If we play like we did tonight we will be in trouble next week
Honestly, my biggest worry out of tonight was Cleary clutching his shoulder in the 67th(?) minute and the stressed look on Ivanâs face.
We won a lot more comfortably than I thought we would given the weather.
We were in control from the start, without showing too much.
Panther Pride Man of the Match voting is now open Graham Annesley better get some sleep tonight. He is going to have a shitstorm hit him trying to explain the referees performance last night. Diabolical.
Wow, I must say I am in a bit of shock, Am I really going to the third grand final in a row? Have the team really made 5 in a row and playing for our fourth straight premiership.
Redemption for 2020 should be the inspiration.
Wasnât the most pretty of wins, but we overcame our nemesis of the rain.
Led by our 3 rocks - Edwards, Yeo and Cleary, with a best of career effort from Alomoti. Not a bad player on the field, we controlled the game well, and waited for our moments.
Kudos to Cleary for calling out the bunker in the presso- let the mind games begin!
Storm will be a tougher opponent no doubt, but I have a quiet confidence for what should be another great game.
We will most likely be wearing the pink strip, possibly the brown heritage. Melbourne will get to wear their dark home strip.
For what itâs worth, I donât have concern about injuries, just hope the judiciary donât get stupid and charge Kenny any higher than a grade 1.
Yet again, very happy to be in a grand final
If he does he should plead not guilty and take it to the judiciary. Both cases were fine, amazed either were put on report.
I must have a different understanding of what inside / outside shoulder is, or they redefined it last night.
Coupled with the basketball try immediately after, and that can really disrupt a game.
Not to mention the trip and late hit on Jarome.
I joked with some mates youâd have to clothesline someoneâs head off to maybe get the bin last night!
No charges for Kenny!
We should be 1-17 for the gf, unless Sorro is fit and ready to play.
Late, hard hit on Luai ; no penalty â WTF
Hazelton gets light tap, and goes down as if heâs been taken out by a sniper (he must have been training with a soccer team); penalty â WTF.
Disallowed try; did any commentator see that as realistic â WTF.
Hazelton falls into the tackle; ref says no problem, but bunker intervenes, then overrules â WTF.
Talakaiâs blatant trip on Yeo; no send-off or 10 min penalty â WTF.
Cronullaâs only try; was there separation, hence no try? â WTF.
Despite the closeness of the first part of the game, the above incidents suggest that the score might well flatter Cronulla.
If the game had been closer, that set of âmysteriousâ decisions could have cost us a place in the GF.
Maybe Penrith should engage Cameron Smith as a consultant, to help us understand refereeing decisions (because our coaching staff donât seem to).
We seemed to fall into sloppy play when the shower came through â no surprises there. A couple of times players tried to pick up a rolling ball, instead of just falling on it. I understand that next Sunday is forecast to be fine, thankfully.
There seemed to be quite a few Penrith fans coming up from the city. That is good for more black in the stands. But it must be difficult for heaps of folks in the outer west to afford NRL Finals prices during a âcost of living crisisâ. And if that applied to the first few rounds of finals, it sure as hell applies to the GF and its exorbitant prices.
I didnât feel we got out of second gear. I think with the wet weather the game plan was keep it simple and donât get injured. Keeping the powder dry for next week.
The game never looked in doubt at any stage. The Sharks attack at times looked laughable, I struggled to see how they made it far as they have.
For the most of it it looks like the side came out unscathed (Nathan mentioned in the post game conference that his shoulder is okay). Onto next week.
WOW what a farce 
- Letâs move onto next week
It was clearly a game we had to win, and for the most part looked to have the game under control, but maybe we had an eye on next week, or perhaps it was the rain, and we just let them stay in the game for a little too long. Anyway we got the job done & it seems fitting that it will be 1 & 2 in the GF.
As I stood there after the game, just looking out onto the field, I was having trouble taking it in, just what this group have achieved in the past 5 seasons. Ivan used the word âsurrealâ in the press conference & I think that was my thought also.
I could not be prouder to have witnessed what the club has done & how the community have responded. I think it was Stuart Ayres who said that us winning in '21 was the boost that the Penrith community needed as Covid impacted our lives. Well it has proven to be some sort of boost 
I wasnât privy to what was said after the magic round game in 2019 when we got towelled by the tiges to have us at rock bottom, but it needs to be bottled for eternity.
Bring on the GF 
Unfortunately, I think even if fit Sorro should sit this one outâŚ
Whilst heâs a good player and I feel terrible for him if that is the case, I donât think walking into the GF without game time is the best call. A little different if he was a dynamic game changer, but Garns has been playing solidly in that position and the only person to drop would be M Eisenhuth who rarely sets the world on fire but is a reliable toiling big body.
Garner has been doing a great job in recent weeks. I agree that it would be a mistake to drop him now. And I say that being a fan of Sorensen.
It is an interesting conundrum. Garner has been playing well, but if Sorensen is fit itâs hard to leave him out. Maybe start with Garner, with Sorensen off the bench.
Thatâs exactly how I would go, with Eisenhuth as 18th man
Given the lack of game time Sorenson has had, I would be inclined to start Garner as well, and bring Scott in one the defence has âsoftenedâ a bit.
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