The first round of the NRL finals have been played and so far there have not been too many surprises. With the new finals system in place and no major upset has occurred. What has been shown is the teams that were never really going to compete in the Grand Final are gone and some questions are being asked of the rest.
Bulldogs v Manly - 16-10
Pre-game tip: Bulldogs but changed to Manly pre-game (wrong), an injury to a key player (Jamie Lyon) and a reportable offence (Matai and King) it was a close game as predicted.
The Bulldogs deserved the win but will not be taking the win lightly as they only scraped across the line against a team that never looked like they were good enough to win on the night. I picked a tight game here and wasn't let down, but the standard of play was now where near the intensity that should have been expected by two top 4 teams. Although Manly were in front at half time it never felt like they were going to win and once Lyon limped off with an injury. What will be a concern for both coaches though was the standard of play. Neither team will go any further if they play to the same standard next game. Both teams had too many unforced errors. With manly also having Matai and King on report they will be sure to be enjoying an off season after next weekend. The Bulldogs will also struggle in their next game if they continue to make the same mistakes again in a high intensity match. In finals you cannot get away with two poor performances in a row.
Melbourne v Souths 24-6
Pre-game tip: Storm Comfortably, Souths need to control the ball (key issue), Injury to an International (thankfully no), reportable shoulder charge (again thankfully no)
The Storm controlled the game from start to finish and showed what Finals football is all about. At no point did Souths even look like making it a close game and this was due to a ruthless Storm outfit. Souths will never win a finals game if they continue to show poor discipline and not maintain possession. Regardless of how good your fullback is if the engine room isn't working and you are on the back foot it is hard to perform. Melbourne on the other hand had a high completion rate, perfect kicking game and too much skill all over the park. Souths have got to learn tht it takes more than emotion and a lot of talk to win big games.
Cowboys v Brisbane 33-16
Pre-game tip: Head said Cowboys, heart said Broncos (I will take it), Too many points in the Cowboys and hard to stop on a roll (too true)
Cowboys deserved the win and are a big threat to go all the way. Brisbane never looked like winning this one and the halves were a big factor. Brisbane just don't have either playmakers or ability to create points that is required to win big games. The Cowboys just had too much speed, skill and want to win for the Broncos to handle. If Brisbane want to get back to being a force they really need to address their structure and halves combination. All teams will be wary of the Cowboys as this is a team that can put points on the board from anywhere on the field but also has the mongrel in the engine room to lay the platform. Cowboys will make light work of manly next weekend.
Raiders v Cronulla 34-16
Pre-game tip: Raiders by 20 (by 18), Gallen explained a basic rule after a whinge (more than once this happened), Jeremy Smith on report (correct), Video ref decision no one agrees with (if you think the "ref call" decision was the right call then I stand corrected)
Canberra showed Cronulla just were not up to the standard required. Whilst Gallen may have thought his team were close and getting a hard run on the field, Canberra were the rightful winners and the score is reflection of the difference between the two. Until Cronulla start playing with the right attitude and stop with the rubbish and blaming everyone else they will never make a grand-final. Gallen needs to stop worrying about complaining and just play the game. If he is so concerned about the refs decisions against him then he needs to also tell the ref that he is thankful for all the ones that go his way. All the tries Cronulla scored had questionable and blatant forward passes. Also questions need to be asked on why a team doctor injected pain killers into Todd Carney's achillies before the game and at half time with the playmaker coming off injured in the second half due to an injury to the same achillies. Canberra though need to be given a lot of credit for their performance and should be too much for Souths to handle next week.
After watching all four games I would like to see the Final played between teams from either Melbourne, Cowboys, Raiders and Bulldogs. Manly and Souths were just too dour and unworthy to expect a great performance in a final. Even the Bulldogs are lucky for a mention but if they play the same in their next game they will have the honour of being a minor premier that gets to watch from a hotel room on an end of season holiday.
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