Rugby league nice Brent Tate has declared Sunday’s conflict between the Panthers and Broncos can be “one of the best grand finals we’ve seen in a while.”
He believes the Broncos are “the only team to have the fire power to beat the Panthers” — and the blueprint to do it may come from the membership’s final premiership.
Tate was a member of Brisbane’s 2006 grand last win over the Storm and thinks the juggernaut that Melbourne aspect was resembles the present Penrith squad.
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Despite going into it because the underdogs, the Broncos received 15-8 after Waybe Bennett and the staff hatched and executed a plan of taking Melbourne’s pack on.
“I actually see a lot of similarities in where Brisbane are now coming up against Penrith,” he advised the Fox League Podcast.
“We went into that 2006 grand final against a red-hot Melbourne side that had hardly been beaten all year. People didn’t think we had a hope of beating them.
“Even though we had some big-name players, Melbourne were just unbelievable that season.
“We sat down in a team meeting and said we’re going to take them on through the middle, we knew our strength was our forward pack… We knew if they could lay a platform, for us we’d get the job done.
“That was Melbourne’s strength as well so we decided to attack it head on… A lot of similarities between the Broncos in 2006 and today.”
The Panthers will play their fourth consecutive grand last on Sunday and are chasing the competitors’s first three-peat for the reason that Eels within the ‘80s.
The Storm played their first of four straight grand finals in 2006. They won in 2007 and 2009, however those premierships have been stripped due to salary cap breaches.
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Tate recalled the dominance Melbourne had during that era and likened it to what we’re seeing from Penrith now.
“When you played the Storm they were really intimidating, sometimes you were nearly beat before you had even played them,” he stated.
“They had that psychological advantage on a lot of teams and I think the Panthers have got that now — there’s almost that air of invincibility about them.
“When you get to a game and think they might be down, they’re just so methodical and clinical in everything they do, it’s mentally hard to get over.”
Sunday’s sport can have simply the 2 greatest groups this season up in opposition to one another.
The kicking video games of Nathan Cleary and Adam Reynolds can be essential, whereas the strike within the exterior backs can be thrilling to look at.
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But Tate believes the sport can be received or misplaced within the forwards — the likes of Payne Haas, Thomas Flegler and Pat Carrigan up in opposition to James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.
“I think Brisbane are the only team that have the fire power to beat the Panthers and they’re the only team in the competition that have got the forward pack to match what the Panthers produce up front,” he stated.
“It’s going to be an intriguing battle. The game has been around for 100 years and every single game is won in the forwards — this grand final will be no different.”
The Broncos cruised into the decider after smashing the Warriors 42-12. But that efficiency truly considerations Tate.
“I think they’ve got to be a lot better than what they were against the Warriors,” he stated.
“I think that game showed they can be pulled apart on the edges, so their edge defence is going to have to be a lot better than what it’s been.
“But one thing the Broncos have got is strike power all over the field. They’ve got strike centres, Reece Walsh, a wonderful forward pack that’s mixed of skill, power and they work hard for each other.
“How do you beat Penrith? It’s a great question, not many teams have done it over the last four years…
“But I think a bit like when we played in 2006, you’ve just got to take them on at their game, you’ve got to take them on through the middle, control the ball and trust that you’ve got enough fire power and strike to get the job done.”
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Before Brisbane can dive into preparation for the sport, they have to get by means of the thrilling — but manic — grand last week.
Open coaching periods, fan days, press conferences, the Dally Ms are all squeezed into seven days and a part of successful the premiership is dealing with that hype.
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“The whole thing about that week is knowing you’ve got to get the result,” Tate stated.
“It’s about keeping a lid on the emotions, making sure you’re on top of that, so when you get to the game you can get the process right and get a result.
“In any big game you can get lost in the emotion of it if you don’t keep it in check. You can easily get swept up in the hype and you can overplay the game in your head as well.
“It is a really tough week to keep control of all that while enjoying it. But if you can get the process right, there’s nothing like grand final week.”
And that’s the place Penrith’s “huge advantage” is in accordance with Tate given majority of their squad have confronted this week 3 times already.
“These guys have been there and done it so know how to handle it,” he stated.
“A lot of the Broncos guys, it’s their first grand final. I’m really interested to see how they handle it and how they turn up come Sunday…
“They’ve got the strike power to beat the Panthers but whether they can handle the moment and occasion will be one to watch.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
