Moment reporter is forced to abandon her NRL Grand Final report after being swamped by boisterous Panthers fans
A Channel 9 reporter was forced to abandon her coverage of the NRL Grand Final on Sunday night as she was swamped by boisterous Penrith Panthers fans.
Alice Monfries quickly cut away from her segment at Panthers HQ in Sydney's west just one hour before the game after she was inundated by enthusiastic fans.
'I don't even know if you can hear me right now, but they are feeling very confident,' she said.
In the background, one fan performed a 'shoey' for the 6pm news bulletin - which entails drinking alcohol directly from a shoe.
'In fact, they say the rain is a good omen — 17 years ago they last took the trophy home in a wet Grand Final,' she said.
In the background, one fan performed a 'shoey' for the 6pm news bulletin - which entails drinking alcohol directly from a shoe
Alice Monfries quickly cut away from her segment at Panthers HQ in Sydney's west just one hour before the game after she was inundated by enthusiastic fans
Rain has battered much of the east coast all weekend, almost forcing the postponement of the AFL Grand Final in Brisbane and making for difficult conditions for Sunday's big NRL match.
But the Panthers won a Grand Final in 2003 in similar weather conditions against Sydney Roosters.
'We are almost at capacity here at Penrith Stadium, close to 2000 people… I'm going to throw back to you before I get mobbed,' Monfries told Peter Overton on Sunday.
The Grand Final will kick off at 7.30pm at ANZ stadium, where 40,000 fans are packed in to watch the Panthers take on the Melbourne Storm.
Penrith fans have gone all out since last Saturday, when the team edged out South Sydney Rabbitohs for a spot in the big dance.
A Channel 9 reporter was forced to abandon her coverage of the NRL Grand Final on Sunday night as she was swamped by boisterous Penrith Panthers fans
Rain has battered much of the east coast all weekend, almost forcing the postponement of the AFL Grand Final in Brisbane and making for difficult conditions for Sunday's big NRL match
Local businesses and devout fans have been living in their jerseys, decorating their homes and buildings with balloons, streamers and even baking themed snacks to celebrate their team's first Grand Final appearance in 17 years.
One local family told Daily Mail Australia the household had been buzzing with 'a special kind of energy' since last weekend.
'This whole season has been different. We knew it would come,' they said.
'This team is special.'
On Sunday morning they stocked the fridge with alcohol, blew up balloons in black, red, yellow and green and attached streamers to their roof, certain their team would be victorious.
The Penrith Panthers made their first Grand Final appearance in 1990 under the guidance of coach Phil Gould, but lost to a star-studded Canberra Raiders outfit.
An anti-lockdown protestor is seen addressing a police officer at ANZ Stadium on October 25
Just 12 months later, a rematch Grand Final yielded very different results, and the boys from the foot of the mountains secured their first premiership win.
But the last time the club tasted victory was in 2003, when the then minor premiers secured a shock win over the Sydney Roosters.
Given the youth of the current 2020 side, most of the men would've been pre-schoolers and toddlers at the time.
Meanwhile Melbourne Storm have been largely considered the most dominant NRL club in modern history.
With appearances in five of the last 10 Grand Finals, there was mounting concern a young Panthers contingent simply couldn't beat a side with so much experience.
The club notoriously had the 2007 and 2009 premierships wiped from the record after admitting to breaching the salary cap, but went on to win again in 2012 and 2017.
Rain has battered much of the east coast all weekend, almost forcing the postponement of the AFL Grand Final in Brisbane and making for difficult conditions for Sunday's big NRL match
Fans of the game packed into ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, which could only facilitate 40,000 people due to COVID-19 restrictions.
More fans were welcomed at the Panthers' home stadium back in Penrith, where tickets were sold for diehard fans to watch the game on the big screens.
Local pubs and clubs were also brimming with patrons - all wearing their club colours.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, fans were discouraged from heading out of home to watch the game anywhere as the city fights to get a second wave of COVID-19 under control.
Premier Daniel Andrews was expected to ease restrictions on Sunday, but reneged on the promise after a spike in infections.
More to come