So much weekend finals football to digest, so many poor decisions – none that were result-altering – so many reviews on players and coaches, and, as expected, the first teams out were the seventh and eighth-placed ones.
On form, the Titans and Bulldogs’ finishes to the regular season pointed to their early exits.
The real finals begin now.
Broncos versus Titans
Marred by poor referee decisions this game was no highlight and the scoreline of 44-28 suggested defence was not up to the finals footy standard.
It was a game with the intensity from both teams far less than expected. The Broncos advanced and their fans are all looking for a repeat performance. Given the experience in the forwards, they will turn up for the Cowboys, but James Roberts’ status depends on whether he gets the same treatment Michael Ennis and Jack Wighton received.
Canberra versus Cronulla
Dare I say it – this was a game of two differing halves. Cronulla had no right to be in the game at half time given the dominance of the Canberra performance. It proves yet again that, if you don’t take full advantage of your dominance, then the game is never over.
Obviously, Canberra fans are hurting given their first half performance. Yet, the upshot is that finals footy has desperation that only Cronulla can attest to. The Canberra forwards were spent after their first half performance.
Losing Josh Hodgson three minutes into the second half was crucial, but where was Joseph Leilua in the second half? Junior Paulo’s charges were powder puffs, as were Shannon Boyd’s. Their first half performances were awe-inspiring, but a different team took the field in the second.
You just have to be inspired by Matt Prior’s performance for Cronulla. He was dominating the whole game and there has only been one other match this season where a forward has dominated as much – that was the Roosters’ Dylan Napa show mid-way through the season.
I expected Canberra to win this game given Cronulla’s form leading into the finals. They will hopefully have Paul Gallen back in two weeks’ time, and I have to admit, pulling Chad Townsend from the field in the second half was a master tactical play that took everybody – including Townsend and the rest of the Cronulla team – by surprise.
Townsend’s form toward season’s end – lose passes, handling, and poor defence – was there for us to see, but for the coach to publicly indicate his half-back was the problem in a finals game was brave to say the least. Where to for Townsend now?
The one glaring indicator from Canberra’s performance is that it is Josh Hodgson who is the key to this team, and without him next week, Canberra are done.
Storm versus Cowboys
Full of expectation, this game did not disappoint until the second half. It was obvious that the Cowboys were not in the same form as they were at the end of last season, nor earlier this season prior to Origin.
Johnathan Thurston’s trusted game plays are all being well read these days by defences well-drilled from replay sessions. Michael Morgan is struggling to find his game-changing form. There are more of Jason Taumalolo’s charges and the result is less effectiveness. Matt Scott is obviously playing injured. James Tamou does not appear to be able to carry the extra workload, nor do Ethan Lowe and Gavin Cooper.
Despite Thurston’s control of the game in the middle stages of the first half with five repeat sets in a row, the Storm defence held. This is where they won the game for mine. After that, the Cowboy’s attack was flat at best. The rotation of Tamou, Scott, and Taumalolo off the bench did not have its normal injection late in the game.
One other point to note is that Jake Granville has stopped running from dummy half, and this has hurt the Cowboys.
In effect, the Storm did to the Cowboys what the Broncos did to them a few weeks ago. For mine, the Cowboys look jaded and the struggle to get up for next Friday will have Paul Green up late at night.
Panthers versus Bulldogs
This game will end careers for sure – Des Hasler’s job as coach is on the line, as will Michael Lichaa’s. Aidan Tolman’s performance, along with those of James Graham, Tim Brown (who has already signed with the Panthers), Tony Williams, and even Moses Mbye’s retention will also be under review.
This performance by the Bulldogs will be unacceptable to the fans, management and coaching staff alike. It was like they had six five-eighths on the field and hooker Lichaa looked to find anybody to pass to except the halves except on fifth tackle.
That is a coaching issue, and the team’s disharmony was on display late in the game when all was lost.
On the other hand, the young and inexperienced Panthers held their cool in that first 20 minute onslaught and ran away with the game in the second half. Matt Moylan, love him or despise him for his cheeky backchat ways, was the star. With Peter Wallace (the best on ground for mine), Moylan was pivotal for the switch of plays that had the Bulldogs defence lopsided.
Their confidence and coach Anthony Griffin’s cool head will have them primed for their match-up with a Canberra team down on confidence and possibly lacking Hodgson.
Summary
The best six teams remain. Before the weekend, there were only three teams that could win the title: the Storm, the Cowboys and the Broncos. If the Cowboys had won, the chances of a Cowboys-Broncos final rematch was on. They meet next week and given what the weekend produced, for mine, Brisbane have plenty of improvement in them if their Storm defeat three weeks ago can be used as a form line. Even the home game disadvantage holds no fear for the Broncos players.
The Cowboys will be desperate and all the pressure will be on them. For mine, I just think the Broncos will win 1-12
For the other final between Canberra and Penrith, tricky Ricky Stuart will get no sleep this week awaiting the news on Hodgson. Does he drop Junior Paulo and bring Paul Vaugh back into the side? And then there is Blake Austin. Sam Williams has not done anything wrong, but Austin’s been out for three weeks now, and we saw what a week’s rest for Thurston did to the Cowboys in Round 21. Since then, they have not been the same team.
For mine, Canberra just lack finals experience and last weekend, the vocal crowd burned up so much energy in the first half that they had nothing left for the second. They will learn from that, but whether they can overcome a Panthers side brimming with confidence is another matter. If Hodgson plays, Canberra should win. If not, the Panthers should advance.
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.
Canterbury general manager Phil Gould could face sanctions from the NRL over his latest rant about the state of the NRL. One of the…
All the team list information for Round 9.
Just when you think NRL tipping is getting easy, it bites you on the backside. Last round looked like a pretty open and shut…
Whether it is for his football form or comments around his Aboriginal heritage, Mitchell may just be the most talked about player in the history of the game.
With the odds of Wayne Bennett returning to the Rabbitohs next year shortening by the hour, there is one question he should be asking…
The lawyer representing former Manly prop Lloyd Perrett in proposed legal action against the Sea Eagles has predicted a spate of more civil suits…
