The All Blacks wrap up their week in France’s wine capital as NZ Herald’s Chereè Kinnear and Liam Napier look at how the team has made the most of their longest-ever break between World Cup matches. Video / NZ Herald
The Warriors’ potential Grand Final opponents have been decided as the Penrith Panthers demolished the Melbourne Storm 38-6 to make their fourth consecutive NRL Grand Final.
They set the tone for the rest of the fixture in the 10th minute when winger Brian To’o crossed for the first of histhree tries - Melbourne had little in response to Penrith’s attacking onslaught.
Panthers’ star halfback Nathan Cleary was at his scintillating best, marshalling his side around the park and kicking goals from each touchline to mount the scoreboard pressure.
There were flashes from the Storm of the form that got them this far, but as the score began blow out they forced passes and gave away penalties that only added to their woes.
Kiwi Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris was at his destructive best with 84 metres from 10 runs in his opening stint of 32 minutes.
The Panthers completed 22 of 23 sets at 95 per cent in the opening 40 minutes. The Storm were 11 of 17 at 64 per cent. These completion numbers tell a grim story for the Storm, to beat a side like the Panthers you have to be near-perfect and they were far from that.
Penrith have now won eight consecutive finals games and conceded just 66 points in the process - the Broncos and Warriors will have been watching last night, knowing that a win tonight in Brisbane will secure them a match against one of the most dominant sides in the modern era.
