sidelined

The Warriors have blown the premiership wide open with their stunning win over Melbourne. Their reward is a home finals against the Roosters this Friday. The short turnaround could be a worry but they won’t care. The Warriors have been growing in confidence over the past month or so and now they will have a great sense of self-belief.

Their opponents, the Roosters, will out on a brave face but they must be a little worried about the trip across the Tasman. It was something they weren’t even thinking of despite their loss the the Broncos. The Roosters really turned on the aggression on Friday night. But is seemed to take it out of them in the second half and they couldn’t just match the Broncos. I question whether the Roosters will make it to week 3. Anasta in comments on tonight’s new was focusing on the Broncos. It may be a case of wishful thinking.

The Broncos copped a battering from the Roosters in the first half. But they just took the hits and kept on the coming. The Broncos forward pack is underrated and they showed they won’t back down. But with some disturbing allegations regarding behaviour of three Broncos players over the weekend, the finals dream could become a nightmare for the Brisbane team.

I did not get to see the Manly or Cronulla wins but the reports suggested they have lifted their games for the finals. Both teams get a week’s rest and are just a win away from the grand final. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams will meet each other on October 5th.

The Raiders deserved plenty of credit for making the finals regardless of a horrific injury toll this season. But this was their downfall as Campese just couldn’t continue to shoulder the side’s attack and Cronulla took advantage of it. The loss is a blessing really as they would have not got past week two anyway.

The Dragons were also disappointing. I expected more against Manly but the act of making the finals seemed to have extinguished their fire.

And finally the Storm. It would be a foolish person to write them off but they have a tough run to the finals now. The Broncos and then, if they win, the Sharks. Bellamy will be fine-tuning the machine but they Storm have a problem. The refs seem to have lost patience with the Storms tactics to slow the play the ball. And it is about time. Other teams do do it but the Storm’s whining is really self serving. They are a team that can play fantastic footy when needed. Hopefully we’ll see them go about doing that and spark up the finals even more.

A great first weekend of the finals. And the surprises aren’t over yet.