Sunia Turuva celebrates after scoring a try for the Panthers against the Storm [Source: NRL]

The Penrith Panthers have cemented their standing as the greatest team of the modern era with a clinical 14-6 victory over the Storm in Sunday’s grand final at Accor Stadium.

The Panthers are the first team since the mighty St George side of the 50s and 60s to win four premierships in a row and did it on the back of another masterclass from Nathan Cleary and a barnstorming display by Liam Martin.

A loose offload by Jarome Luai in the 11th minute handed Melbourne an opportunity to go on the attack but Jack Howarth put the ball down and the Panthers came away.

Storm bench forward Alec MacDonald entered the fray in the 18th minute and came up with a dropped ball on his first run, the Panthers making the most of the chance and earning a repeat set courtesy of a neat grubber by Izack Tago.

The Panthers were unable to cash in and the Storm took the ball up the other end to open the scoring through a trademark Harry Grant try out of dummy half in the 18th minute. Nick Meaney’s conversion made it 6-0.

A mistake by Will Warbrick from a Luai bomb in the 26th minute invited the premiers back into the game, with Paul Alamoti coming up with a clever pass to Luai who put Sunia Turuva over. Cleary’s conversion sailed wide to leave the score at 6-4.

Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen put the kick-off out on the full and the Panthers threatened danger again before Turuva had the ball knocked out of his hands by a desperate cover tackle by Eli Katoa.

With half-time just 80 seconds away, the defending champions came up with a huge play when Cleary put his right edge back-rower Martin over with a superb short ball and then converted the try for a 10-6 lead at the break.

An error by Jack Howarth put the Storm under the pump early in the second half and the Panthers continued to dominate possession and field position but a simple error by Dylan Edwards in the 48th minute released the pressure.

The Storm then came within an ace of a try when Xavier Coates soared high to take a bomb and flick it back inside to Howarth who got over the line but the bunker ruled he had been held up.

On the hour mark the Panthers extended their lead when Martin showed great commitment to follow through and catch a bomb before finding Moses Leota who offloaded for Alamoti to dive into the corner to make it 14-6.

The Storm then enjoyed a run of possession deep in Panthers territory but the premiers stood firm and refused to buckle, turning Lazarus Vaalepu away from close range and forcing Howarth into touch on the left side.

With six minutes to go, Cameron Munster went on report for an alleged bite on Alamoti just to add extra spice to an epic showdown but there was simply no way through for the Storm.

The Panthers have become the first team since St George in the last four years of their reign in 1963-66 to win four premierships on the trot.