NRL and NRLW 2024 Grand Final expert tips and predictions: Who will win it all, first try-scorer, player of the match

It all boils down to one game on Sunday.

For the Storm and Panthers in the NRL and the Roosters and Sharks in the NRLW, a season of sacrifice will end in the ultimate payday or the worst kind of heartache you can suffer on a footy field.

Melbourne are slight favorites to end Penrith’s quest for a fourth consecutive title, while the Roosters are hard to beat Cronulla after defeating them in the regular season.

Here’s how our experts see the two results going down on Sunday night.

Michael Hagen

nrl

Panthers by 4

First try scorer: Paul Alamoti

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Jérôme Louis

The Panthers have found their best form in the last two matches, they have more Grand Final experience and know how to play under maximum pressure.

nrlw

chickens till 8 o’clock

First try scorer: Jess Sargis

Karen Murphy Medalist: Taryn Aiken

Led brilliantly from the front by Millie Boyle, the Tricolor have class in key positions and plenty of pace on the edges.

Paul Sator

nrl

panthers up to 8

First try scorer: Izaak Tagoe

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Liam Martin

This could be a low-scoring decider – neither team offers anything defensively. The ball will be in play as much as an Origin game and the result will come down to one or two errors from some players on the field who don’t have that rep or GF experience. There are more of them in the Melbourne team and because of this, the Panthers should be able to become the third team in premiership history to win their fourth consecutive title.

nrlw

shark up to 10

First try scorer: Tiana Penitani

Karen Murphy Medal Winner: Emma Tonegato

The Roosters deserve to be huge favourites, especially considering they thrashed the Sharks 40-0 when they met last month. It looked like they were fading big time when they fell from top spot to fourth with losses to Brisbane and the Tigers, but last week’s 14-0 upset of Brisbane has given them confidence that they can get back to that point. The dose may be repeated against. Chickens.

Marie Konstantopoulos

nrl

storm till 8 o’clock

First try scorer: Harry Grant

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Jahrom Hughes

This game will be extraordinary. Many of the Storm’s players, including Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant, are in career-best form and are capable of creating attacking opportunities throughout the field. The Storm’s main focus should be to limit the impact of Penrith’s back three and prevent them from progressing from there.

nrlw

Shark by 4

First try scorer: Georgia Ravics

Karen Murphy Medalist: Tiana Penitani

The Roosters are a formidable opponent and their team is loaded with representative players. However, after a poor finish to the regular season, the Sharks won last week’s game with their incredible defense and it will carry them to victory on Sunday. If they can stop the best attacking team in the competition then they can stop the Roosters too.

Tiana Penitani. (Photo by Tim Allsop/Getty Images)

mike mehall wood

nrl

by panthers 1

First try scorer: Will Warbrick

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Nathan Cleary

It will be tight, both sides may score a few, but in the end, I would never back against a side that has Nathan Cleary in it. The Panthers would go on to make four consecutive field goals, even if it meant settling a late field goal.

nrlw

chickens till 10 o’clock

First try scorer: Brydie Parker

Karen Murphy Medal Winner: Millie Elliott

Chickens are a clear and obvious favourite. Cronulla have a display in them, as last week proved, but they may have already played their GF to get here. I’ll take Easts to win their second NRLW premiership.

AJ Mithen

nrl

panthers till 16

First try scorer: Will Warbrick

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Liam Martin

The Panthers have been waiting for this moment and they will enter Melbourne from the beginning. The Storm give their opponents ten-fifteen minutes each week where they are a little flat and the game can be won. Most teams don’t take advantage of this – Penrith will.

I’ve picked Liam Martin for Churchill because it will be his grunt that keeps the Storm at bay, but we all know it will probably go to Nathan Cleary when Penrith win.

nrlw

up to 26 chickens

First try scorer: Taryn Aiken

Karen Murphy Medal Winner: Izzy Kelly

The Chuks have been the benchmark all year and they will blow it away quickly. Cronulla have a solid defense and a reasonable backline that can attack, but the Roosters will have all the ball and all the points.

stuart thomas

nrl

panthers up to 10

First try scorer: Brian To’o

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Jérôme Louis

As good as the Storm may be in big matches, the loss of Nelson Asofa-Solomona is huge and Penrith’s submissiveness will eventually take its toll in the second half. Expect low scoring in the opening 40 minutes and if the Storm are to have any chance of winning, they will simply have to play front-runner.

nrlw

up to 14 chickens

First try scorer: Isabelle Kelly

Karen Murphy Medalist: Olivia Curnik

The Roosters have had better recent form heading into the Grand Final. The Sharks have won just two of their last five and enter as underdogs to a star-studded Chuks organization that should have the weapons to lift the trophy at a canter.

NRL Dally M medalist Jahrome Hughes. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

david shilowski

nrl

storm till 8 o’clock

First try scorer: Xavier Coates

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Jahrom Hughes

Penrith are a distinct possibility with Nathan Cleary less than 100 per cent. Melbourne have been performing consistently throughout the season and have been dominant in three out of four halves in the finals. There’s no stopping the likes of Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant on the biggest stage.

nrlw

up to 6 chickens

First try scorer: Jess Sargis

Karen Murphy Medal Winner: Isabel Kelly

The Roosters will have too many strikes for Cronulla, although expect Sharks star Tiana Penitani to make an impact for her team.