Singleton Josh King and Scone's Yasmin Clydsdale are on the big stage this weekend as the Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights battle for NRL and NRLW grand final place.
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King's Storm are at home in Melbourne hosting the Cronulla Sharks in Friday night's NRLW preliminary final.
While Clydsdale and the Knights travel to Brisbane after they claimed a 34-20 home Elimination Final victory over the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.
King was part of the Storm's losing grand final to the Penrith Panthers last year. If they win on Friday night, Melbourne will face the winner of the Panthers and Brisbane Broncos preliminary, which is being played at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
The Greyhounds junior signed a two-year extension at the Storm this season to be at the club until the end of the 2027 season.
The Storm booked their place in the preliminary final with a 26-18 win against Canterbury in the qualifying final and have had a week's rest.
A fierce rivalry has been created between Melbourne and Cronulla over recent seasons, dating back to the Sharks' 2016 grand final win against the Storm.
Knights captain Clydsdale was at her best in the elimination final against the Titans, and her experience proved pivotal.
With five minutes remaining, and after Titans development player Phoenix-Raine Hippi had scored back-to-back quickfire tries, Newcastle's lead had been cut to 30-20.
The hosts were scrambling when Clydsdale relieved the pressure with an unlikely play.
The second-rower's left-footed bomb was spilled by Hippi with three minutes on the clock.
A determined Clydsdale regathered the ball, and three plays later, centre Shanice Parker was diving across the line for her second try to ice the win.
"It was game awareness," Newcastle coach Ben Jeffries said of Clydsdale's kick, which he added was usually only seen in training.
"It was last and obviously went to the wrong person, but to her credit, she understood what was needed at that point."
Clydsdale is a big game player, having represented NSW and Australia.
She won the first of her three premierships with the Sydney Roosters and back-to-back titles in 2022-23 with the Knights.
Renee Valentine
