Nelson Asofa-Solomona will get a chance for grand-final redemption after the Melbourne man mountain was given the nod to face Penrith on Thursday night.
The Storm badly missed Asofa-Solomona in their loss to the Panthers in last year’s title decider due to a five-game ban, which ended in time for the rematch at AAMI Park.
Coach Craig Bellamy said on Wednesday the Kiwi prop still needed to get through the final training run before he would make a decision on his inclusion, but in final team selections he was named as the Storm enforcer on the interchange.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes, who will play his 150th Storm game, said this week Asofa-Solomona deserved to play after missing the grand final.
“He deserves to be there, he’s done a lot of hard work in the pre-season and he’s still burning from missing out on last year’s GF (grand final) so he’s really hungry to get back on the team,” Hughes said.
While Melbourne are at full strength, the Panthers were dealt a late blow with exciting young fullback Daine Laurie ruled out.
The 25-year-old was set to wear the No.1 jersey in the absence of Test fullback Dylan Edwards, who has a groin strain, but he was ruled out with Thomas Jenkins coming in.
While the Storm will start heavy favourites, Penrith have long known the danger of a rival desperate for revenge in a grand-final rematch.
They used their own grudge match with the Storm to make a statement in early 2021, in what was one of the defining wins during the infancy of their dynasty.
The Panthers have also since weathered assaults from South Sydney and Brisbane in grand-final rematches in recent years, holding on to beat both teams.
Their only defeat in one came against arch-rivals Parramatta in 2023, when Nathan Cleary nailed a two-point field goal to send the game to golden point before Mitch Moses won out.
The Panthers have also made no secret of the fact they expect the Storm to take it personally on Thursday night.
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have a little bit of that in you,” coach Ivan Cleary said earlier this week.
“We definitely did back then (in 2021).
Jahrome Hughes of the Storm runs the ball (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“But we always totally respect the Storm, always have. Always look forward to this opportunity to play them.
“Whenever we get to, going down to Melbourne is arguably the toughest road trip in the game. It’s a great challenge. Definitely looking forward to it.”
At Melbourne, the psyche is slightly different.
While they won their first three grand-final rematches of the Craig Bellamy era in 2007, 2008 and 2009, the story has been different since then.
Melbourne have lost three of their last four rematches, defeated by Penrith in 2021, the Sydney Roosters in 2019 and Cronulla in 2017.
And in the eyes of Bellamy, a previous year’s grand final is irrelevant when two teams meet the following year.
“It’s another game, we can’t change the result of the grand final last year,” Bellamy said on Wednesday. “We know Penrith know how to win, they know how to play their best footy, and consistently play that.
“They know what they’re good at and they stick to that, so they’ll come with that sort of mentality.”
Carrigan expecting fired-up Cowboys
Pat Carrigan has been around long enough to know North Queensland’s dire form is no barometer to how they will play against Brisbane.
“With Broncos and Cowboys games, form never matters, it’s who is willing to compete,” Broncos forward Carrigan said.
“Ever since I have watched the game as a kid, they have always been exciting. It means a lot to both clubs these matches.”
The Cowboys have been walloped by Manly and Cronulla to start the season but welcome back 2015 premiership winner Jason Taumalolo, who will wrangle with Carrigan up front in Friday night’s clash at Suncorp Stadium.
The Cowboys have also recalled Queensland back-rower Jeremiah Nanai to the bench and half Jake Clifford, who played Queensland Cup last week in his first game back from hernia surgery.
Brisbane have won the last three Queensland derbies and hold a slender 10-8 lead in the previous 18 clashes between the clubs, and a 40-20 advantage overall with two games drawn.
Incredibly, the Broncos were unbeaten in the first 16 matches the clubs played against each other (with 14 wins and two draws).
Patrick Carrigan. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But the Cowboys won the 2015 grand final – 17-16 in golden point. Only Brisbane five-eighth Ben Hunt and North Queensland prop Jason Taumalolo are survivors from that clash.
Last year the Broncos won both derbies, despite finishing 12th and the Cowboys coming fifth.
The presence of Taumalolo for his first NRL game of the season after foot surgery has rid the Broncos of any complacency.
“He is a great player,” Carrigan said.
“His performances speak for themselves and the last 10 years he has been the form forward of the comp. He will be a massive lift for those boys and he does his best work at Suncorp, so we have to be on this week.”
Carrigan was superb in the opening-round win over Sydney Roosters, but last week against Canberra the Broncos’ pack was overpowered in a disappointing loss.
“We missed the mark on our standards and we know that,” Carrigan said.
“(Coach Michael Maguire) stressed it’s a long year, but week in week out the NRL is a tough competition and we didn’t respect the footy enough in round two and we got bitten on the backside for it.
The player of the match on Friday night will win the Carl Webb Medal in honour of the late forward who was a powerhouse for both clubs.
Carrigan won the award in the corresponding match last year.
“It was special to win the medal,” Carrigan said.
“My memories of Charlie (Webb) is when he put the Q in his head (via a haircut) and ran out for Queensland. Both teams have special players and we will be up for it.”
