It all comes down to one game on Sunday.
For the Storm and Panthers in the NRL and the Roosters and Sharks in the NRLW, the season of sacrifice will end up in the ultimate payoff or the worst kind of heartache you can suffer on a footy field.
Melbourne are the slight favourites to end Penrith’s quest for a fourth straight title while the Roosters are odds-on to beat Cronulla after thumping them in the regular season.
Here’s how our experts see the two results ending up on Sunday night.
Michael Hagan
NRL
Panthers by 4
First Try Scorer: Paul Alamoti
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Jarome Luai
The Panthers have found their best form in the last two games, they have more grand final experience and know how to play under maximum pressure.
NRLW
Roosters by 8
First Try Scorer: Jess Sergis
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Tarryn Aiken
Led up front superbly by Millie Boyle, the Tricolours have class in the key positions and plenty of speed on the edges.
Paul Suttor
NRL
Panthers by 8
First Try Scorer: Izack Tago
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Liam Martin
This could be a low-scoring decider – neither team gives anything in defence. Ball will be in play as much as an Origin game and the result will come down to an error or two here or there by one of the few players on the ground who don’t have that representative or GF experience. There are more of them in the Melbourne side and for that reason, the Panthers should be able to become just the third team in premiership history to rack up a fourth straight title.
NRLW
Sharks by 10
First Try Scorer: Tiana Penitani
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Emma Tonegato
The Roosters deserve to be red-hot favourites, particularly given they flogged the Sharks 40-0 when they met last month. They looked like they were fading big time when they followed that up with losses to Brisbane and the Tigers to tumble from top spot to fourth but the 14-0 upset over Brisbane last week will give them the belief that they can repeat the dose against the Roosters.
Mary Konstantopoulos
NRL
Storm by 8
First Try Scorer: Harry Grant
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Jahrome Hughes
This game will be exceptional. Several of the Storm players are in career best form including Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant and are able to create attacking opportunities all over the field. The key focus for the Storm must be to limit the impact of Penrith’s back three and stop their go forward from there.
NRLW
Sharks by 4
First Try Scorer: Georgia Ravics
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Tiana Penitani
The Roosters are a formidable opponent and have a squad littered with representative players. After a poor finish to the regular season though, the Sharks won last week’s game with their incredible defence and it will propel them to victory on Sunday. If they can stop the best attacking team in the competition then they can stop the Roosters too.
Tiana Penitani. (Photo by Tim Allsop/Getty Images)
Mike Meehall Wood
NRL
Panthers by 1
First Try Scorer: Will Warbrick
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Nathan Cleary
It’ll be tight, both sides might score a few, but in the end, I never back against the side that has Nathan Cleary in it. The Panthers will make it four in a row, even if it takes a late field goal.
NRLW
Roosters by 10
First Try Scorer: Brydie Parker
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Millie Elliott
The Roosters are clear favourites and understandably so. Cronulla have a performance in them, as evidenced last week, but they might have already played their GF in getting here. I’ll be taking Easts to get their second NRLW premiership.
AJ Mithen
NRL
Panthers by 16
First Try Scorer: Will Warbrick
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Liam Martin
The Panthers have been waiting for this moment and they’ll roll into Melbourne from the start. The Storm give their opponents a ten-fifteen minute period every week where they’re a bit flat and the game can be taken. Most teams do not take this advantage – Penrith will.
I’ve got Liam Martin for the Churchill because it’ll be his grunt that keeps the Storm at bay, but we all know when Penrith win it’ll probably go to Nathan Cleary.
NRLW
Roosters by 26
First Try Scorer: Tarryn Aiken
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Izzy Kelly
Chooks have been the benchmark all year and they’ll take this away early. Cronulla have a solid defence and a reasonable backline that can attack, but the Roosters will have all the ball and all the points.
Stuart Thomas
NRL
Panthers by 10
First Try Scorer: Brian To’o
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Jarome Luai
As good as the Storm might be in big matches, the loss of Nelson Asofa-Solomona is a huge one and the Penrith grind will eventually take its toll in the second half. Expect a low scoring opening 40 minutes and if the Storm are to have any chance of winning, they simply must play front-runner.
NRLW
Roosters by 14
First Try Scorer: Isabelle Kelly
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Olivia Kernick
The Roosters have better recent form heading into the grand final. The Sharks won just two of their last five and enter as underdogs to a star studded Chooks outfit that should have the weapons to lift the trophy in a canter.
NRL Dally M medallist Jahrome Hughes. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
David Shilovsky
NRL
Storm by 8
First Try Scorer: Xavier Coates
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Jahrome Hughes
Penrith with a less than 100 per cent Nathan Cleary are a different prospect. Melbourne have been so consistent all season and tremendous in three out of four halves in the finals. There’s no stopping the likes of Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant on the biggest stage.
NRLW
Roosters by 6
First Try Scorer: Jess Sergis
Karyn Murphy Medal Winner: Isabelle Kelly
The Roosters will have too much strike for Cronulla, though expect Sharks star Tiana Penitani to have an impact for her side.