Here are the talking points from the final round of the home and away season.
Done and dusted
Well, we couldn’t have asked for a more dramatic finale to the regular season than the Dragons frantically throwing the ball around with time running out, trying to save their season. It wasn’t to be, and after 26 rounds of home and away football the top 8 has sorted itself out and the finals can begin. Paul McGregor will be absolutely shattered that a 6 from 7 start to the season has amounted to nothing, and that despite having their fate in their own hands on Sunday afternoon, his team weren’t able to sneak back into the 8. There will be equally sobering post-season reviews happening in Canberra and Belmore after hugely disappointing seasons, while the Warriors will still be scratching their heads, trying to work out how that Kiwi spine didn’t turn them into a top 4 team. It’s difficult to remember a season where so many teams will feel like they finished much lower than they should have, which means a scorching summer examination of where it all went wrong. It could be an interesting few months.
Claws are out
One team that has snuck into the finals is Penrith, but there is trouble at the foot of the mountains. The Panthers, who only a couple of weeks ago were on the hottest of hot streaks and looked like flying into the finals, have fallen over the line after being thumped by Manly. They meet the Sea Eagles again this week in a knockout clash, but being bundled out of the finals might be the least of their worries. Skipper Matt Moylan is making noise about wanting out of the club, and he appears to have an issue with Anthony Griffin and Phil Gould. Griffin and Gould have been less than impressed by Moylan’s commitment to his rehabilitation from injury, and there is also talk that the captaincy is not sitting well with the young leader. On Monday he was granted leave to deal with personal issues, and while the club statement was positive, there is no guarantee he will stay with Penrith long term. Rival clubs are circling, smelling blood in the water, and the star five-eighth would quickly become the hottest commodity on the market if he were to walk out. These are troubling times for the Panthers, who had planned on building their future around Moylan’s halves partnership with Nathan Cleary. It’s quite startling how badly things have gone wrong in a short space of time, and whatever outcome we see will have repercussions for club and player for years to come.
September’s here
Is there a better time of year than finals time? There are some cracking matches coming up this weekend, starting with the Roosters hosting the Broncos on Friday night. It’s fair to say that both teams will think they can improve from their past couple of matches, and they will know that a win means they can most likely avoid the Storm until Grand Final day. Speaking of Melbourne, they meet Parramatta in what should be a really interesting game. The Eels have the potential to spoil some parties in September, and they will fancy their chances that their bustling, physical energy can rattle the minor premiers. In the two knockout clashes, the Panthers will be looking for a huge turnaround after being smacked by Manly, and the Cowboys will be hoping they can ride their luck one more week to get past the Sharks. The smart money says it will be the Sea Eagles and Cronulla who live on. The Panthers have stalled badly, and look unlikely to recover from last week’s heavy defeat, while the Cowboys have been on life support for at least a month, and it would take an almighty effort to get over the reigning premiers away from Townsville. If one thing is certain, though, it’s that there are no certainties come finals time.
Enjoy your footy!
Words: Cameron Stokes
