knows?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Can ask about the two coaches. This is Storm coach
Craig Bellamy's eleventh Grand Final. I think they'd take some
past Wayne Bennett as the coach who's overseen the most,
and then Michael McGuire of course with the Brisbane Broncos.
How much influence of those two guys had on their
respective teams.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Well, it's funny how they know a lot of the
coaches in the NRL obviously either come through the Craig
Bellamy or Wayne Bennett system all these days. Trent Robinson
as well, but like Madge obviously worked with Craig Bellamy
and they're very similar kind of guys, similar kind of coaches, intensity,
(08:21):
you know, ruthless trainers, kind of just super intense guys.
So it's funny how both their styles kind of match
up the Sea in that match. And also, like you know,
they've obviously got this intensity and they've you can see
that in the Broncos kind of fight and resilience they've
(08:43):
shown in the finals that's probably hasn't been there before.
Melbourne's always had that kind of you know, tough underbelly
that Craig Bellamick sides have. So but then you're adding
to the fact that you know they're they're actually really
good points scoring teams as well, and they just they're
very good at exploiting the opposition. So that's what I
mean when you say it's hard to pick whether it's
(09:03):
going to be a defensive battle plenty of points scored.
Are they just too good of attacking sides that you
know that they're going to score thirty points each and
it's going to come down to them who runs out
of time first, you know. So it is really one
of the most intriguing Grand Finals and it'll rate really
well too because you get the massive Queensland audience, you
get the Victorian audience, and then you obviously have places
(09:27):
like New Zealand and New South Wales that when they
have rusted on rugby league kind of supportership. We'll just
watch anyway. So it's shapes to be one of the
all time great Grand Finals. The weather here in Sydney
is amazing. It's going to be hot, actually hot hot
this evening when they run out of the field. So yeah,
(09:47):
it shapes as a great Grand Final, and you know,
keeps things dry and allows these two teams to kind
of play football because of daylight saving. So it technically
is a six just after six pm kickoff, So yeah,
at all shapes as.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
One of the great unmissible Yeah, unmissible. You've painted a
great picture. Could be twelve teen, it could be thirty
four to thirty two, could be anything tonight, Jack, So
I won't ask you to pick a wind of What
I will do is thank you for your time mate,
Enjoy tonight and there's always appreciate your time across New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
I no problem if I give you a winner. I
think Melbourne might get it done, but who.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Knows, who knows? Indeed, who knows? Thanks Jack, Jack, Joe.
Get a Fox Sports.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
League for more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen
live to news talks. It'd be weekends from midday or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,
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