Why grand final revenge is a dish best served in the rematch

Grand Final rematches. 

How much do they really mean to players and who comes out on top? 

Premiership-winning teams and the runner-up have a 50% record the following year when they first front each other again with 12 wins apiece in the NRL era.

Some notable and remarkable results sometimes topping the actual match played on Grand Final day between the two clubs only months earlier.

Among the most memorable games include Melbourne's stunning 70-10 bash-up of the Dragons in 2000, Manly's 8-0 win over the Roosters in 2014, the wild Good Friday clash between the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs in 2015 and the field goals from Anthony Milford (2016) and Latrell Mitchell (2019) in thrilling finishes.

While some grand final rematches have either created or continued on a rivalry between two clubs that continues today, others have also been treated as just another game. 

The winless Eels face the Panthers on Thursday night though desperate to not only get their season underway after three losses but earn a bit of respect back in the Battle of the West rivalry after last season's lopsided grand final.

Penrith have proven they've owned Sydney's west in recent years with two premierships from three grand final appearances but that won't give them any advantages against a desperate Eels side at CommBank Stadium.

Eels coach Brad Arthur, usually clipping up footage until the early hours of the morning after games, insists he's never watched a replay of last year's decider.

"There's nothing I can do about it now," Arthur said.

"It's obviously something I want to keep re-living but at some stage I'll get around to it. At the moment it doesn't help anything for us right now."

Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown made an effort to stay and watch Penrith lift the trophy at the conclusion of the match, determined to let the feeling stay with him over the summer.

"You don’t play all year to get to a grand final to lose," Brown said. 

"I made sure I stayed out there and watched, it obviously hurt and I just wanted to see what it looked like to win.

"Regardless of our history with Penrith it’s always a good game and we like playing against them."

Eels captain Clint Gutherson added it didn't take much to be motivated for a clash against Penrith regardless of what happened in the big dance.

"We reviewed the grand final last year and over the pre-season and took a bit of motivation out of that," Gutherson said.

"That’s gone and it’s a whole new year. They’re going to be coming out trying to prove a point as well. 

"All the games last year and the last couple of years have been really close and that’s all you want. It’s a huge game and you can always get up for it."

Roosters premiership-winner Anthony Minichiello has experienced both sides of the ledger, being part of grand final sides that lost to the Panthers (2003) and Bulldogs (2004).

The Roosters beat the Bulldogs 29-16 in their first rematch back in 2005 to get some sort of consolation, but he couldn't recall that game specifically now.

"It's more an 'in the moment' thing," Minichiello said. 

"Sub-consciously during the week, you definitely take your mind back to that grand final day if you got beat by a team in a decider.

"Teams will do a review after the game and address it in the pre-season but it all comes back the next year. It crosses your mind, it's natural and it happens. 

"At the time we wanted to beat them, of course, but right now it's not a game I look back on and can remember fondly thinking we got one back."

Minichiello said he felt a distinct difference coming off premiership wins in 2002 and 2013 than facing opponents following grand final defeats.

"You could feel that every opposition got up for matches against us, not just the team we played the year before in the grand final," he said. 

"When you knew you were up against the premiers that week you'd lift at training because you knew you were up against the best." 

Sam Thaiday's Broncos experienced both ends when they won the title in 2006 before dropping their grand final rematch against the Storm in 2007.

"We finished third in 2006 and Melbourne had us covered, they beat us twice during the season and were front-runners so coming up against them the next season they were still one of the teams to beat," Thaiday said.

"There wasn't a lot for us to prove as there was them. We had little expectations on us to win that grand final.

"The '07 season for me was terrible. I missed a lot of game time with injury and we only just scraped into the finals whereas Melbourne were pretty consistent throughout.

"I went from such a high winning a grand final and making the Queensland and Australian teams for the first time to a big downer."

The Broncos were then part of a remarkable rivalry that lives on with the Cowboys after losing the 2015 decider to then beat their Queensland counterparts by a point via an Anthony Milford field goal the following season in 2016.

"Throughout that whole period we were setting up for what is still now a great rivalry between the Broncos and Cowboys," Thaiday said.

"That field goal 'Milf' kicked, it was like a common thread every time we played the Cowboys that it was going to come down to four points or less every time.

"You don't get to take the trophy home at the end of the day but it's about clawing back a little bit of victory and bragging rights.

"We definitely wanted to be up for facing the Cowboys the next time we played them.

"I think the same thing will happen on Thursday night. The Eels need to get their season on track. They've been close but left their run in each game a bit late to chase the points.