{"id":135536,"date":"2025-09-11T15:43:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/135536\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:43:07","slug":"tiktok-pranksters-or-wearisome-winners-who-casual-fans-should-follow-in-nrl-finals-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/135536\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok pranksters or wearisome winners? Who casual fans should follow in NRL finals | NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NRL<\/a> finals are back. That means three things: Phil Gould speechifying; incoming Mad Monday scandals; and a boatload of casual fans looking for a team to back.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know your Jaylan De Groots from your Jaiyden Hunts, here\u2019s a guide to each team, their chances of success, and how many enemies you\u2019ll make rooting for them.<\/p>\n

Canberra Raiders<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t even make the eight last year, but the baby Raiders have stunned the rest of the competition so far. Canberra are playing exciting, carefree footy and having fun while they do it. While the club\u2019s decision to phase out the classic lime green jerseys in recent years is a coward\u2019s move, only a weak-gutted dog<\/a> wouldn\u2019t want to see what kind of verbal insanity a finals-era Ricky Stuart is capable of.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: Kingsley\u2019s Chicken has a special place in your heart (real ones know).<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: The phrase \u2018Up the Milk\u2019<\/a> makes you nauseous.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Storm<\/p>\n

Oh, the Storm are in the finals again, are they? How exciting. I wonder if the Fox commentators will describe their ballplaying as \u201cclinical\u201d at some point. Gee, I hope so.<\/p>\n

Look, of course Melbourne could win. They always could win. Even though Jahrome Hughes is out with a busted hand, they could still win. But would you feel anything if they did? Would it make your passage through this bastard of a life any better? Or can we have something different for once?<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: Your favourite movies are all Marvel.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You have a grudging respect for monotonous excellence.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Storm. Always in the mix. Photograph: Robert Cianflone\/Getty ImagesCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs<\/p>\n

Everything was going so well. The Doggies were cruising \u2013 sparkling attack, ferocious defence. The assemblage of journeymen and utilities that Phil Gould had stuck together looked the real deal.<\/p>\n

Then came the audacious poaching of teen tyro Lachlan Galvin from the Wests Tigers, and the wheels started coming off. They\u2019ve been routed by multiple top-eight teams in recent weeks. Even the lowly Tigers got the last laugh at their showdown in August. There\u2019s no questioning their heart, but a top-four team has rarely looked less likely.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: You want to go to a Belmore street party.<\/a><\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You\u2019re a Tigers fan with a grudge.<\/p>\n

Brisbane Broncos<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just get it out of the way: yes, Reese Walsh drank out of a (new) toilet<\/a> the other week. It\u2019s not ideal, but it\u2019s pretty minor as dumb footy scandals go.<\/p>\n

Whatever was in that toilet bowl, it\u2019s clearly working. After a slow start to the season, the Broncos head into the finals in arguably the best form of anybody. Queensland\u2019s biggest, oldest and meanest team are back, and they could go all the way if the competition\u2019s oldest halves pairing doesn\u2019t physically fall to pieces.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: TikTok pranks are your thing.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You think giardia is no laughing matter.<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh with his mind back on the footy. Photograph: Darren England\/AAPCronulla-Sutherland Sharks<\/p>\n

The Sharks have been impossible to get a read on this year. One week they\u2019re knocking over the Storm, the next week they\u2019re getting flogged by the Roosters. They\u2019ve had a mostly-cruisy run to the finals, racking up cricket scores against cellar-dwelling teams while somehow losing to the Dragons. In more ways than one, this is a team that was born to come fifth.<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to Australia Sport<\/p>\n

Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk<\/p>\n

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: You live in the Shire and absolutely nowhere else.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: The NRL-themed pizza shop<\/a> in Sutherland has wronged you too. Banana on a pizza? Come on, man.<\/p>\n

New Zealand Warriors<\/p>\n

Everyone\u2019s second-favourite team looked to be genuine contenders until boom halfback Luke Metcalf tore his ACL in June. Since then the Warriors have sputtered, losing to several bottom-end teams and slipping out of the top four. If they somehow cobble a serious finals run together, it\u2019d be no less than their long-suffering fans deserve. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: You need to feel the Up the Wahs magic again.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You have a cruel streak.<\/p>\n

Penrith Panthers<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t. Could they?<\/p>\n

Halfway through the season, we thought we knew the answer: nope. The four-time defending premiers finished round 12 in last place, leading pundits everywhere to declare the Panthers dynasty dead and buried.<\/p>\n

Nathan Cleary has his eyes on the prize. Photograph: Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

As if in answer, Ivan Cleary\u2019s match-winning machine finally clicked into gear. They won nine games in a row, vaulting themselves into the top four \u2013 only to lose back-to-back golden point heartbreakers against Melbourne and Canberra with the finals looming.<\/p>\n

No team in the NRL era has won the comp from seventh place \u2013 but no team\u2019s won four in a row, either.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: You\u2019re a history buff.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You need a change of pace.<\/p>\n

Sydney Roosters<\/p>\n

For a team that was supposed to fall apart under a devastating injury toll, the Roosters have done enormously well in 2025. James Tedesco is surely in line for the Dally M, while rugby convert Mark Nawaqanitawase has been the competition\u2019s single most entertaining player all year. They\u2019re not exactly underdogs, but they\u2019ve earned their place in the finals and could be a surprise contender.<\/p>\n

Barrack for if: Your first team, the Swans, didn\u2019t make the AFL finals and you\u2019re at a loose end.<\/p>\n

Barrack against if: You live west of Anzac Parade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NRL finals are back. That means three things: Phil Gould speechifying; incoming Mad Monday scandals; and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-135536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}