And then there were four. With an all-Queensland grand final a real possibility, it will be up to the Sydney Roosters to keep some NSW pride alive as the season winds down to its climax.
The Roosters will look to keep alive its hopes of a a second premiership in three years when they face the Brisbane Broncos in the first preliminary final on Friday night, while the other preliminary final will see the Melbourne Storm come up against the North Queensland Cowboys at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Judging by the form of the Broncos and Cowboys all year, we could be in for the first ever all-Queensland grand final, that coming after the Maroons successfully regained the State of Origin shield in dominant fashion earlier this year.
Here are the two preliminary finals in full detail.
Brisbane Broncos versus Sydney Roosters
Friday, September 25
7:45pm AEST
Suncorp Stadium
Regular season meetings: Broncos 22-18 at Suncorp Stadium in Round 6; Roosters 12-10 at Allianz Stadium in Round 24.
Last meeting in a final: Roosters 16-12 at Allianz Stadium, first preliminary final, 2002.
The last time these two sides met, the Broncos and Roosters sat one and two on the ladder respectively, and their Round 24 tussle at Allianz Stadium was being billed as a potential grand final preview.
The Roosters’ narrow 12-10 win, achieved after co-captain Mitchell Pearce (who is a possibility of returning this week) suffered a hamstring injury early in the match, proved why they are the premiership favourites and was the pivotal result in them securing a third straight minor premiership.
It was the tenth of a 12-match winning streak the Chooks put together in the second half of the season, which was ended when they lost to the Melbourne Storm in the first week of the finals.
That result sent them to the Broncos’ half of the finals draw, which means for the second consecutive year, teams one and two will face off a week earlier than many expected after the Roosters and Rabbitohs met at this same stage in 2014.
Mitchell Pearce’s possible return will boost the Roosters’ chances of beating the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium this Friday night, but the Broncos will have their own incentives to win.
Captain Justin Hodges will be desperate to depart the game with a third premiership medallion, having announced that he will retire at the end of this season last month.
The Broncos will also be eager to end what is currently their longest premiership drought, having not saluted since defeating an illegally-assembled Melbourne Storm side in the 2006 decider.
They will also be buoyed by their home ground advantage, and will be relying on their spine of Darius Boyd, Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt – as well as Hodges – to get them past the Roosters this Friday night.
Will the Broncos’ advantages be enough to get them over the line, or will the Roosters show why they are the favourites?
Despite the Roosters’ favouritism, I think the Broncos can get up in this one.
Prediction: Broncos by 12 points.
Melbourne Storm versus North Queensland Cowboys
Saturday, September 26
7:45pm AEST
AAMI Park
Regular season meetings: Cowboys 18-17 at 1300SMILES Stadium, Round 4; Storm 14-6 at AAMI Park, Round 25.
Last meeting in a final: Cowboys 24-16 at Allianz Stadium, first semi-final, 2005.
The other preliminary final will see the Melbourne Storm host the North Queensland Cowboys in the battle of the two Queensland captains, Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston.
Despite being tipped for a slide down the ladder this season, the Storm have continued to defy their critics to finish in the top four yet again, doing so without veteran fullback Billy Slater who chose to undergo shoulder surgery back in June.
In his absence, Cameron Munster, the man tipped to permanently replace Slater in the number one guernsey not only at the Storm, but also in the Queensland side, when the latter eventually retires, has impressed.
The Rockhampton native will come up against the Cowboys’ Lachlan Coote, who was recruited to Townsville as a replacement for Matt Bowen but didn’t make his debut until this season after a knee injury wiped him out of the 2014 season.
That will be one of many match-ups that will prove crucial to the outcome of this match – halfbacks Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston will also come up against each other, as will their forward packs led by Jesse Bromwich and Matt Scott, and hookers Cameron Smith and James Segeyaro.
The Storm will be freshened up after enjoying the week off following their win over minor premiers the Sydney Roosters, but will be aware of a Cowboys side that flexed their muscle in a 39-0 home thrashing of a hapless Cronulla last week.
After several refereeing controversies conspired against the Cowboys to stop them in their tracks in the last few years, they are now back in the preliminary final for the first time since 2007, with a chance to reach just their second ever grand final.
To do that, they’ll have to overcome a horror record Melbourne, where they have only won just twice, in 2001 at Etihad Stadium and in 2012 at AAMI Park, the venue for this Saturday night’s preliminary final.
And with Johnathan Thurston nearing the end of his illustrious career, time is starting to run out for them to claim a maiden premiership while he, among a host of others, is still playing.
Despite the Cowboys’ poor record in Melbourne, I’m backing them to get the job done this Saturday night.
Prediction: Cowboys by 8 points.
Should the Broncos and Cowboys progress as predicted, then it would be the first ever all-Queensland NRL grand final in history.
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