Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

While New Zealand Warriors critics point to the failure of the Mount Smart sides failure to win a NRL championship since formation in 1995 – spare a tear for Cronula that have failed to win the NRL big prize in fifty seasons of NRL competition.

The Sharks entered the first expansion of the National Rugby League competition, with Penrith, in 1967.

In the intervening seasons they have become the oldest club in the competition not to have won the NRL championship.

On Sunday evening, the club that were known as Cronula-Sutherland when they engaged in NRL battle in 1967, will endeavour to win the Provan/Summons Trophy for the first time.

They have made the big game of the season on three previous occasions, losing to Manly in 1973 and 1978 and were beaten for the Super league title by Brisbane in 1997.

Cronula, won their very first NRL game in 1967 when they beat Eastern Suburbs, however they won just two further encounters during the season to finish last in the title race.

By contrast the Warriors won 13 games in their debut season.

On Sunday night, a full house will greet the Cronula Sharks and the Melbourne Storm as they run on to the field at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, to decide the 2016 NRL Championship.

Standing in the way of a Cronula NRL title, is arguably the best and most consistent team in the National Rugby League Competition over the last two decades.

Founded during the Super League/ARL wars of the mid 1990's, the Storm won four premierships on the field, only for two to be taken away for blatant salary cap breaches. In addition they have also finished as beaten finalists on two other occasions.

In what looks to be a David verses Goliath battle with the Storm heavily favoured to grab victory – Cronula will be desperate for victory to appease their long suffering fans. However the Melbourne enemy will be heavily outnumbered in vocal support, with Sydney rugby league supporters rallying behind the hometown side.

Another team that will face their opponents on a far-from-neutral venue, is the Sydney Swans who will play the Western Bulldogs, in the Australian Rules title decider at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday afternoon.

The two AFL sides have origins that date back to foundation in inner-city Melbourne, during the 1870's. The Swans started life in 1874 as South Melbourne, however, declining fortunes and the wishes of the AFL to expand their game to New South Wales, saw South Melbourne shift to Sydney in 1982 and become the Sydney Swans.

Like the Melbourne Storm, who plays in an Australian State where their game isn't the game of choice of the majority of the population, the Swans fly the AFL banner in enemy territory.

They have won the AFL flag twice in 2005 and 2012 and are perennial finals contenders.

Sideline Sid picks the two sides that will be outmuscled in vocal support to emerge victorious over the weekend.

While his heart is with Cronula, his head tells him that the Storm will be too strong for the Sydney contenders.

Likewise the Swans will travel to the MSG and prove too good for the club that started life as the Footscray Football Club in 1877.