Finals Time!
September 7th 2009 11:03
Finals Time!
During this season, the NRL has seen arguably its most unpredictable 26 rounds in its history, and with the start of the 2009 finals series this weekend that trend seems surely set to continue.
The NRL season on 2009 has certainly been unique. Early in the season the Rabbitohs were on the top of the ladder, something that had not happened for 20 years. The Wests Tigers went from fifth to tenth in only one round, three rounds out from the finals. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks slid from equal first last season to equal last in 2009, while the Bulldogs went from wooden spooners in 2008 to equal first this season. The Broncos suffered the biggest loss in their history to Canberra, 56-0 while the Parramatta Eels launched a trail blazing assault on the competition late in the season to snatch eighth place in the finals.
It is this uniqueness that has compounded the unpredictability and intrigue of the season as we count down to the grand final in four weeks time. But with the premiership decider looming, predicting the two teams that will contest it has become almost impossible and has split most fans and supporters.
On Friday night, the Melbourne Storm will host the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in a 2007 and ’08 grand final replay. It has almost become conventional that these two teams will face off at some point at the business end of the season in recent years, with Manly currently holding the upper hand after their 40-0 triumph in last year’s grand final, and a 20-16 victory in round 24. However, it was only this time last year that many people were questioning the Sea Eagles ability to topple the mighty Storm powerhouse and Friday night may see the wheel turn once again as Melbourne look to regain the upper hand on their home soil.
Saturday night sees the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs face the Newcastle Knights, while at Skilled Park in Robina, a civil war is set to erupt between the Gold Coast Titans and the Brisbane Broncos. It seems at this stage atleast that the Bulldogs v Knights game is the most clear-cut and predictable out of the four games this weekend. The Knights have limped into the finals, while the Bulldogs almost took out the minor premiership after playing some of the most consistent football out of any side this season. With that said however, some people now have grave doubts over the Bulldogs ability to go on with their successful run this season without chief play-marker Brett Kimmorley, who has succumb to a cheekbone injury.
Meanwhile, the matchup between south-east Queensland rivals the Titans and the Broncos is by far the most unpredictable contest this weekend. Despite finishing third, the Titans are still yet to convince the vast majority of supporters that they are premiership material in 2009, while the Broncos are firm favourites in spite of a disastrous mid season slump. In saying that however, the match could still go either way, with the Titans holding the advantage of playing at Skilled Park where they have only lost one game this season.
To finish out the first week of finals football is the rematch between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Parramatta Eels from last weekend. The match between the two last Friday night truly demonstrated the unpredictable nature of 2009. Up until that point the Dragons had all but secured the minor premiership, only to suddenly lose three games in a row as serious doubts began to circulate in regards to their form. Meanwhile, the Parramatta Eels had all but considered their season over eight or nine rounds ago before they suddenly ignited to produce a seven match winning streak, convincing a lot of people that they were premiership winning material along the way.
Despite the Eels demonstrating blistering form and the Dragons appearing to be in a form slump, the Red V machine turned it on for their Kogarah fans as they out-muscled and out-manned Parramatta with a 37-0 victory. The pending rematch this Sunday is a completely clean slate however and based on developments throughout the season, the prospect that the score line may be reversed is not completely incomprehensible.
Whatever the eventual outcomes however, this weekend of rugby league finals football will surely be enthralling, exciting and as always, completely unpredictable.
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