The second round of the AFL finals speed past whilst the NRL kicks off with its first week. As this round of finals conclude the AFL is left with only four teams remaining and the NRL has six. Catch up below on all the finals action from the weekend just gone!
NRL
On Friday night the finals kicked off at AAMI Park where the Storm went toe to toe with the Bulldogs in a stunner. In what was a tight knit race for the majority of the game, the Storm got the edge towards the games end to secure their spot in the preliminary finals with a triumphant 26-18 win.
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On Saturday the reigning champions, the Panthers, flew to Auckland to fight in the first elimination game against the Warriors. However, it wasn’t meant to be for the warriors as Penrith dominated play. Penrith secured an early lead and held it tight securing their spot in the next round of finals with an 8-24 victory. They will go on to play the Bulldogs in the semi finals.
Later on in the day in Sydney, the Sharks and Roosters competed in the second elimination game of this round. With some mostly back and forth scoring, the Sharks were able to sink all their conversions giving them the edge going into the second half. But a final minutes try and a penalty goal in the second half gave them the comfortable 20-10 win they needed to end the Roosters year.
Lastly, the fourth and first place play off was held in Canberra on Sunday as the Broncos played off against Canberra in what may have just been the game of the decade. When the first half ended the game certainly felt like it was anyones to win, but the Raiders had the edge. But after a few quick incidents in the second half that saw Reece Walsh and Patrick Carrigan sin binned at the same time (along with Hudson Young), the Raiders pounced and scored two fast tries and held a 28-12 lead. But when Walsh and Carrigan returned it came with intensity (what is in that toilet water?) as the Bronco’s put 3 tries on the board in 10 minutes to bring the game closer. But as the siren went off the final score was 28-26, leading to a Raiders victory….. But wait, it’s not over, the crowd and the players celebrated too early. Due to a rule which saw Reece Walsh in serious danger of harm, he was awarded an after siren penalty goal from 10 meters out that led the game into extra time. After 10 minutes of extra play the game was still even and golden point was commenced. But then the Raiders got a kick past the Bronco’s line and Jed Stewart was able to leap in the air and hit it back to keep possession and land the winning try. The crowd erupted and the commentary praised the game as the epic that it was…. But wait, IT’S STILL NOT DONE! After review, the Jed Stewart pass was deemed a knock on and the Bronco’s didn’t waste this opportunity. Immediately after play resumed (after the game had already ended twice now) Ben Hunt took a Hail Mary kick from the 40-meter line and FINALLY sunk the winning the point. The Bronco’s won the game of the decade, the game that had three endings, and secured their spot in a preliminary final. The Raiders will go on to play the Sharks next week. What a damn game!
AFL
On Friday night we witnessed the minor premierships take on the eighth place finishers. Adelaide Crows hosted the Hawthorn Hawks in the first semi final at Adelaide Oval. Guess it just wasn’t meant to be for Crom this year, by the end of the first quarter the Hawks held the lead and as the game went on that lead steadily grew larger. The Hawks eventually beat the Crows by 34 points, this is the first time the minor premiers have gone out in straight sets since 1983. AND it’s the first time ever that an eighth-placed team knocked off the minor premiers in the finals. Hawthorn will go on to play the current premiership favourites, Geelong, at the G next Friday night.
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On Saturday night we had our first ever QLD derby finals game as the Brisbane Lions went against the Gold Coast Suns. After an epic victory over Fremantle last weekend the Gold Coast Suns were hoping to grow their first finals story with a dramatic victory over the lions. However, it was not meant to be. After a tight first quarter, the game appeared to be a tight race. But then the second quarter started… Anyways, the game concluded with a 100-47 victory to the lions ending the Suns first finals season. The Lions will face off against the Collingwood Magpies at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
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