Suliasi Vunivalu scored a try for Melbourne Storm as they beat the Penrith Panthers 26-20 in the NRL Grand Final last night.
It was truly a special final for Vunivalu who will now prepare to join Rugby Australia and the Queensland Reds where he will look to follow fellow former Storm winger Marika Koroibete's path to the Wallabies.
[Image: Suliasi Vunivalu/Facebook]
Storm led 22-0 at halftime.
The result ended a 17-game winning streak for the Panthers.
The match could be the last for champion Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith, who has yet to announce if he will play on for his 20th NRL season in 2021.
In a nerve-wracking finish at the Sydney Olympic stadium, Penrith came from 26-0 down with 28 minutes to play to reduce the margin to six points with just three seconds remaining.
With the Storm down to 11 men with Jahrome Hughes and Brandon Smith in the sin-bin, Penrith had one final play to level it from the kick-off after a late Nathan Cleary try.
But after they went back-and-forth across the field, the ball landed in Felise Kaufusi’s hands to wrap up Melbourne’s fourth NRL title.
[Gallery images: NRL/Facebook]
Melbourne fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen won the 2020 Clive Churchill medal as the grand final’s player of the match.
22-year-old Papenhuyzen scored a second-half try from inside his own quarter, ran for a game-high 187 metres and made two tackle breaks in the Storm’s victory.
