When the Panthers play the Storm in Sunday’s grand final, rugby league fans will get a matchup of champion sides that carries the weight of history

Some grand finals just seem more important than others and the 2020 decider between Melbourne and Penrith certainly had that air. The second half in particular, in which the Panthers roared back from 26-0 down, seemed a portent that these two sides were waging a generational struggle for rugby league greatness.

The Storm, perennially great, were ushering in a new era of stars, with future Immortal Cameron Smith the last of their champions left from the four premierships won (and lost – the 2007 and 2009 titles stripped for salary cap breaches) in the decade 2007-17. The Panthers had come from nowhere to make the grand final, losing just a single game in that Covid-shortened season, Ivan Cleary’s second stint at the helm.