NRL Round 27 and NRLW Round 7: Rubbed out, left out and a break out

 

 

There’s never a dull week in rugby league! The South Sydney shenanigans continue but, thankfully, Cam Murray has signed a long-term deal. JWH and Corey Horsburgh tried their luck at the judiciary and lost. Now they’ve both been rubbed out or the season! When will they ever learn? Meanwhile both the Broncos and the Storm are fielding reserve grade teams to rest their stars leading into the finals. More on that below.

But in the good news story of the week, Belinda Sharpe and Casey Badger finally get be the sole, on-field referee of NRL matches – and about time! Let’s hope it’s not a token gesture in a couple of final round matches that don’t have implications for the finals. We’ll find out at the start of next season.

 

NRL

The Broncos v Storm game tonight has been denigrated by the wholesale resting of key players by both sides. Given that the code is a professional business, I can understand that – why risk your best players in a meaningless match? But as an ordinary fan of the game, I’m seriously p@#$*d off for those who have shelled out their hard earned cash in the hope of seeing a classic, top of the table clash between two title contenders. If the clubs want to play ‘who cares?’, then I don’t care who wins. Because I have to pick one of them, I’ll go with the Storm because they have had Brisbane’s measure for a long time.

 

The Sea Eagles were in contention for the top eight for quite a while until Turbo got injured. Even then they battled on but came up short, and not just because of John Schuster. By comparison, the Wests Tigers were never in it with no great hope on the horizon. Watch DCE lead his troops to another Manly win.

 

The Rabbitohs will have to overcome both internal ructions as well as the Roosters to snatch that last place in the finals; the Roosters will be a bit short up front after the demise of JWH but Teddy returns to lead from the rear. The big question is about Manu’s fitness. He is the key to this game – if he doesn’t play, Souths win. Even if he does play and is hampered by that leg injury, Souths still probably win. But my gut feeling is that Redfern is too befuddled at this stage to win even if they want to and Manu can’t play. So I’ll go with the Roosters.

 

The Dolphins will be hoping to end the season as they started with an unexpected win but they’re down a couple first picks (again) and that’s likely to be enough to allow the Warriors to continue their good form.

 

After last week’s bad loss to the Eels, the Panthers look a little vulnerable. Maybe Luai is more than a niggler. If the Roosters do them a favour by winning, the Cowboys can still make the eight with a win. At least they’ll know what they’re playing for before kick-off. Regardless, I’ll stick with Penrith.

 

At last the Dragons reach the end of their misery – but only after a bit more awful medicine to be administered by the Knights. Gee, weren’t they impressive in the last 20 minutes last week? No Ponga this week but plenty of heart, grit and self-belief. Stay with Newcastle.

 

The Titans v Bulldogs game is a yawn waiting to happen. There’s trouble at Belmore and relative calm on the Coast which should be reflected in the final score. The Titans will be ahead.

 

The Sharks v Raiders game should be a beauty! The former are after a big turnaround after being lanced by the Knights; the latter got trampled by the Broncos. The Sharks get Hynes back, the Raiders lose Rapana, Horsburgh and Papali’i. That equation suggests to me that the Sharks win.

 

The Eels have the bye.

 

So my winners this weeks are the Storm, Sea Eagles, Roosters, Warriors, Panthers, Knights, Titans and Sharks. (I think I got 7/8 last week.)

 

NRLW

The NRLW season continued on its topsy-turvey way in Round 6. The Eels finally won, the Broncos rediscovered their flair and the Titans regained a winning edge. But the Roosters and the Knights continue to dominate.

 

The Raiders lost their way last week when their defence was sorely tested and found wanting – a turnaround from the previous few weeks. Meanwhile the Knights forged on. More of the same this week, I think. The Knights to win this joust.

 

Can the revived Broncos win two in a row? Will the Sharks lose two in a row? With only a couple of rounds to go, both need to win to stay in finals contention. Ali Brigginshaw might look a mess at the moment but I have a feeling that she might make a mess of the Sharks this week. Get on the Broncos.

 

Neither the Cowboys nor the Dragons will make the finals but I expect them to put on a ding dong battle to take something away from this season. Perhaps the Dragons are a little more seasoned and this might get them home.But watch Dibb for the Cowboys – a quality player. I’ll back her to lead the Cowboys to the winning post.

 

The Titans regained the winning feeling last week (just) while the Wests Tigers can’t find it anymore. A season that started so brightly has fizzled out. Time for a belated ‘hurrah’? Given upsets aplenty throughout the season thus far, I’ll go for another one here. Go Wests Tigers!

 

The Roosters are top of the perch; the Eels are grounded. The only question here is the margin. The Roosters will crow again.

 

So my winners this week are the Knights, Broncos, Cowboys, Wests Tigers and Roosters.

 

 

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