- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
After twenty-six rounds of the regular season and a gripping finals series, it’s all come down to this. The South Sydney Rabbitohs will face the Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday to decide the 2014 NRL premiership.
The Bunnies go into the game as raging hot favourites, with most bookies pricing them at an unbackable $1.35. Needless to say, those in the know must be giving the Bulldogs little chance of lifting the Provan-Summons for the first time since 2004.
However, whether it’s through blind faith, wishful thinking or questionable analysis, I think the Bulldogs can beat Souths.
MORE NRL GRAND FINAL:
Here are seven reasons why.
1. The brutality of the Souths versus Roosters preliminary final
I mentioned this earlier in the week, but Friday night’s encounter between the Bunnies and the Chooks was one of the most physical games of rugby league I’ve ever witnessed. Both teams played with Origin-like intensity, but the Bunnies maintained it for almost the entire game.
As impressive as that feat was, it would have taken a toll on Souths, even allowing for the extra day off they have. A game of that level of physicality and intensity has repercussions, and the Dogs may be able to exploit that, should Souths tire in the second half, much like the Roosters fatigued last Friday.
Some Roarers have mentioned that the Dogs had a hard game themselves against Penrith, but I don’t think that match was anywhere near as physically draining.
2. Des Hasler
You just know the ‘Mad Professor’ is going to have something up his sleeve for the grand final.
Arguably the best coach in the business, Hasler has a knack of devising game plans that surprise his opposition, while also ensuring his own players are dutifully prepared.
Come this time of the season – when very little separates teams – the difference between winning and losing can come down to the nuances in the tactics of the opposing coaches, and you can guarantee Hasler will have something special saved up for Sunday.
3. All the pressure is on Souths
Not only are the Dogs rank outsiders, but they don’t have the weight of 43 years on their shoulders.
I realise it’s a boring narrative, and I don’t want to be the millionth person to bring it up, but we can’t hide from the fact that the Bunnies have had a four-decade premiership drought, which consequently ensures there is pressure on the current team to finally break through and deliver Redfern a competition win.
So far the Bunnies have said and done all the right things. They appear to be soaking up the atmosphere and excitement, and took the smart step of having an open training session with their fans on Monday. The players seem to be embracing the expectation that the Bunnies can finally win the comp.
However, as Sunday gets closer, one suspects the pressure and sense of occasion will only increase, and you have to wonder if the carefree attitude the Bunnies have so far displayed will start to evaporate.
The Dogs have nothing to lose, while the Bunnies will have intense pressure on them. Both of these facts may start to play a critical role as the grand final looms nearer.
4. The Bulldogs are made for finals footy
It’s a cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true – the Dogs are a finals football team. They’re not flashy, fashionable or flamboyant, but they are tough, niggly and resilient. Those are great qualities to have heading into a grand final.
That’s taking nothing away from Souths. There is no question that they are a more talented outfit, yet more importantly, they’ve showed in their two finals games against the Sea Eagles and the Roosters that they are extremely physical and tough as well.
Let’s be honest, the Bunnies have shown this year that they’re made for the finals too, so the Dogs don’t have a mortgage on the clichés.
However, the Dogs will scratch, claw and bite (well, hopefully not this time!) for the full eighty minutes. I just don’t see the Dogs rolling over – pun intended – and that type of commitment can wear an opposition down.
5. Issac Luke’s suspension
Granted, the Dogs are likely to be without their hooker as well come Sunday, but if Canterbury and their fans are looking for a glimmer of hope in the grand final, the absence of Luke certainly provides one.
The Bunnies’ number nine is arguably their most important player, with so much of what they do in attack based upon Luke’s skill and abilities. He’s an outstanding dummy-half.
Though Souths are confident his replacement, Apisai Koroisau, can do the job for them – based mainly upon his performances when filling in earlier in the season – I think they’ll miss Luke a lot more than most people realise.
6. Decision-making in tight games
Earlier in the season, the Dogs won three games in a row by a single point, and they also won their semi-final versus Manly with a field goal in golden point. So it’s evident they know how to perform in the clutch.
Meanwhile, fairly or not, Souths are saddled with the reputation of not making great decisions in close games. In the past, the words ‘brain fart’ have been used on more than one occasion when describing the Bunnies – most notably with captain John Sutton.
Though I think Souths’ reputation and their ‘choking’ tag have been somewhat overblown, the Bulldogs are certainly more accomplished when it comes to delivering down the stretch of tight games, so if the Dogs can keep it close on Sunday, they will really like their chances of winning.
That type of confidence, versus any doubt that may creep into the Bunnies’ minds, could prove the difference.
7. Quite simply, because I’m a Dogs fan
Of course I think the Dogs can win. I’m a Dogs fan.
Yet while I confess I’m one-eyed when it comes to the Doggies, I’m also a realist. If both sides in the grand final play to their potential, then the Bunnies will win by double figures. However, grand finals aren’t played on potential; they’re played on the field.
In a two-horse race, anyone can win. Even a Dog.