It will be a showdown of momentum against majesty; the Electric Eels against a Storm sweeping all before them.
It will also be a grand final the marketers will have little trouble selling. They cringe at the thought of two non-Sydney teams battling it out, like when Brisbane beat Melbourne in 2006, but there are no issues this time.
The Eels will look at this as a home game. It's not Parramatta Stadium but it's only 5km down Parramatta River to ANZ Stadium. It's a lot further for Melbourne to travel and that is a factor in grand final week.
It would be a massive shame if Jarryd Hayne is suspended. The Dally M Player of the Year has almost singlehandedly turned the Eels' season around and propelled them into the grand final on the back of 10 wins in 11 games.
One of those wins was against Melbourne. They beat the Storm 18-16 in round 19 to spark their remarkable turnaround. But Melbourne dispatched the Broncos so clinically last night that historical references, even recent history, seem almost irrelevant.
Melbourne have won 12 of 21 games between the two sides and seven of the last 10 but Parramatta, crucially, have won the last two. They beat the Storm 24-22 in the only meeting between the two sides last season.
As good as Hayne has been, the Eels' defence has also been superb. They have conceded just 123 points in their last 11 games, at 11.2 points a game. Their defensive record over the past 11 weeks is the best of any side in the finals. Six times they kept opponents under 10 points and have conceded only 26 points in three games in the finals series.
Since their 20-16 home defeat to Manly five weeks ago, Melbourne have looked like the Storm of old.
It started with a 38-4 thumping of the Roosters, continued with a 30-0 annihilation of the Warriors and carried on with a 40-12 demolition of the Sea Eagles before last night's busting of the Broncos.
They are stacked with players with grand final experience, as well as others with representative honours, and will look to their big players to produce the big plays.
NRL: Final a battle of form vs class
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