Opinion
The NRL finals are underway and after one of the greatest playoff weekends of all time, week two is upon us.
The Parramatta Eels will look to prove to the world that they are contenders, rather than pretenders, when they take on the Raiders. This is a danger game for the Eels, as Canberra seems to be the wildcard team of this finals.
Paramatta have much more pressure on them, compared to their opponents as in the past decade they’ve built a reputation of choking in the finals. This Eels season is Premiership or bust, which is another reason why this upcoming match is unbelievably important.
If they end up being knocked out of the finals on Friday night, then you can mark their 2022 season as an epic failure, as well as adding another year to Parra’s never-ending premiership drought.
Everyone’s eyes will be on the blue and gold army, and they must succeed against Canberra because I can’t see them improving next season, as they’ve obviously got some key players out the door after this 2022 campaign.
On the other hand, the Canberra Raiders have been playing with a finals mentality over the past two months, due to having to win just about every game and you’d be dumb to write them off this weekend.
Lately, Jamal Fogarty has been proving why is he one of the best buys of the year, as he has brought some needed balance to the side, after being absent from the field during their below average first half of the season.
The Raiders hold all the momentum coming into this match, whilst the Eels will have to attempt to try and seek some of their own on Friday night.
I’m not a massive fan of bold predictions, however I have tipped the Raiders to win, due to being red hot form and Paramatta’s poor recent finals history gives me another couple of reasons why Canberra will win.
Raiders by 4
Canberra Raiders (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
The Cronulla Sharks and South Sydney Rabbitohs will face off in a finals classic.
Both sides will enter this semi-finals match battered and bruised, as Souths survived an extremely physical match against the Roosters, whilst the Sharks missed out on their chance of gaining a week off after suffering defeat in a ninety-three-minute, golden point epic.
Cronulla flew under the radar all season and they are beginning to have the bright lights shine on them, as they enter a do-or-die bout.
Many Sharks fans believe they should be in the prelims already, however the Sharkies will have to try and take the long journey to a Grand Final.
Cronulla have been described as a team who will not do much damage in the playoffs and another argument is that their rather easy draw was what got them to second position.
I think the Sharks schedule provided a small assist to their success, however they’re a deadly team and will look to prove they’re a real threat to the premiership.
South Sydney came away with the win after a dramatic grudge match against their cross-town rivals. The Bunnies have been a hard team to tip all year, and nothing changes for this upcoming fixture.
Cody Walker must stand up if the Rabbitohs are any chance in bringing home the chocolates on Saturday night, as he’s proved all year that if he plays well, then Souths win; simple as that.
I believe the trend of close finals matches will continue and this game is so hard to tip. I feel like the Sharks are more prepared and the extra-day turn around will be a massive boost for them and I believe they’re the better side between these two.
Sharks by 1
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.
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
All the team list information for Round 9.
NRL signings, contracts and rosters for the 2024 season and beyond.
Anzac Round is done and another NRL touchpoint is ticked off amid the onward march of the 2024 season. It helps to see things…
The Sydney Roosters have been dealt another major blow with club legend Luke Keary announcing that he will retire from the NRL at the…
The Bulldogs are facing a $4 million lawsuit from former player Jackson Topine, after allegedly being forced to wrestle his teammates as punishment for…
