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NRL<\/p>\n
I am most definitely not one of the \u2018beautiful people\u2019 who has a Robert Palmer T-shirt in his travel bag, although I wouldn\u2019t mind as I thought he was a real talent. Palmer keeps coming to mind as Penrith continue their relentless surge towards a fifth straight title. Are they simply irresistible? They\u2019re certainly addicted to the love of winning. Many of us have a bad case of not loving you, Panthers. And, like Johnny, we\u2019re all running around trying to find a plan which is a certainty to stop them.<\/p>\n
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The almost contemptuous way in which Penrith disposed of the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon must send a shiver up the spines of Maguire, Bellamy and Fitzgibbon. Thirty minutes of close to perfection, six converted tries and it\u2019s all over by half-time. That performance made Cronulla\u2019s meritorious and highly deserved win over Canberra in Canberra seem little more than workmanlike. And that\u2019s unfair because it was a very well executed game plan put into practice with skill, style and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s stay with the Sharks for a minute. What a difference a class forward makes \u2013 Founa-Blake put in a massive performance to dominate the middle. His fellow forwards followed suit and it became the old adage, \u2018forwards win matches\u2019. That was the cue for Hynes and Trindall to play to their individual strengths by choosing their pass or kick plays to advantage to probe the absence of Crichton in the Canterbury defence line. Sweeping plays (Hynes), precise kicks deep into the corners (Trindall) \u2013 the Raiders seemed to be forever trying to get out of their own red zone. To be fair, the Raiders were missing Strange (badly) and were somewhat flat, probably pretty gassed after the enervating, 95-minute marathon against Brisbane only 6 days previously. The Sharks took the opportunity and now have a momentum of their own to take to Melbourne to challenge the Storm. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise very good season by Canberra. Let\u2019s hope those two losses burn deep and long to propel them into a more experienced, wiser outfit in 2026.<\/p>\n
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Penrith exposed with brutal effect that weakness in the Bulldogs which Prop by the Sea has been harping on about for the past two years \u2013 still not strong enough through the middle in both attack and defence. I used to think they were perhaps one class forward short; if Penrith are the measure, then Canterbury is a minimum of two strong middles short. Galvin will be better for this year\u2019s experience, the back line is more than competitive but that won\u2019t be enough to rack up winning scores against the best when your forwards are going backwards. Penrith? Unbeatable on that form but, like all teams, only an injury or two away from problems. Can they sustain this surge for another two weeks? Perhaps I\u2019d better email Alan Whiticker now to ask him to pen his (annual, for the past four years) pre-and post- Grand Final perspectives!<\/p>\n
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Week 3 of the finals series has Melbourne at home to Cronulla on Friday night and Brisbane hosting Penrith at Lang Park on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
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Melbourne will start as favourites tomorrow night simply because they are Melbourne and they are playing in Melbourne. It looks like Hughes and Papenhuyzen will be back, adding to the extent of the challenge Cronulla faces. Melbourne won ugly when Canterbury threw absolutely everything at them a fortnight ago. A week\u2019s break will have been invaluable to rest and get over niggling injuries. They should be rearing to go. No NAS may be a good thing since his cards seem to be marked in any 50\/50 call \u2013 rightly or wrongly. Hughes is the key. If his arm is up to the task, then the Storm will be over halfway there. \u00a0Then they have more than enough talent from 1-6 and 8-17 to go the rest of the distance. But the Sharks have made a case to be taken very seriously. Their win over Canberra was perhaps their best of the season in terms of game plan, execution and total team effort. Momentum, self belief, confidence, classy players in all the key positions. Brailey was magnificent last week, shaded only by AFB for best on ground. Their other forwards would have\/should have grown a foot in confidence after their showing against the Raiders. The back line has pace, strength and skill to burn. It should be a fascinating contest. But it is Melbourne in Melbourne. Only a fool would tip against them.<\/p>\n
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When Brisbane\/Walsh are hot, they\u2019re capable of some pretty amazing things. When they\u2019re not\u2026 Reynolds and Mamm return but will be a bit short of a gallop (and a bit ginger?). The loss of Billy Walters is bigger than it looks. No Pat Carrigan. Penrith can\u2019t play better than last week but they can play that well again. If they do, they will exploit those Brisbane soft spots and win yet again. Is this a chance for Brisbane to redress those last 2 minutes of the 2023 Grand Final ands come away with the biggest scalp of all? It would be one of their greatest wins, if not the greatest, since 2006. Alas, I can\u2019t see it happening. Penrith \u2013 too big, too fast, too strong.<\/p>\n
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NRLW<\/p>\n
Week 1 of the NRLW finals demonstrated the value of experience. The Knights were just too good for their less experienced opponents, the Cowboys; the Sharks were their determined best to beat the capable but not quite there Titans.<\/p>\n
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Weeks 2 has the Roosters v Sharks on Saturday night and the Broncos v Knights on Sunday afternoon. It\u2019s hard to go against what has happened all season \u2013 the\u00a0Roosters and the\u00a0Broncos have dominated the competition, losing only once between them, when the Roosters downed the Broncos back in about Round 4. It sounds unkind but I can\u2019t see the Sharks getting anywhere near the Roosters although the loss of Aiken will dampen the Chooks a bit. Jesse Southwell is the one Knights player capable of derailing the Broncos but I don\u2019t think she has enough support of sufficient class to pull off a heist at Lang Park.<\/p>\n
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So, come Grand Final day, I expect we\u2019ll see the Roosters play the Broncos where the absence of Aiken will be a bigger factor than it is this weekend.<\/p>\n
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Congratulations to the\u00a0Gundagai Tigers after their epic win against the Wagga Kangaroos by 10-6 in the Group 9 NSW CRL Grand Final last Sunday. The Kangaroos had lost only one game all season but, reports suggest, the Tigers put on the defensive display of the year to hold off their highly fancied opponents to make it five premierships in the past 11 years.<\/p>\n
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