1. #71
    lordkai35
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    Initial thoughts for first round of finals series:

    Souths/Melbourne

    Storm have won past 9/10 encounters with the only rabbits win by 2 points (final score 16-14) at home in 2010. From last week's game against the roosters, south's younger player's lack of experience in intense match ups was exposed. Their defence on their left flank is very weak when they are up against quality opposition. Souths clearly have the better pack with the Burgess boys and i rate smith and luke fairly equally in regards to playing levels. South's pack has more go forward in Gurgess and Turgess whilst storm's pack focuses on running at angles and is more defensive. This game will come down to adam reynolds and greg inglis' performance. Sutton has not been dominant in the last couple of games as he is playing more like a lock forward now. Storm will once again rely on the big 3 to get them over the line and based on their form of late, storm are on absolute fire whereas south's youthful squad's lack of experience is being exposed. storm's backline (1-5) have more speed and strength then souths bar inglis. If inglis' injury comes to haunt him during the game, souths will basically have no chance.

    My prediction: Storm win by 10

    Sharks/Cowboys

    Cowboys have won their last 6 games and have won both games against sharks this year. Cowboys are the 2nd or 3rd best team right now based on form (behind storm/roosters) and all their wins have been convincing, 13+ in 5/6 wins and the other they won by 12. Their squad will be full strength as Matt Scott indicated in the media he will be playing if he passes a fitness test pregame. Sharks are also looking very solid with a win against roosters a fortnight ago. However, sharks ARE NOT playing at their fortress at Remondis Stadium. They are playing at allianz stadium. Sharks player much better at home and even thought this is a "home" game for the sharks they are not playing at their chosen home stadium. Their win against the raiders inflated their form and raiders had already given up on their season since the storm thrashing. Their wins in last 5 games were against raiders, dragons and roosters. Roosters were in a form slump, dragons and raiders had already given up on season. Cowboys beat rabbits, panthers, titans, knights, sharks, and tigers some of whom were still playing to make the top 8. Sharks have a better overall 1-17 and their pack is very talented and dangerous. Cowboys can match the sharks pack if scott plays. Sharks backline is (2-5) is worse then cowboys, tate/linnet more dangerous than pomeroy/wright whilst gordon is a more involved fb than bowen. Considering bowen's recent form, he is not too far behind gordon. This game will come down to JT VS Carney. JT is on fire whilst carney has been absent the past 2 games (probably rested). You need momentum going into a finals game and with JT embodying that, he will have the better of Carney who is returning.

    My Prediction: Cowboys 1-12.
    Cowboys have won both games this year by 13+ i think sharks will keep it tighter since its a finals match.


  2. #72
    lordkai35
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    -continued

    Roosters/Manly


    Hardest match in my opinion to pick for this round. Roosters played very well last week to sneak the minor premiership whilst manly rested a lot of players and got thrased by penriff playing at brookvale. Roosters have won both games against manly this year by 1-12. Based on form roosters played much better but no comparison is evident due to manly's resting.
    Rooster's pack is much more dominant and they are the best team at getting out of their own half. However JWH is banned for this game and he is a huge loss for what is already a depleted roosters pack, no cordnor, no odonnel. Manly's pack is more aggressive in defence but lacks impact apart from fa' aso off the bench. they play a more structured game and heavily rely on their backs for points. Rooster's backline is more explosive with RTS and Jennings but Manly's backline has much more experience. Jennings and tupou can tend to get lazy and uninvolved at times whilst SKD is not a greater winger. Lyon, matai, taufua, williams are veterans and are both attacking and defensive machines. Roosters bench are fitter and offers more go forward whereas manly's bench is one of the weakest bar fa'aso in the comp. The halves are fairly matched. I will base my decision on form and history this season. Roosters have too much momentum going into this and i don't think they will lose at their home ground allianz stadium.

    My Prediction: Roosters 1-12

    Bulldogs/Knights (Before reading note i am a bulldogs fan)

    This is one of those games where both sides do not really offer anything to a finals series and basically have no chance of beating a top 4 side. Both teams will be out by end of next week, i don't see either making semis. Since iam a bulldogs fan ill start with their analysis.

    Bulldogs are coming off an away loss against the broncos. They were favorites going into that game with line at -4 (seems familiar?). Knights thrashed parra by 48 points as expected. Bulldogs do not have a full strength squad with pritchard and eastwood injured and barba not 100% fit (injury clouds on ankle). This has forced them to play a bench that doesnt offer any impact bar Graham and simply play to give starting players a rest. Barba, as we are all aware, is experiencing personal issues and viewing the game against broncos, it was obvious he was playing in his own world. He made some selfish decisions, deciding to dummy on two occasions when overlapping opposition on the wing; a pass could have resulting in winger scoring on both occasions. He mindset is not in the game and this is the most important influence on a player's performance i have mentioned. I do not know much internal details about newcastle and will only be looking at their form and team.

    Bulldog's pack is depleted with previously mentioned injuries. Tolman is not playing very well atm and the only dominant forwards are graham and jackson. Tony williams has started to show signs of his potential but this is too little too late. Knight's pack is full strenght bar kade snowden's from suspension. Mason and smith add the grunt and enforcement whilst rochow is a solid workhorse. I rate ennis and newcastle hookers, bedy and gower around the same level. Bulldogs have more dangerous centres with inu and jmoz who show individual brilliance whereas newcastle's gagai and leilua are more effective when the team is winning. Uate and mcmanus are more dangerous in attack whereas bulldog wingers are more defensive players used to defuse bombs. Barba is rated higher than boyd but due to recent issues, their are serious doubts on his form. Knight's bench offers more than the bulldogs bar graham. Halves are fairly matched but Josh reynolds is clearly the standout here. Bulldogs will rely on josh reynolds to spark the team and graham to lead the forwards whilst knights will rely on mullen's kicking game and the forward's grunt. Knights have won on both occasions this year against the dogs, one a thrashing at home and the other by 6 at a neutral field.

    Based on bulldog's lack of attacking options and current form i think knights will get home on this one. They have the momentum going into this and have overall a more consistent squad. If bulldogs are to win, they need Barba's dally m brilliance and unfortunately i don't see him producing this during the game.

    My prediction: Knights 1-12

  3. #73
    lordkai35
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    2 winner picks from 4 games. happy since cowboys should have won.

  4. #74
    rohan22no
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    Awesome write ups Lordkai! Great weekend

  5. #75
    lordkai35
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    Quote Originally Posted by rohan22no View Post
    Awesome write ups Lordkai! Great weekend
    Thx mate, hope everyone cashed in.

    I'll be providing write ups for all the NRL games in the finals series. Ive decided that my normal plays are probably a bit shaky so ill just stick with giving my view of games and some history/stats/feedback

  6. #76
    garygroundwork
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    yep robbed on cowboys and fk me storm got a rough deal aswell

  7. #77
    lordkai35
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    Quote Originally Posted by garygroundwork View Post
    yep robbed on cowboys and fk me storm got a rough deal aswell
    yeah storm two denied tries, but i guess souths did outplay them. glad sportsbet had that "if your team lose by 10 or less" promotion to save me there

  8. #78
    lordkai35
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    For those of you considering taking early lines/h2h bets:

    Please be aware that individual players have a huge impact on a team's performance especially during finals campaigns. For finals week 2, the lines for both games opened at around +8/-8 with both favourites playing at home. I would advise strongly to wait for final teamlists before placing a bet for these games. Players like todd carney (hamstring worry) and brett stewart (injury cloud) are instrumental to their teams in terms of bringing experience, confidence and leadership and without such players the rest of the team do not play coherently or just don't click. We saw on friday the souths pack had many changes right before kickoff and today the bulldogs pack with players named in the last minute. Especially with finals this is vital for statistic/prop markets as well.

    Overall conclusion is wait for final teamlists before making your final decisions unless you have very certain solid information.

  9. #79
    lordkai35
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    NRL Finals Series Week 2

    Week 1 allowed us to gain a glimpse of how the teams play during their finals campaign. Strengths, weaknesses and player statistics were all solid information we can take away from week 1. Week 2 only has two games but both are do or die. With initial team lists out i'll give an rundown of my thoughts for the two games.

    Manly/Cronulla

    Cronulla were lucky to score their win against the cowboys last weekend. 7th try controversy aside, they were lucky linnet touched the sideline when planting the ball down for that last second denied try. They can also thank the cowboy's winger Ulugia for pointing his finger up when scoring instead of running closer to the posts to help JT's conversion. There were periods in which both sides played well but it was evident that cowboys were more dominant second half whilst sharks dominated at the start of each half.

    Manly played one of the most gruelling matches against roosters. It was a game entirely based on defence with a lone try to winger RTS. Manly's attack was also solid but roosters defence was just inspirational to shut them out. On more than 10 occasions, manly looked certain to score yet heroic one on one tackles saved the day. Unfortunately, cronulla's defence is nowhere as near as solid as the roosters.

    Going into this match, sharks understand they got away with a lucky win whereas manly will be proud of their effort to keep roosters to one try. They have played one previous match this year with manly winning 25-18. Manly has won 8/10 games against cronulla with each shark win by 3 and 6.

    Cronulla are expecting Carney to be out with a hamstring problem with luke lewis going to 5/8. I don't remember the last time lewis played 5/8. This is a very abrupt listing as usually wade graham would slot into the halves. Carney is the sharks main attacking weapon. Without carney, they lack alot of spark and rely on gordon and their forwards in attack. Brett stewart returns for manly and as i stated before, when he plays manly are a completely different outfit. He prouds confident and an attacking weapon to the team that they need after their dissappointment last week. Both sides have their full strength forward packs and are evenly matched. Fifita is the most dominant forward going into this game with gallen likely to play a 5/8 role. Watmough has been an absolute machine and will want to stamp his mark on the game. Both sides interchange is made of forwards. The sharks offer more on their bench as i have stated i think manly's bench are very very weak bar fa'aso. the hookers are fairly even. Manly's backline are a class above cronulla's. They have way too much skill, experience and communication then cronulla's backline who are young, inexperienced and prone to errors like we saw last week. Feki will once again be the target of all bombs. If carney does not play, there is no comparison between the halves. DCE and foran are a class above robson and lewis as a half. Dce's kicking game and foran's running game offer more in attack then the sharks halves who are there to offer structure and direct the forwards.

    I don't see cronulla winning here and this is the end of their season. However manly are short favourties and the line is at a tricky 9.5. The way this game is going with the listed teams, i think manly should easily cover the line as i don't see more than 1 try in the cronulla outfit. However is carney is a late inclusion, cronulla's scoring potential should increase.

    My prediction: no carney - Manly -9.5/13+, yes carney Manly 1-12

    Storm/Knights


    Storm were fairly disappointing in their opening match against souths and were outplayed for the entire game. There was no spark and only ordinary play in the first half, something you cannot do against a top 4 side. Knights on the other hand showed an inspirational defensive effort to win the game healthily. As stated i thought they were too good for the dogs were lacked in many areas. The knight's kick and chase was outstanding and this contributed to possession and hence win.

    Storm open as solid favourites for this game and the line is at 8. I don't think this is justified by last week's performances. Storm have won last 8/10 matches against knights and both this year by 2 and 13. Teams listed are both 1-17 from last week and any late inclusions are not significant to context of game. The knights pack stepped up last week with j smith an wrecking ball and beau scott a hammer in defence. Their bench is also very solid with houston and mckinnon providing grunt and workhorse capabilties. Big willie performed his role but i would liked it if he played more mins or involved himself more in defence. On the other hand the storm's pack was completely dominated by the size of south's pack. They seemed like speed bumps and were struggled to pull down the bigger forwards. They did not offer much in attack and the interchange was pedestrian at best. Like manly their bench is one of the weakest in the finals series. Cameron smith is obviously a class above the knight's hookers but his role is much more than the knight's hookers defensive roles. Personally i believe the backlines (2-5) of both sides are fairly matched both having pace, strength, flair and air superiority. Slater is a much more involved and dangerous player than boyd and sparked in a losing team. Bar boyd's try, he was not as involved in the knight's win last week. On current form, i rate the halves fairly equally. Mullen's defensive effort and kicking game was superb and can be compared to cronk based on that performance. Overall the knights have a more dominant pack but the storm have the big 3.

    I think this game is much closer than people think but the storm's big 3 with too much experience playing at home will get them over the line. The dogs were probably the worst side in the top 8 and knights had a much easier opponent week 1. Against a top 4 side, knights just don't have the star power and experience in the spine to win. Storm will dictate the pace of the game and i don't see knights winning this but they will put up a fight.

    My prediction: Storm 1-12, Knights +8, more likely of an upset than cronulla

  10. #80
    sando
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    Fantastic analysis. Great work.

  11. #81
    lordkai35
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    another 1-1 prediction, storm played very poorly and that slater attempted AFL mark with no one around *facepalm*. all credit to the knights though played with a lot of gut

  12. #82
    lordkai35
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    NRL Semi Finals

    Brilliant performances from the knights and sharks last week and heavy underdogs. Sharks were the better team with 15 to go but karma comes back to bite whilst the knights strangled the storm and forced them to make silly plays out of frustration. Souths and Roosters both rested and during the finals series this is extremely important for recovery as showcased by manly's squad are are physically and mentally drained by gruesome back to back games and most players carrying some sort of injury. Once again the stats markets were exploitable and i would recommend people looking to bet more on player statistics after some research.

    A couple of people have asked why i don't post my player statistic plays when i encourage them. I only make statistic bets when final teamlists are out, usually 30min-45min before kickoff, to assess the situation, minutes and workload of each player. Once i finish assessing and researching, there would only been about 10-15 minutes before kickoff and hence even if i do post, most people will miss it. i feel it isn't a justified outcome on my record if others don't have the time or chance to follow. I will provide early leans this week when statistic markets are released as a guideline but once again please assess for yourself as final bets may differ considerably from early leans.

    Lets move onto the two matches this weekend. Semi - finals action is what i believe the most exciting games after origin. They are played with the same intensity as a grand final and we have all teams still in the race.

    Souths/Manly

    Two incredibly solid teams with balance across both sides. Manly come off another grinding encounter with the sharks and as those of you who watched the game would know, were physically battered and drained. They have just played a 80min 4-0 game, no stoppage and hence continuous work and a sharks outfit who threw everything at them forcing them to play cover defense against the pace of the sharks. Players such as watmough, fa'aso, matai were all evidently injured during the game but played it out due to the lack of depth and utility on their bench. Souths are coming off a break after a strong performance over the storm. They have a fully rested, full strength squad who will be motivated playing at ANZ. In both games between the two sides this year, Souths have won by 8 and 12.

    The south's pack is superior in size and go forward compared to manly's. The size of the burgess brothers will make the manly forwards struggle with defense and slowing the pace of the game. Manly's forwards stepped up last week in lawrence and watmough but they must be struggling physically after back to back 80min grinds. Add to the fact their best forward watmough is carrying a leg injury, which may come to haunt him during the game, souths just have too much in the forwards. The souths bench is primarily front row forwards. They continue the drive when they go on. Mentioned time and time again, manly's bench is the weakest in the remaining sides. Fa'aso concussed last week is also not 100% and he is their only go forward on the bench. The others do not provide enough utility and work rate and cannot provide spark in a losing situation. South halves and manly's are equally matched but DCE is clearly the stand out. Considering the form of Sutton and Reynolds, i'd say manly's halves are more dangerous and important to the game. The backline if Manly is probably the best of the remaining sides. They have experience, composure, talent and are heavily relied upon for meterage and attack. South's backline are young, relatively inexperienced but perform their task. However, they are more prone to errors and incorrect decisions in defense. Inglis is equally important to souths as brett stewart is to manly. However, there are still concerns over bstew's availability and hence if he doesn't play, Inglis will add far more to the fb position then hiku.

    I have admired the grit of manly but unfortunately their season will come to an end on friday. The souths are just to big and versatile against a drained manly pack. Playing at home, souths will be motivated to perform and meet the roosters in the final as revenge for losing the minor premiership. But never count manly out as they are a great team.

    My prediction: Souths -6.5

    Roosters/Knights

    The clash between these two sides is expected to be a one sided affair with the line currently at +/-8.5. Like last week where the storm were heavy favourites against the knights, the knights deserve more credit then the current line suggests. Roosters are coming off a break whilst knights pulled an amazing upset against the storm at home. We can see they are the darkhorse of the finals and if somehow they beat roosters this week they will be serious contenders. Both encounters this year roosters have won by 13+ but the current form of the knights is much better than they were in those matches.

    Not much needs to be said about the packs. Both packs are fairly matched but the obvious standout is SBW. He is a superstar and player that no one on the knights side can match in talent, skill and other match attributes. JWH returns from suspension adding enforcement and grunt in the forwards. Knights pack relies on their defense but this will be compared to the best defense in the comp in the roosters. The knights backline is actually in better form then the roosters. Leilua and gagai are on fire whilst uate has been superb as a tryscorer and ball carrier. RTS has been the standout back for the roosters but the others especially jennings has been quite in big games. Boyd and minicello are fairly equal. The form of tyrone roberts for the knights has been amazing. Coupled with mullen's kicking game, the knights halves can match the rooster's pair if they pull out a big game. However, maloney and pearce are another class and have experience in finals and recent origin level. Even though i hate pearce in origin, there is no doubt at club level he is a superb half.

    This game will come down to talent. Even though the knights can match the roosters in speed and size, roosters have too much star power and talent in their squad with SBW, maloney, jennings,RTS etc. Knights will be very determined and inspired. I cannot see knights pulling off another upset especially on the roosters at home but they will make it a tough contest up to at least the 60min. At this point if the roosters are leading by more than 6 points they will run away, otherwise will be tight until the end.

    My Prediction: Roosters 1-12, i thinks knight's defense and motivation will keep this tight

  13. #83
    lordkai35
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    Finals Futures Bets

    Leading Point Scorer, Finals Serieis
    - Adam Reynolds (8) $2.5 Sportsbet

    -Reynolds is currently 8 points behind tyrone roberts. I predict souths will score 3-4 tries against manly this weekend and knights to score 1-2 against roosters. I also predict a roosters/rabbits grand final where souths should score 3+ against roosters. Doing the math, reynolds should be on 20+ points whilst roberts will be around 18-20. Maloney is on 0 so hes is out of the picture and lyon has poor accuracy with manly predicted to lose this weekend.

    Leading Try scorer, finals series
    -RTS (1) $6 Sportsbet

    -RTS is one behind Uate in tries for finals series and i expect him to end on 2-3+. Uate will find it difficult to score against the roosters defense but having said that he is marked by tupou who is inexperienced this week. I believe RTS' odds are overs at $6 and has better opportunities and potential to score than all the other players listed.

  14. #84
    lordkai35
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    Manly was too experienced for the fairly young souths outfit. Especially looking at the south centres and wingers who struggled to perform on the big stage and this will be their weakness. Also i dont understand why guys like tyrell, lima are starting and why clark is even in the team. Mcqueen/gurgess should have started and turgess/lurgess off the bench. At the end of the day manly were just too good and step up when they need too.

    The scoreline in the roosters game doesnt reflect the contest. It should have been 6-4 at Halftime (forward pass leading to second try for roosters) and with this mentality, the knights would not have given up. We can all see the roosters as unstoppable and deserved favorites for the title.

    The leading try scorer/point scorer bets were both speculative and failed, was just having fun sort of bets.

  15. #85
    lordkai35
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    Overall for my season on posted plays on SBR :

    16-19 +1.65 units.

    Nothing impress and the latter end of both NRL/AFL season tend to be less predictable then the earlier half. That being said, i will start from game 1 rd 1 for both codes next season and hopefully provided tips (posted) a day or two before kickoff.

    I tend to focus on player statistic and supercoach markets for NRL. This has been very successful during the finals series (12-2 on one uit plays) but i didn't post any as they are decided upon literally 5 mins before kickoff. I will try to provide my predicted lines for these markets next season a day or two before the games so that the moment these markets open you all have a chance to get on.

    Hopefully, some of my write ups and tips have helped people and to those who tailed the losing ones, i'll try to make it back for you next season.

    Thanks lads.

  16. #86
    Dr.Gonzo
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    Write ups have been good this season

  17. #87
    fitguy67
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    ^^^^^^^^^^^^
    an understatement...your writeups, along with Sando's and TGM's have helped me get through my first year of following (and betting on) this fascinating game.

    Look forward to next year, now that i've wised up a a bit to the best sources for analysis and picks.

  18. #88
    lordkai35
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    NRL GRAND FINAL !

    Before i even write anything i just want to say iam so pumped and looking forward to the whole NRL finals day including holden cup, nsw cup, and of course the big game. Hope everyone can enjoy the beautiful weather and such an awesome day in the sporting calendar. Now lets get onto the business side.

    Manly went into last week's clash against Souths as heavy underdogs with most punters already writing them off. Many people thought their physical performances and lack of depth would have gotten to them and surely a lack of energy coupled with numerous injuries across the squad would cripple them. However, they demonstrated why they will always be contenders with a come from behind effort against Souths. After Souths were 14-0 up in about 15min, everything looked over and the game was going to be a blowout. The come back really comes back to the halves pairing of foran and dce who stabilised the team and found good field position from kicks. After halftime, Manly completely annihilated Souths and this was due to their experience and ability to capitalize on poor readings from weaker players in the Souths team. Lyon and wolfman exposed the inexperience of the South's backs who are young and prone to errors. The rest of the game was history, Souths offered nothing in attack and their last try was an error from Manly.

    The Rooster's win was similiar. The first half was a grind between the determined knights pack and the rooster's impeccable defense. It should have been 6-4 at ht due to SBW's forward pass leading to try and i really believe if the scoreline was that, the end result would have been much closer to due knight's players still having belief. However after the scoreline got to two tries, knights gave up and this was evident in their player rotations, they didnt field their most experienced players. Many people questioned the Rooster's last 10min where they let in tries easily. At that stage, they were up by 24+ and basically couldn't lose the game. They wanted to see the game out without any injury to their squad especially their backline as they do not have the depth in the backline to cover these positions, more so against Manly's backline in the GF. This period was nothing to worry about in terms of the Rooster's defense in the GF as it was simply a "burn the clock, stay injury free, conserve energy" end to the game.

    Roosters/Manly GF

    At first glance i cannot separate these two teams. Roosters have been Manly 3/3 times this year but the margin has always been around one try. Manly also were not full strength teams during the earlier two matches with many key players carrying serious injuries during those periods. Also we have seen how Manly step up in big games e.g. finals and their experience allows the players to perform when they need to. The Roosters have been the form team the entire year. Their defense is impenetrable, recording the most clean sheets in a season. Their attack is threatening and dangerous, punishing weaker defensive teams by wins of 30+ and scoring at will when opposition give up. Even against the top 4-6 teams they have been able to score 2-3 tries consistently.

    Based on the Rooster's expected 1-17 where cordner is on bench and odonnell comes in for moa who goes onto bench with liu/napa dropping off, i will analyse this. Manly will be 1-17 with the last bench prop (Gower vs Hasson) really irrelevant to the scope of the game. With the return of odonnell and cordner, the Roosters gain invaluable experience in starting forwards and off the bench. Both JWH and odonnell are threatening grunt players who hit hard in defense and a nightmare to tackle. The Roosters full strength pack with SBW as the magician has more punch, skill and forward then their counterparts. FPN acts as another prop and guerra/aubo are good angle/wide runners who also perform most of the workload. Friend has been in terrific form and really hurts opposition when they dont have markers, making free metres and providing momentum for the roosters. Manly's pack on the other hand is more experienced with veterans watmough, kite, ballin, gstewart been there and done that in terms of the GF. Watmough is an absolute machine and this guy puts his body (more like life) on the line every single tackle and run for his team. Gstewart plays more like a 5/8 and adds attack to the right hand side. Ballin is a tackling machine and will be their to make the game savers, lawrence has been in the form of his life and his go forward is a big boost. Horo, kite are solid players who will perform their roles. The problem with manly's pack has always been their bench. With fa'aso concussed last game, they lose alot of their grunt and go forward off the bench. Their other bench players do not offer enough and only play well when the team is ahead. By themselves they cannot change the game and do not have enough impact. With the rooster's bench, whoever comes on, they will hit like a hammer in defense and charge in attack, there is no lose of pace. Friend has far more creativity then ballin in attack but ballin would be more solid in defense.

    Manly's backline is full of experience and solidness. We have seen time and time again how they are able to expose their opposition and capitalize. They rarely make errors and contribute enormously to carrying the ball back and hit ups when forwards get tired. The rooster's backline on the otherhand can get lazy. However, they have more xfactor with the likes of RTS and Jennings. Against weaker defenders they will easily get tbs and lbs but they are less involved and more prone to error. The matchups are all equal, with the only weakest i see is RTS in defence against taufua who has a big fend and strength to get past defenders. Bstewart adds far more confidence and attack to the manly outfit then minicello who is more solid in carrying out his role.

    The outcome of this game will come down to the halves. Pearce we all know chokes during the big stage (origin) but is an excellent half at club level. Maloney can be error ridden at times but is always solid. DCE and foran have already played for their countries and are the form pairing of the comp. Foran has so much composure whilst dce's vision and kicking game has been second to none. Both have been at the same stage two years ago and succeeded whilst pearce/maloney have never played together in a GF. There will be pressure on pearce to perform after his origin performances.

    At the end of all this, anything can happen in GF. It will be the rooster's talent vs manly's experience and the team who wants it more and can endure more will take it out. I would stay away from line bets but if i had to tip the winner i would say roosters. There is just too much determination and talent across the park coupled with their supremacy in defense and attack.

    My Predictions:

    Roosters win $1.70 ($100 sportsbet promo, if your team lose by less then 10 points, money back)

    Clive churchill Medal : J Friend $19 Bookmaker

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