The NRL premiership winner is still well undecided yet as earlier what looked like to be a Penrith versus Melbourne battle to take it out, is now a shootout between multiple improved sides.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are playing their best footy of the season at the moment as they have been absolutely ambushing and destroying their opposition teams lately.
One of their most impressive victories came against the Parramatta Eels, as they thrashed them in a 28-point victory which was just one of their great wins over the past weeks.
Another highly noticeable win was against the Dragons in Round 20 where they put 50 on them. All these blowout achievements have added up to scoring 146 points across the last four rounds. All this information shows why Souths are a sneaky threat towards winning the premiership.
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers have slightly slipped off the rails lately as they have had some underwhelming performances. Nevertheless, Penrith are still a heavyweight contender and with the return of Nathan Cleary, they will almost certainly go back to their best footy just in time for finals.
The Mountain Men have had a couple of slip ups throughout the season, such as their losses to the Tigers and Sharks, as well as their loss against Melbourne.
All their defeats came at the absence of Nathan Cleary. This shows how much of an effect Cleary has on his side as when he has played this season he has not lost.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
A key game that will tell us so much is the upcoming Friday night match-up between Penrith and Souths. This is a likely finals preview and will give us a great sign of where both sides are at when coming up against the big teams of the competition.
Melbourne Storm
Of course, we can’t talk about contenders without having the Melbourne Storm in the conversation. Melbourne have certainly been the most consistent team in the last ten years-plus and they will once again be where they belong, a heavyweight contender.
Head coach Craig Bellamy and his side will look to nearly secure their fifth minor premiership this decade as they are heavy favourites to defeat the Gold Coast on Thursday night and are my favourites to win the premiership.
Melbourne looks unstoppable at the moment and would take a lot to stop them from winning their fifth premiership in club history.
Manly Sea Eagles
There is one man to describe the success of the Manly Sea Eagles and that man is Tom Trbojevic. Tommy is having the most successful season as a fullback and possible the greatest individual season ever. He has carried this team from one of the worst starts to a season into being in the race for a premiership.
By no means do I think that he is the only great player in this Manly side as he has not just made himself better but his teammate s as well.
The only argument against Manly being a contender is that they have not beaten a top-four team this season and they won’t have another chance at beating one before finals time as it all outside the top four opponents to finish off the regular season.
Manly’s latest test against a top team was in Round 21 against Melbourne. This game ended in a score line of 28 points to 18 in favour of Melbourne.
If Manly can turn it on and perform at their very best, they will have a chance at beating one of these heavyweights.
JGK
Roar Guru
Do we think Dessie might run dead in order to finish 5th? That way they play some rubbish team in week 1 and the Roosters coming off a loss to the Storm in week 2. I don't think they'd be scared of Penrith or Souths either if Turbo plays. I reckon Manly think they can beat the Storm at least once - might as well go in all for it to be the GF.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Manly didn't have an almost equal share of possession at all because they kept on making mistakes. Penalties and 6 agains added to their woes as well. Reverse the stats , which you are claiming didn't influence the result and Manly win the game. They troubled the Storm defence with limited opportunities. The Storm , Bunnies and Pennies are clearly ahead of Manly as favorites but plenty can happen in the next month or so to change that.
mushi
Roar Guru
Basic math says it's never a two horse race. You've got to win 3 consecutive games against top teams. Knock out finals aren't designed to reward the best team they are there to provide everyone else a chance. If manly get into the top half of the bracket I'd imagine you'd have 4 +10 F/A per game teams fighting it out.
Christo
Roar Guru
How good would Souths vs Manly be!!
Christo
Roar Guru
Big Mig this is another one of your great comments, i agree with what your saying. come finals time if the Rabbitohs can play at their absolute most best i believe they can do a-lot of damage to the heavy weight contenders around them.
Christo
Roar Guru
This is a great point mate, however i know the storm are always locked in at finals time but i dont believe much until the finals come.
Christo
Roar Guru
agree bbt, Melbourne forward pack have provided excellent things for the teams outside backs and halves
Christo
Roar Guru
Yes cam i gotta agree with you on the part that you explained about Souths having quiet an easy draw and not being able to defeat the top teams, however it will be very interesting to see how they play against Penrith and this match will be a huge determiner in their run in the finals
EagleWal
Roar Rookie
Have become 2 of the best one on one defensive centres in the game. Can't agree.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Looking at the ladder as it stands, probably just moving Manly up a place to 4th would be how I rate their chances come the GF. Souths have had a great charge over the past few months and are 10 in a row (or there abouts). Having said that, besides playing the Eels (who to be fair, are not going great), the Rabbitohs have had a fairly soft draw and worth noting that just before their unbeaten run, they were pants by the Storm 50-0 and then hammered by the Panthers 56-12. I think the coaches who are best able to freshen the squad up will win. Being in the top 4 and winning that first final to get a week off is absolute key. Storm vs Manly and Panthers vs Souths will be great match-ups in that first week of finals.
Cam
Roar Rookie
That's like saying if Manly had of scored more points, they would have won. The Sea Eagles had almost an equal share of possession (39 sets vs 44 sets), it's just they couldn't do much with the ball. They turned over possession, conceded twice as many penalties and 3 times as many ruck infringements. They lost by 10, but without Turbo, probably struggle to get on the board. I think they will be tough to roll next year though with their young blokes growing with experience. Saab, Olakau'atu, Ben Trbojevic, Harper and Schuster have only a handful of games under their belt.
bbt
Roar Rookie
As a Storm supporter, my bias shows. The reason - it all comes down to the forwards. If Storm can put their best 8 forwards on the park, we have an excellent chance.
The PTA has disbanded
Guest
You're right...it's not a two horse race. It's a one horse race. It's Melbourne. No other team can come close. At this stage I'd back "The Bye" to beat Melbourne before any real team could.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Hope for a Souths v Manly GF. One for the ages. The 1970 GF where the Pride of the League were ready to reclaim their mantle as top dogs, but standing in their way on grand final day was a Manly side featuring future Immortal Bob Fulton. The Great Eric Simms potted four field goals and Fulton two. This was a famous win by the Bunnies with John Sattler playing with a broken jaw. One of the best GF’s of all time.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Christo – agree. Kudos to Storm and the Panthers who have been the benchmark for the last 2 seasons. However now it seems that anyone of the top 4 teams you mention could beat each other on their day. If we go on the last 2 months, Souths and Manly are certainly the most in form teams. The Panthers and Storm have come off (slightly) and may have peaked already, but that is not to say they aren’t strong contenders or favourites. They have been on a high for almost two years, will that still be the case in the next 6 weeks?. I believe Souths can go up another gear, it is all about Bennett and Reynolds inspiring the team to go that extra level. Only time will tell – but each one of these sides have the goods to win the Premiership.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
or Souths V Manly??
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
so far...
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Manly aren't winning the comp with Randy Watson and Vincent van Gogh in the centres
Tim Reynolds
Guest
Manly WOULD have beaten the Storm if they had scored more points than the Storm - as would every other team in the competition. The only problem is there are only two teams who have managed to do this so far.
Nat
Roar Guru
It'll be Storm and who. I agree Manly should be in the conversation but I don't know if they have an even enough spread of talent to go with the top 3. Friday will be interesting and have a bearing on the top 4. Souths, traditionally, have a stumble game towards the end of the season (Dogs x 2 and Brisbane in 2018) so I wouldn't be surprised if Panthers get away from them but I doubt it.