sidelined

After 26 rounds of regular season and three weeks of final footy, we have ended up with a rematch of last year’s Grand Final. Fitting really as both teams have played most of their footy a gear or two above the other clubs.

The Sharks will be very disappointed with their meek exit from the finals. But it is an improvement from the past few seasons when insipid performances during the second half of the season were the norm. Not sure how the Sharkies will go next year. They will have to do something about their attack to challenge for the title and hope there is no mental scarring from coming so far and then falling into a miserable heap.

The Storm are not the first club to ride to victory using a siege mentality. Plenty of bad blood was created by focusing on Stuart’s comments regarding Melbourne CEO Brian Waldron (of whose character Stuart is a good judge). Also, anger at the NRL judiciary helped fuel their win. It was a typical finals display by the Storm after two indifferent games.

If only Manu Vatuvei had held onto the ball with the line wide open early into Saturday’s game. Not saying the Warriors would have gone on to win but the game would have been different. But the way the Warriors played league was a breath of fresh air and something other sides could emulate. Farewell Reuben Wiki. It was an amazing run.

Manly played a very controlled game in the first half to keep the Warriors at bay. Their defence was outstanding and shut the Warriors out of the game. The only blemish was that Orford’s goal kicking was off in the first half and made the game appear closer that it was at half time. The Sea Eagles are looking better than last year. As long as there is no lingering psychological damage from Melbourne’s grand final mugging last year, they are in with more than a chance.

A difficult choice for Sydneysiders. Two sides that have little love outside their immediate ancestral stomping grounds.

I’m going to sit back and consider things for a few days before staking a claim on one side to win the big one on October 5th.