sidelined

It all started on March 13th. And now the final preview and tip for the season.
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After 26 rounds of regular season and three weeks of final footy, we have ended up with a rematch of last year’s Grand Final. Fitting really as both teams have played most of their footy a gear or two above the other clubs.

The Sharks will be very disappointed with their meek exit from the finals. But it is an improvement from the past few seasons when insipid performances during the second half of the season were the norm. Not sure how the Sharkies will go next year. They will have to do something about their attack to challenge for the title and hope there is no mental scarring from coming so far and then falling into a miserable heap.

The Storm are not the first club to ride to victory using a siege mentality. Plenty of bad blood was created by focusing on Stuart’s comments regarding Melbourne CEO Brian Waldron (of whose character Stuart is a good judge). Also, anger at the NRL judiciary helped fuel their win. It was a typical finals display by the Storm after two indifferent games.

If only Manu Vatuvei had held onto the ball with the line wide open early into Saturday’s game. Not saying the Warriors would have gone on to win but the game would have been different. But the way the Warriors played league was a breath of fresh air and something other sides could emulate. Farewell Reuben Wiki. It was an amazing run.

Manly played a very controlled game in the first half to keep the Warriors at bay. Their defence was outstanding and shut the Warriors out of the game. The only blemish was that Orford’s goal kicking was off in the first half and made the game appear closer that it was at half time. The Sea Eagles are looking better than last year. As long as there is no lingering psychological damage from Melbourne’s grand final mugging last year, they are in with more than a chance.

A difficult choice for Sydneysiders. Two sides that have little love outside their immediate ancestral stomping grounds.

I’m going to sit back and consider things for a few days before staking a claim on one side to win the big one on October 5th.

Just three games of footy left in the season. But what a bounty of great games there has been so far this finals series. One of the best in many a season. So lets look at the two games that will decide who plays in the grand final.

Cronulla Sharks v Melbourne Storm, Friday 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium

We all know that Cameron Smith is important to Melbourne but this game well tell us how important he really is. He guile and kicking out of dummy half will be sorely missed. But with Inglis, Folau, Slater, Crocker and Cronk the Storm still have plenty of power. But they have played two very hard games and have been nowhere been their best.

Cronulla have had the luxury of a week off after an easy win. I don’t think the week off is a bad idea this time of year. Cronulla will be hoping that Paul Gallen over comes his injury problems. If he doesn’t play I don’t rate Cronulla’s chance. Also Blake Green is an inexperienced five eight playing in a big game. He will be tested by the Storm.

The one thing that Cronulla have going for them is their defense. It has been miserly all season and they will test the ability of the Storm to break through the line.

I’m going with the Storm but with not much confidence.

Manly Sea Eagles v New Zealand Warriors, Saturday 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium

For those without a team in the finals, many have adopted the Warriors. And rightly so as their brand of enthusiastic footy has made the finals series. A fairytale run to be within one game of the grand final. Wade McKinnon comes back after a suspension and will give the Warriors added potency in attack.

The Eagles had some good momentum going into the finals. Most of the time they have appeared to play a level or two above most teams and have a good record against the Warriors. But Beaver Menzies needs just one more game to equal Terry Lamb’s record for first grade games. And Manly have unfinished business from last year that will drive them on.

The heart screams the Warriors and I will be certainly be behind them on Saturday night. But the head says Manly.

So a repeat of last year’s grand final is my tip. I hope that I am wrong.

The NRL had no choice but the find Cameron Smith guilty of a grapple tackle. Smith will miss out on the Grand Final providing Melbourne make it which is a hard punishment.

It sure will generate controversy but it is better that a finding of “not guilty.” That would have opened the game up to be a grapplethon. But the fact that it got to the finals before a strong message was sent is an example of the NRL’s poor management of this issue.

Early in the season, the NRL did try and crack down on the grapple tackle. A few players fronted the judiciary but that was about it. The rest of the season saw a consistent lack of consistency that only aggravated the problem.

In an excellent discussion on NRL on Fox earlier this evening, Warren Smith (a vocal opponent of the grapple) applauded the NRL but issued a warning. That if the example of Smith is not followed up next season then the NRL will lose all credibility.

It is an accurate assesment and I agree with Scott Sattler’s suggestion that anyone using the grapple should be sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes. Further to that, I’d add in the player being automatically placed on report with a default 2 match ban. Enforcement of such an edict (which is the NRL’s weak point) would soon rid the game of this blight.

Cameron Smith is not a bad bloke but he has paid the price for pushing the rules of the game. Let’s hope that the NRL has the moral consistency to make the grapple tackle a relic of the past next season.

There is no amazing secret behind the Warriors invigorating run through the finals. They are playing for each other and for Reuben Wiki. A few other teams would do well to remember this. No one player is bigger than the team but sometimes one player can personify the team. The Warriors are feeling no pain at the moment. Riding on momentum of emotion their clash against Manly is going to be a classic.

The Roosters were very disappointing. Once again a half time lead was squandered as they choked for the second time in this finals series. Fittler does deserve praise for getting the Roosters to the finals for the first time in a few season but they really did fade in the second part of the season. Next season will be a real test for Fittler.

The Storm got out of jail against the Broncos. But their defence of the premiership could be in trouble. If the NRL has any guts and consistency Cameron Smith is gone. The tackle on Sam Thaiday was a disgrace and the blight of the grapple tackles needs to rubbed out of the game. Jeremy Smith also needs to have an enforced rest for the “chicken wing” during the same tackle. The Storm will try and spin it but as much as they can be admired for having a great footy side, some of their tactics should be condemned.

A person with greater empathy may have felt some sympathy for the Broncos after their heart breaking loss. But schadenfreude does have it appeal and was given free reign after disgusting and contemptible way the Broncos handled the allegations against the some of their players during the past week. Benny now jets off to take control of the Dragons. Next year will be a very interesting year for the Broncos.

Two absolute belters of a game coming up this weekend. Can’t wait for the weekend. I’ll be a Warriors and Sharks fan this weekend for sure.

At a time when the NRL should be proud to showcase the best teams of the season, off field player stupidity once again diverts attention away from the game. I have my views but I’ll save that for another post. I’m just going to turn my gaze onto the field for now. The winners and losers over the fold.

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The Warriors have blown the premiership wide open with their stunning win over Melbourne. Their reward is a home finals against the Roosters this Friday. The short turnaround could be a worry but they won’t care. The Warriors have been growing in confidence over the past month or so and now they will have a great sense of self-belief.

Their opponents, the Roosters, will out on a brave face but they must be a little worried about the trip across the Tasman. It was something they weren’t even thinking of despite their loss the the Broncos. The Roosters really turned on the aggression on Friday night. But is seemed to take it out of them in the second half and they couldn’t just match the Broncos. I question whether the Roosters will make it to week 3. Anasta in comments on tonight’s new was focusing on the Broncos. It may be a case of wishful thinking.

The Broncos copped a battering from the Roosters in the first half. But they just took the hits and kept on the coming. The Broncos forward pack is underrated and they showed they won’t back down. But with some disturbing allegations regarding behaviour of three Broncos players over the weekend, the finals dream could become a nightmare for the Brisbane team.

I did not get to see the Manly or Cronulla wins but the reports suggested they have lifted their games for the finals. Both teams get a week’s rest and are just a win away from the grand final. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams will meet each other on October 5th.

The Raiders deserved plenty of credit for making the finals regardless of a horrific injury toll this season. But this was their downfall as Campese just couldn’t continue to shoulder the side’s attack and Cronulla took advantage of it. The loss is a blessing really as they would have not got past week two anyway.

The Dragons were also disappointing. I expected more against Manly but the act of making the finals seemed to have extinguished their fire.

And finally the Storm. It would be a foolish person to write them off but they have a tough run to the finals now. The Broncos and then, if they win, the Sharks. Bellamy will be fine-tuning the machine but they Storm have a problem. The refs seem to have lost patience with the Storms tactics to slow the play the ball. And it is about time. Other teams do do it but the Storm’s whining is really self serving. They are a team that can play fantastic footy when needed. Hopefully we’ll see them go about doing that and spark up the finals even more.

A great first weekend of the finals. And the surprises aren’t over yet.

And so it begins. Eight teams enter. Only six leave. Doesn’t really have that ominous ring to it unless your are a fan of the two teams that get knocked out. And history suggests that this will the teams that have finished seventh and eighth. The money is on the Storm to repeat their winning way but I don’t think they are sure things this year. We will know if I am right the first Sunday in October but for now, let’s have a look at week 1 of the finals.

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With the finals series almost upon us, yours truly and regular Sidelined commentor, Bismarck O’Measles are heading to the footy. Not sure which match yet but one of the games at ANZ or the Sydney Football Stadium before the Grand Final.

If you’d like to come along and join us in talking crap imparting footy wisdom while watching the game (and a few beers of course), let me know in the comments and we’ll set something up. Don’t be shy.

There is talk of also attending the 2nd semi-final of the World Cup on November 16th. I’ll also be at the World Cup game here at Gosford featuring those league powerhouses, Scotland and Fiji.

The excitement of the new season doesn’t seem that distant really. The season has flown by and here we are with one round to go. There are plenty of games this weekend that will decided final positions in the eight. And lets not forget the nervous waiting over the weekend in the footy tipping comps. Some judicious tipping means I’m now with a chance to win a tipping comp if all goes well this weekend. With nothing to lose a few teams may spring an upset but I won’t bet my tipping winnings on it. Just as easily, a few teams may have their thoughts already on Mad Monday and just want to get the season over and done with.

Over the season, I have hinted that I have used various means of divination to arrive at my tips. To be honest, I have done nothing of the sort. Just like the professional league pundits, my tips have been pulled out of my butt.

If you need refreshing on the jostling for final positions see my post from earlier in the week.

For the final time before the finals, my tips are over the fold.

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