Final duel

Sports

SYDNEY: Here we are.  The 201st game of a gruelling season 2016 sees just two combatants still standing. In the red corner, Craig Bellamy’s ruthless star-studded Storm, whose senior players seemed ageless in guiding the men from Melbourne to yet another minor premiership and season decider.
In the blue corner, Shane Flanagan’s rebuilt squad of grafters. Just two years out from an injury- and ASADA-ruined wooden spoon season 2014, the near-unrecognisable unit has scrapped and fought their way to just the third grand final (in a unified competition) in the club’s 49-year history in search of their first premiership.
The ledger is squared at one apiece this year and though the Storm won the more recent clash — a minor premiership playoff in round 26 — the Sharks created more attacking opportunities in that game which will give them confidence. Plus this one isn’t in Melbourne.
The Storm have experience on their side though. Cooper Cronk enters his sixth grand final, skipper Cameron Smith his fifth. Together they have more October experience than the entire Sharks 17, who have eight grand final caps between them.
That counts for little once they run out though. Young Sharks centre Jack Bird is fearless, big prop Andrew Fifita relentless. Their forwards have as much fight as any pack in the comp. Bellamy has thrown something of a curve ball at the selection table, naming five additional players (Felise Kaufusi, Matt White, Ryan Morgan, Slade Griffin, Young Tonumaipea) to come into the side that just scraped past the Raiders last week but don’t expect any major overhauls of what we’ve come to expect from the Storm all year in an otherwise unchanged side.
Flanagan has the luxury of naming fit-again prop Sam Tagataese in his 17 but it would be a gamble to ask him to play his first match two months due to a fractured shoulder blade in the biggest game of the year.
If he does play it will be a blow for impressive youngster Kurt Capewell, who has impressed in the absence of the Samoa international.
At this stage Capewell is 18th man while another returning from injury, Joseph Paulo, is 19th.
Cronulla are a tricky side to play against. They have the second-most tackle breaks in the competition after the Raiders, led by bullocking prop Fifita (117) narrowly ahead of fullback Ben Barba (104).
They’re not afraid to chance their arm on second-phase play – their 333 offloads are behind only Penrith. The Sharks also show no fear of the top sides having beaten all the heavyweights this year.
Asked what makes the Storm so dangerous this week, Sharks skipper Paul Gallen had a simple answer.
“Complete. They just complete and they’re ruthless and relentless in what they do.” – NRL