Richie Barnett: It's all in the timing for the NRL Grand Final...

Manu Vatuvei of the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Experience can be everything leading into a grand final.

For instance, the Warriors turned up 35 minutes "late" for the televised gala breakfast in Darling Harbour yesterday - but really they were right on time.

It was a lesson taken from 2000, when the Roosters learned the hard way about how to approach all the hoopla surrounding a grand final. That year, the Roosters turned up as instructed at 6.45am, then sat around for an age with nothing to do.

Their opponents, a vastly experienced Broncos side, sauntered in 35 minutes later, and made a grand entrance. It was "here we are, we're the Broncos". They fulfilled their media obligations and shot through quickly, while the Roosters were still waiting around. The subtle psychological victory made the Roosters look like grand final rookies.

Having been with the Roosters then, Warriors trainer Craig Walker made sure that didn't happen to the Warriors yesterday. They timed their run. Walker knows how vital it is that everything runs smoothly this week.

It was interesting comparing the two teams. Manly have made three of the last five grand finals so it was no surprise they looked so cool, calm and collected. The Warriors seemed to be joking around and texting. It looked like a nervous reaction and it was clearly all new to quite a few of them.

That said, I was impressed by the way James Maloney and Shaun Johnson spoke. Maloney's a cocky little fellow and nothing seems to faze him.

But the halves are one area where I really feel Manly have an advantage. Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran are the best in the business at playing right at the line. The Warriors' edge defence will be under all sorts of pressure.

What it comes down to is whether Manly can get enough possession and field position to do some damage. Against Melbourne, the Warriors totally dominated up front and the Storm had precious few chances.

It's all about trying to repeat that effort, but you'd expect Manly to threaten a lot more often. And when they do, with the likes of Glenn Stewart and Tony Williams hitting the edges, they're deadly.

I can't remember a grand final where the aerial contest has been this crucial. Foran and Cherry-Evans are both superbly accurate kickers so Manu Vatuvei will be tested. With Jamie Lyon and Krisnan Inu brilliant in the air, both teams will probably use the same tactic of the three-quarter kick. Lyon should have a big advantage over Lewis Brown, but Inu will fancy his chances against Steve Matai.

The tactic has worked well for the Warriors, with Inu making big plays against both the Tigers and Storm.

Grand finals can do funny things to people. We've all seen players drop kicks that lead to crucial tries. That sort of thing wouldn't surprise me on Sunday. Once again, Manly's experience might be an advantage.

But the Warriors have that blood-brother thing. They've been on the road almost every weekend for weeks and they're incredibly tight. They were largely written off; the only ones that believed they could make it were themselves and they've thrived on that. You can't write them off this time.