Who will win the NRL Grand Final? Our reporters debate Battle of the birds ... That's Sharwood on the left, Clench on the right. TWO reporters. One supporting Manly, one the Roosters. Ant Sharwood and Sam Clench debate: Who will win the NRL Grand Final? If you thought the biggest contest today was going to be on the footy field, you were wrong. It's happening on your screen right now. I'm not a Manly fan, but my seven-year-old son is, so I'm supporting the Sea Eagles for his sake. Having said that, I honestly believe they'll win tonight and here's why. The Eagles are just as tough as the Roosters but with Brett Stewart back in the team, they'll have that extra edge of creativity to get them over the line. We all saw Stewart's value last week when he pounced on that grubber by his brother Glenn to lift the Eagles back into the game against the Rabbitohs. Like Jarryd Hayne, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis, Stewart has the happy knack of bobbing up all over the field to bamboozle the defence. Brett Stewart scoring the try that sparked Manly's miraculous comeback against South Sydney. Photo: Getty Source: Getty Images It's not just the long scything runs in broken field play that make him special. All decent fullbacks are good at those. It's the angles. The way he runs off the big men or chimes into the backline as an extra man. And let's not forget, Stewart was absent when the Eagles just couldn't crack the Roosters line three weeks ago in that unforgettable 4-0 thriller. If he was there that night, Stewart would have made the difference - just like he will tonight. Manly's entire backline is in fine form. It's tough to disagree with Roosters number seven Mitchell Pearce's assessment that Foran and Cherry-Evans are the best halves pairing in the game at the moment. The outside backs are also in fine form. At 31, Jamie Lyon is playing as well as ever and was just named the Dally M centre of the year. Steve Matai is as tough as ever. The Wolfman is finishing with his usual finesse while also setting up tries. Winger Jorge Taufua has proven to be one of the finds of the year. But it's the forward pack that gives this team real grunt. Watmough and Glenn Stewart are world class players, we know that. Unheralded former Gold Coast Titan Brenton Lawrence has proven himself the classic late bloomer this year, while Roosters reject Tom Symonds could just about provide the story of the day if his team wins. Daly Cherry-Evans doing what he does best. Conjuring. That's the on-paper analysis and it counts for nothing tonight. What counts in grand finals is two things: team spirit and x-factor. The Roosters have the most damaging player on the field in Sonny Bill Williams. But if Sonny is a wrecking ball, Daly Cherry-Evans is a conjurer. That, right there, is your x-factor. When the Roosters are tired - and they will tire - Evans is the man who will create the sort of opportunities which the likes of Brett Stewart will swoop upon. They will swoop on a premiership which the arrogant Roosters believe should be theirs. But the minor premiership is not the premiership. Manly finished fourth this year, just like the Storm did in 2009 when they won. Manly are a bit like the Storm, and not just because of the colours and the fact everyone hates them. They hunt as a pack, these Eagles. They play for their coach. They thrive on a siege mentality out there on their insular northern peninsular, just like Melbourne love the lack of limelight down south. The Roosters will lead at some point tonight. But Manly will get them. Their experience across the park will expose the Roosters at some point. Bank on it. Ant reckons Manly will be celebrating again tonight. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Source: Getty Images I'm a Roosters fan, so my bias here is pretty obvious. But you don't have to be a one-eyed chook to understand why the best team in the NRL will win tonight. The Roosters are a complete footy side, with the best attack and defence in the competition. There is no obvious weakness for Manly to exploit, and when the chooks are focused, there is no way through their defence. Before they slacked off late in the match against a badly beaten Newcastle side last week, the Roosters had not conceded a try in three hours. Those hours weren't spent in a training session against Parramatta. The Roosters were holding out Souths, Manly and Newcastle, three of the NRL's most dangerous teams. In a trio of games against the Sea Eagles this season, they have conceded just three tries and 16 points. That is premiership winning defence, and it isn't about to fall apart in the biggest match of the year. Nobody wants to run into Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. But he wants to run into them. Manly supporters are making a lot of noise about Brett Stewart's return to the team. They forget the Roosters were without Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for that 4-0 victory in the first week of the finals. Sonny Bill Williams gets the publicity, but Waerea-Hargreaves is the heart of this Roosters team. He adds mongrel and authority to the side's forward pack, driving his teammates over the advantage line. When JWH, Sam Moa and Luke O'Donnell are dominating, the rest of the attack clicks into gear. Second rowers Williams, Mitch Aubusson, Aidan Guerra and Boyd Cordner bend the opposition's defence with hard, cleverly angled runs before releasing the team's pacy outside backs. This process is more methodical than it seems, and it breaks down whenever Waerea-Hargreaves is absent. Unfortunately for Manly, he will be there tonight, and you can count on him being fired up. The Eagles won't contain him. There is an assumption that Manly will have the best half on the field in Daly Cherry-Evans, and that's probably true, but no halfback can win a Grand Final on his own. Cherry-Evans couldn't break the Roosters down in any of their prior meetings this year, because a half can't forge clean opportunities when the defence is forcing his team backwards. The Roosters will try to, err, strangle Manly with their defence. Manly's best hope is actually Jamie Lyon, who would be the first representative centre picked in Australia if he put his hand up. Lyon's combination with David Williams formed the side's only potent attacking channel against the Roosters three weeks ago. But a deficiency in Lyon's game could just as easily sink Manly. As the side's goalkicker, Lyon has knocked the ball through at less than 70 per cent this season, compared to James Maloney's 87 per cent for the Roosters. If the match is close, as virtually everyone expects, those extra two points from a sideline conversion could decide the title. Manly won't win without dominating the Roosters' monstrous forward pack. It won't win without unlocking the most disciplined and effective defensive line in the NRL. And it won't win unless the Roosters lose their nerve, like South Sydney did last week. This Roosters side is too determined and far too professional. Expect the minor premiers to build a slim half-time lead before slamming the door shut behind them. See Guerra's face? That's what Sam looks like when he yells at the ref. Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Source: Supplied Who won this argument, and who will win tonight?