Predicted Finish: 2nd
Actual Finish: 2nd
Every season I predict that the Storm are going to fall. This year I learned my lesson and was, for once, spot on. Cameron Smith is ageless, Cam Munster is elite while their young fullback emerged as a genuine superstar in 2020. This was perhaps their best win yet.
1. Highlights
- For/Against: The Storm were the third-highest scoring team across the regular rounds, and also the second-best team defensively. Those are incredible stats and obviously, make you hard to beat. Scoring over 26 points per game whilst conceding less than 14 literally gives them a two converted try error or margin on average per game. It's worth remembering that they dropped 30 points in their last regular-season game also against the Dragons while fielding their NSW Cup squad.
- Next Level: The best teams get better in the finals. Aside from falling 12-0 behind to the Eels early in their first finals contest, the Storm dominated their finals run. They would ultimately overturn the slow start to beat the Eels 36-24. They blew Canberra off the park in the prelim, with the game effectively over within the first ten minutes. Only two late sin bins made the Grand Final in any way close. Craig Bellamy is a genius and certainly knows how to prepare his side to peak at the right end of the season. His decision to rest his entire starting line up in Round 20 proved to be a masterstroke.
- Grand Final Ambush: Although the Grand Final score-line ended 26-20 to the Storm and despite it being four tries-all across 80 minutes, this game was well and truly done by halftime. The Storm entered the biggest arena in Rugby League and blew the in-form Panthers away across 40 minutes. The 22-0 score-line could have been far worse, and it looked as though they may be well on the way to somewhat avenging their 40-0 Grand Final loss with a similar score-line themselves when Papenhuyzen scored in the 45th minute.
A combination of some luck, an unlucky decision and two freak sinbins saw the score-line finish close. The Storm were, by FAR, the better team on the day thanks to their early ambush.
- No form slump: Incredibly the Storm went the entire season without losing two games in a row. Each loss suffered was followed by a bounce-back victory. Losses hurt but it's the streaks that can derail a season. Here are the four results following losses: 22-8 over the Bunnies, 50-6 over the Warriors, 30-6 over old sparring partners Manly, and a 36-24 semi final win over the Eels. I'm sure if I gave it enough thought I could think of a game where the Storm won when they probably shouldn't have (possibly round two against the Sharks?) but otherwise they never suffered a form slump. Incredible.
Watch Zero Tackle's own Dan Nichols over at Rugby League Outlaws
As much as Penrith may have been given in the second of the grand final. The Storm were given every decision their way in the first half. To make sure that they won. Sure, there were some glaring mistakes that Penrith made themselves in the first half.
Why did the Storm have to get all the first half decisions their way to make sure they won? Who knows ? Ask the NRL that one .