Sunday night will see a new champion born into rugby league history. Both the Sydney Roosters and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles have strong legacies of success throughout the history of the sport, but what neither of them have is a 2013 Premiership ring.
The Roosters have led the competition for most of the season and after chalking up the Minor Premiership come into this one as deserved favourites.
Manly, on the other hand, have had a much tougher time, with three gruelling and draining fixtures over the course of the finals series, leaving many to dismiss them as unable to make it the full distance this season.
They were wrong.
Both teams stand as genuine contenders this season with strong personnel and deadly players right across the field.
But, as is so often said in sports, there can only be one winner and there will only be one team crowned champion.
We’ve broken down all the action scheduled for this weekend in our complete guide to the grand final with all the need-to-know details, viewing information, analysis and prediction.
The Roar will also be providing live commentary on the night.
Read on to see how the closing moment to the 2013 season could unfold.
[1] Sydney Roosters vs [4] Manly Sea Eagles
Date: Sunday, October 6, 2013
Time: 7:15pm AEST
Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
TV: Channel Nine (LIVE)
Late mail and injuries
Boyd Cordner continues to be touted as a probable late inclusion for the Roosters, after missing several weeks before the Grand Final due to injury.
Should he return, the most probably ramifications would see Cordner take the number 13 jersey, Frank Nu’uausala returning back to the front row.
If he starts, then Moa will likely be dropped back on to the bench at the expense of Isaas Liu or Dylan Napa.
Luke O’Donnell is also expected to return to the Roosters’ starting lineup for this one, with his hamstring injury previously thought to be leaving him in some doubt.
His return would likely be a straight swap for Liu or Napa, with the rookie front-rower Liu the most likely of those two to make way given his position.
No late mail concerns for Manly, with the likes of Richie Fa’aoso (neck), Jason King (shoulder) and Joe Galuvao (ankle) all sidelined for many more weeks yet.
Brett Stewart’s troublesome hamstring is reportedly back to 100 percent, while Anthony Watmough’s knee won’t cause him to miss this one either, though it is likely that the representative forward will require some pain-killing injections to play.
Recent form: Sydney Roosters
In a strange way, the Roosters have become somewhat of the ‘forgotten team’ of this finals series.
They booked their spot in the semifinals with a tense and thrilling 4-0 victory over Manly in the opening week and then followed that up with a clinical demolition of the Newcastle Knights last week.
Throw in that their third most recent game was their Minor Premiership-clinching victory over Souths in Round 26, and it’s hard to fault the form of Trent Robinson’s men in this one.
Recent form: Manly Sea Eagles
Manly, as mentioned, come into this one slightly battered and bruised given the ‘finals series from hell’ for them, but will still be very confident about their chances of taking down the Minor Premiers.
They beat Souths in impressive fashion last week—coming from 14-0 down at one point—and edged Cronulla in controversial circumstances the week before that, 24-18.
Last five meetings
QF, 2013: Roosters 4 def. Manly 0
R16, 2013: Roosters 18 def. Manly 12
R9, 2013: Roosters 16 def. Manly 4
R16, 2012: Manly 52 def. Roosters 14
R11, 2012: Manly 18 def. Roosters 10
Key matchup: Michael Jennings (Roosters) vs Jamie Lyon (Manly)
Few players have had as much of an impact throughout the finals series as Manly’s Jamie Lyon, with the veteran centre continuing to show how deadly he can be.
The Sea Eagles love to attack down the right flank through Lyon, and it’s little surprise that he, winger David Williams and Brett Stewart (who loves to run inside ‘Killer’) have all had such success this year.
Manly will no doubt look to give the ball to Lyon early and let him try to get outside or inside of his opposite number who, for this fixture, is representative centre Michael Jennings.
Jennings might not be the most defensively-sound centre in the game, but he’s not substandard at all.
He’ll be more than capable of handling whatever Lyon and co. throw at him, and is a real chance at offering plenty in attack as well.
The Roosters have a strong history of heading to their left edge in times of need, with Sonny Bill Williams inside definitely capable of drawing big plays out of Jennings and Daniel Tupou.
Whether that will happen, though, against Lyon and Williams still remains to be seen, with this matchup definitely capable of swinging the final result either way.
Three facts to consider
1. Manly have won five or seven finals games against the Roosters, and have won 19 of their 23 Sunday games throughout the past three seasons.
2. James Maloney (230 points) and Jamie Lyon (210 points) finished on top of the NRL during the regular season for points scored. However, as their previous outings this year have shown, this one doesn’t promise to be the most high-scoring affair.
3. Over 75 percent of Manly’s tries have been scored out wide this season, but their wide men are also capable of producing some terrible errors. Their centres and wingers have combined for a staggering 104 errors this year.
Prediction
Writing off Manly is never a good thing to do (as this finals series shows), and it’s important not to do so again.
They have proven to be a very tough team to beat in the final game of the year and with plenty of Grand Final experience (as well as the victory over Souths last week), they definitely won’t be daunted by taking on the Roosters in front of a packed ground this weekend.
For the Roosters, they’ll take plenty from their close-fought win over Manly and the fact that they haven’t beaten them in all three encounters this season.
In fact, the minor premiers have won those three matches by a combined score of 38-16 will therefore be tough to knock off again here.
Many may point to the presence of Brett Stewart here as a game-changing weapon from the 4-0 loss earlier this finals campaign for Manly, but the Roosters have proven all year that they can take whatever is thrown their way.
The only real way to beat Robinson’s men is to take it to them in the forwards, and I can’t see that happening here. Roosters to make it four wins over Manly this year.
Prediction: Roosters 23-14 Manly.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Anthony Seibold has warned his Manly side that they need to break the habits of the last few years and put together a solid…
The lawyer representing former Manly prop Lloyd Perrett in proposed legal action against the Sea Eagles has predicted a spate of more civil suits…
Souths CEO Blake Solly has confirmed that Wayne Bennett is on the shortlist to take over from Jason Demetriou, telling media that the club…
Daly Cherry-Evans has avoided being suspended for the first time in his 14-year career, rolling the dice to dodge a three-match ban after having…
Anzac Round is done and another NRL touchpoint is ticked off amid the onward march of the 2024 season. It helps to see things…
Manly have been slammed by the judiciary with both Daly Cherry-Evans and Haumole Olakau'atu charged for two weeks for their part in a dangerous…
