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\u201cGee, but it\u2019s great to be back home\u201d, as someone once sang. And to get back to the footy. The most important score while I was away? 9th July: Queensland 24, NSW 12. A star is confirmed, a coach gets the respect he deserves, and crazy\/brave selectors are justified. A champion team beats a team of champions? Maybe, but what a great game of footy, finally settled only in the last 10 minutes, even if the trend was there earlier.<\/p>\n
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One of the places we visited while we was away was Delphi. I went to consult the Oracle to see if I could pick up any hints to assist my modest tipping record. The response was Cicero\u2019s perennial closing statement \u2013 Et Carthago delenda est. Go figure!<\/p>\n
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NRL<\/p>\n
As I see it, there are now only 10 teams who can make the 8. Maybe even the Dolphins and the Roosters will find it hard to get there. The Dolphins get two bonus points this weekend with the bye to keep them in it while the Roosters have the Storm to contend with. A loss could be a real setback with a four-point gap between them and what\u2019s above them. Welcome to the permutations and combinations of the last 6 weeks of the minor round.<\/p>\n
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As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Round 20 was my first full weekend of rugby league after three months away and it seems like a case of same old, same old. A couple of upsets, the Bunker continues to interfere, the letter of the law triumphs over the spirit of the rules, coaches go crazy, rumours abound, Souths are awful but the Titans are worse, and so on.<\/p>\n
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Briefly, a below strength Dolphins outfit still managed to carve up the Cowboys, doing it with style and panache. Tom Dearden played his third game in 9 days and was still one of the best players on the ground \u2013 in a losing side. The Cows are well and truly gone. Will Payton go at the end of the season? The Sharks showed they just might have something more than we thought after their strong win over a surprisingly docile Roosters outfit. I can\u2019t quite fathom that one. The Panthers won again, but it was only against Souths so let\u2019s not read too much into it. The Bulldogs were deadset lucky against a Dragons outfit that didn\u2019t get their share of the 50-50 calls. The Sea Eagles did what most can\u2019t do \u2013 beat Melbourne in Melbourne. And a great effort by the too often maligned DCE who showed what a great captain he is (again). The Titans just can\u2019t win; the Wests Tigers keep trying and, now and then, do scramble a win. The Knights will rue a few iffy calls and some deadset bad luck on the final play of the game. But if they watch a replay they\u2019ll also see that they butchered three tries in the first half that would have had them too far ahead for the Warriors to catch up.<\/p>\n
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Round 21 kicks off tonight with last round losers the Roosters and the Storm fighting it out to regain their composure and get back on the winners list. Are the Roosters vulnerable? Was Melbourne\u2019s loss an aberration? Lat\u2019s see what happen. I can\u2019t tip against Melbourne,\u00a0they rarely lose two in a row. The Roosters will probably be finalists but how far they\u2019ll go is up in the air.<\/p>\n
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On Friday evening, the Cowboys host the Dragons. Form says the Dragons will win this one. I\u2019m not so sure because I think the Cowboys will be stung into action in front of their own fans. On paper, they\u2019re better than they\u2019ve been showing and they\u2019re overdue. Go Cows! Later on the Broncos are at Lang Park to take on the Eels. Form says one-way traffic and it\u2019s hard to see the Eels matching the strike power of Brisbane. Get on the Broncs.<\/p>\n
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Saturday afternoon footy begins with the Warriors at home to the Titans. I fear a slaughter. Lucky last weekend, the Warriors will regain form against a side that just doesn\u2019t know how to win. In the early evening the Panthers grapple with Wests Tigers. The latter are solid tradesmen; the home team are almost master craftsmen.\u00a0Penrith by how much? The late game has the Bunnies playing the Sharks. Phrases like \u2018 Rabbitohs caught in the headlights\u2019 and \u2018Sharks maul Bunnies\u2019 come to mind. The Sharks are making their run; how far they\u2019ll get is uncertain, but get on them this weekend.<\/p>\n
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On Sunday, the Raiders host the Knights, another one where you\u2019d expect one-way traffic. The Knights had the stuffing knocked out them last week; the Raiders roll on. More of the same this weekend \u2013 Canberra. And finally, the match of the round has the Bulldogs taking on the Sea Eagles. The Doggies are a bit off the boil, the Sea Eagles showed a lot of character last weekend. This could go down to Burton v DCE for a field goal. I think I\u2019ll have to go with the\u00a0Bulldogs, even if I\u2019m not sure why.<\/p>\n
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The Dolphins have the bye.<\/p>\n
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NRLW<\/p>\n
After only three rounds, the bookies have already decided that it will be a Roosters v Broncos grand final, that\u2019s if the odds on offer are anything to go by. I haven\u2019t seen, read or heard enough of the past three weeks to make a comment. Likewise it seems like tipping might be a bit of a leap in faith. Here are this weekend\u2019s games (with my tips in\u00a0italics):<\/p>\n
Warriors v Titans
Roosters v Bulldogs
Cowboys v Raiders
Eels v Knights
Dragons v Broncos\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s good to see Tamika Upton back in a Broncos shirt!
Sharks v Wests Tigers<\/p>\n
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