Edwards affirms star billing with Clive Churchill Medal

The 2022 Grand Final will be remembered as the night Dylan Edwards flew out from under the radar and into the history books.

On Penrith’s charge to three consecutive grand finals, the fullback has been heralded as one of the NRL’s most underrated players.

After all, he was the only member of the Panthers’ starting 13 not selected for representative football this year, and his highlights reel pales in comparison to that of Latrell Mitchell or James Tedesco.

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But in the 28-12 defeat of Parramatta that confirmed a second-straight title for the Panthers, Edwards put in a performance that perfectly summed up what makes Penrith great: hard work punctuated by moments of brilliance.

In earning the Clive Churchill medal for best-afield in the decider, Edwards put the rugby league public on notice. There’ll be no more “underrated” or “not quite as good as”.

The fullback clocked 228 metres with the ball in hand and was critical to helping get the Panthers’ sets off to the right start.

“Thank you boys, I love all you,” Edwards said. “We worked hard for this and we will enjoy it.

“We definitely wouldn’t be here without a bunch of great boys in the (wider) squad.

“We wanted to make our community proud out there and hopefully we did that.”

While Nathan Cleary terrorised the Eels with his kicking game the last time the sides met, it was Edwards who ignited the Penrith surge that won Sunday’s game at Accor Stadium.

After 10 minutes of blow-for-blow physical football, Edwards shone through what he’s always been told other fullbacks can do better: ball play.

As the Penrith attack lurched forward on the right, Edwards switched back on the inside with a short ball that found Stephen Crichton.

Crichton’s intercept try won Penrith the decider last year and this time, as a gap appeared, he belted away to open the account for Penrith with another crucial grand final moment.

Penrith winger Brian To’o salutes the crowd after scoring a try in the NRL Grand Final win over Parramatta at Accor Stadium, Sydney, October 2, 2022 Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The Panthers’ 18-0 halftime lead came as a result of their ability to win the yardage battle – a contest that always starts with Edwards’ kick returns.

As the Eels struggled to catch their breath following Crichton’s try, the Penrith juggernaut continued to roll forward.

Their next four-pointer came after a characteristically powerful Edwards run in the back-field that set the tone for a set that covered more than 80 metres.

Brian To’o, another of Penrith’s metre-eaters on Sunday, was the beneficiary at the other end of the field as the Panthers went up 10-0.

Parramatta did well to keep Penrith to only one try in the 15 minutes after halftime and when Reed Mahoney found Bailey Simonsson with a cross-field grubber kick, the Eels appeared destined to open their account.

Simonsson darted down the left touch-line. He may have left rival Charlie Staines in his wake, but he was no match for Penrith’s Mr Reliable.

Edwards pulled Simonsson into touch with a hit similar to the greatest grand final moment in Penrith history: Scott Sattler’s tackle on Todd Byrne in the 2003 decider.

In the very next set, the fullback sent Staines over for the try that officially put the game out of reach for the Eels at 28-0.

It’s hard to believe a man who played last year’s Grand Final on a broken foot could come up with an even more courageous performance this time around.