The 2020 NRL Premiership will be decided when the Penrith Panthers square off with the Melbourne Storm at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Sunday night.
This is one of the rare occasions where we can confidently say that the two best clubs have reached the decider, and we are set for a thrilling 2020 NRL Grand Final.
Every game in this finals series has represented a terrific betting opportunity, and that will extend to Sunday’s decider. You can find all our 2020 NRL Grand Final tips below.
Penrith Panthers
The Panthers have barely put a foot wrong all season, and they can cap a memorable campaign with a win in the 2020 NRL Grand Final.
Many fans, pundits and key personal expected them to be a top four contender in 2020, but I don’t think that even Ivan Cleary expected them to be as good as they have been.
They finished the regular season at the top of the ladder, having recorded eighteen wins, a draw and a single loss, and were subsequently rewarded with just their third-ever minor premiership.
Most of the weekly praise has fallen to halfback Nathan Cleary, and perhaps rightly so, but the difference in my opinion in 2020 has been the emergence of other key players (thinking of names like Isaah Yeo, Jarome Luai, Brian To’o), a noticeable improvement in their absolute bottom line, and also the disappearance of lazy players and personnel in several areas of the club (thinking names like Reagan Campbell-Gillard).
The culture is back, so too is their winning attitude, and they need only continue what they have been doing since the beginning of the year to take a power of beating again on Sunday.
Melbourne Storm
Without really making too much of a statement, the Melbourne Storm rightfully finished the regular season second on the ladder and are peaking in form at the absolute perfect moment.
Early on, it appeared as though they might be in for more of a battle than usual – losses to the likes of Canberra and Penrith were made even worse by their suffering of several key injuries, but as they’ve done better than anyone else since the turn of the century, they plugged the holes, made do and just kept winning.
Cameron Smith has obviously been key – the evergreen veteran is probably playing as well as he ever has, but he has been ably supported by his enormous pack, Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, two of the league’s most lethal wingers, and yet another apparent golden generation of players cutting their teeth.
For the last fifteen years or so they have been the league’s benchmark, they just seem to win the Premiership every few years, and they are every chance of taking another Provan-Summons Trophy to the pool room on Sunday night.
Head To Head Betting
Despite their impressive record during the regular season, the minor premiers are likely to start outsiders in 2020 NRL Grand Final betting.
They snuck past the Roosters in Week 1 of the finals and proved too good for Souths last week, but there is no doubt that they face another step up in class against the Storm.
The Storm comfortably beat the Eels, enjoyed a week off and comfortably beat the Raiders last weekend.
I genuinely believe that they took their foot off the accelerator at half time, and that they could very well have put 50 on the Green Machine if they wanted to.
That being said, they also face a big rise in class, and simply cannot afford to underestimate the Panthers, or they will certainly be punished.
The Storm boast the far greater record and experience at this point of the season, they take huge momentum into the decider, and the $2 available for them to cover 1.5 points as favourites looks to be a terrific bet.
Suggested Bets
- Back the Storm (-1.5) @ $2
Try Scorer Betting
Picking the first or any time try scorer is a favourite option for NRL punters week in, week out, and there is absolutely no exception to that rule in Grand Final week.
It is rare for a Storm game to begin without Josh Addo-Carr and Suliasi Vunivalu occupying the top two lines of try scoring betting, so the $8 and $10 available for those two players to cross first this week is less than surprising.
The usual suspects for Penrith are also prominent; Josh Mansour shares the second line with Vunivalu, while Brian To’o and Stephen Crichton are tied on the third line with Ryan Papenhuyzen ($11).
I’m confident that Melbourne will cross first, and I am going to back both Addo-Carr and Papenhuyzen at their current quotes.
Suggested Bets
- Back Josh Addo-Carr 1st Try Scorer @ $8
- Back Ryan Papenhuyzen 1st Try Scorer @ $11
Clive Churchill Medal Betting
The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the player judged best on ground in the NRL Grand Final, and while it isn’t always the case, it usually falls to a player on the winning side.
If the Panthers are to win their third NRL Premiership, Nathan Cleary will need to play out of his skin, and he is a fitting occupant of top line of Clive Churchill Medal betting at $4.50.
That being said, I’m confident that Melbourne will win the game and the premiership, and there are three potential Clive Churchill Medal winners for them, in my opinion: Cameron Smith ($4.50), Ryan Papenhuyzen ($9) and Cameron Munster ($11).
Smith has incredibly never won the honour previously and given this could very well prove to be his final game, I’m going to select him as my top pick. I’m also going to have a saver on Munster, who looks a touch of overs at his current price.
Suggested Bets
- Back Cameron Smith @ $4.50
- Back Cameron Munster @ $11