NRL Finals Week 3 Preview
Week 2 of the NRL Finals saw the minor premiers show why they were the best team in the competition throughout the regular season with their demolition of the Parramatta Eels whilst the South Sydney Rabbitohs booked their place in the preliminary finals after surviving a scare from the consistent Manly Sea Eagles. Read on as we preview the four teams chances of making the holy grail of rugby league.
Canberra Raiders ($1.40) vs South Sydney Rabbitohs ($3.00)
Friday, 27th September 7:50pm, GIO Stadium
The first preliminary final sees the South Sydney Rabbitohs travel down the Pacific Highway to GIO Stadium to take on the red hot Canberra Raiders with a spot in the grand final on the line. Not too many people would have predicted that the Raiders would have been the hosts of a home preliminary final after they had to take on the Melbourne Storm but they have done just that by becoming the only team to defeat the Storm twice all year, with both wins coming away from home too. This week sees them return to their home stadium and they will be confident in their chances of booking their spot in their first grand final since 1994 with the return of some big name players to the starting lineup. These players include star centre Joey Leilua who missed the start of their victory against the Storm after copping remnants of a firework to his eye as he was heading out to the field. As a result Bailey Simonsson goes back to the bench after his match winning effort last start and Nick Cotric has also been confirmed to start after overcoming a gash to the face from last weeks game. For the Rabbitohs they will be in their second consecutive preliminary final and new coach Wayne Bennett will be hoping he can go one better than the sides disappointing exit at this stage last year. To do this Bennett has named an unchanged 17 from last weeks game with the only concern being a reported thumb issue for James Roberts. James Roberts has since been ruled out with Corey Allan reportedly coming onto the wing while Campbell Graham moves to Robert's centre position. The last time these two sides met was back in round 10 where the Rabbitohs triumphed 16-12 at GIO Stadium thanks to a 71st minute try, which was one of 3 consecutive mid-season losses for the Raiders. Despite this loss the Raiders actually hold a dominant record against Souths in winning 5 of the last 7 but they will have to turn around a concerning form slump at home that has seen them lose 3 of their last 4 matches at GIO Stadium. With this in mind combined with the fact that the Rabbitohs have not only won down in Canberra already this year but have an impressed 8 wins from their 12 away games this year then we are thinking that the generous 7.5 handicap that is provided is enough of a buffer for us to take the Rabbitohs with a start.
Recommended Bet: South Sydney Rabbitohs +7.5 $1.90
Sydney Roosters ($1.57) vs Melbourne Storm ($2.45)
Saturday, 28th September 7:50pm, Sydney Cricket Ground
This game has the billings of one of the games of the season as the Melbourne Storm will travel to the Sydney Cricket Ground with revenge on their minds as they come up against a Sydney Roosters side who convincingly defeated them in last years grand final. This grand final loss proved a surprise to many experts with the Storm showing their vulnerability in important games, an area that was highlighted in their shock 12-10 loss to the Raiders just two weeks ago. Thankfully for Storm supporters their side sent an ominous warning to the remaining teams in the competition by trouncing the in form Parramatta Eels by 32 points to 0 in their semi final from last week. This week poses a much scarier prospect for them although, as they face a Roosters side who put in arguably their best performance of the year by defeating their arch rivals the Rabbitohs 30-6 in the first week of the finals. To add to the strength of the Roosters is the fact that inspirational club captain Jake Friend has been named on an extended bench as he looks to return from an arm infection for his first game in over a month. Roosters fans will be hoping that his inclusion will somewhat offset the loss of arguably their most important forward in Jared Waerea Hargreaves after his suspension from the match against the Rabbitohs. In his place Siosiua Taukeiaho moves into the starting side with Lindsay Collins joining the bench but it will be interesting to watch the role that Friend plays as kickoff approaches. For the Storm coach Craig Bellamy has stuck with the same 17 who got the job done last week with Curtis Scott remaining in the centres with Queensland Origin centre Will Chambers on the bench. In the two games that these two sides have played this year there has been only 3 points separating either side in total with the Roosters winning a 1 point thriller in round 6 before the Storm secured a 2 point win in Adelaide. The close nature of these meetings has been a common occurrence between these two sides with 6 of the last 7 games being decided by 5 points or less. To add to this the Storm’s biggest losing margin all year has been by 4 points and with all of this in mind it looks like we are in for another close game. The area that tips us over the line is the record of the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Of their 10 games at the ground they have won 9 of them, with their last loss coming in round one to the Rabbitohs and this is enough for us to take the Roosters in a close, nail biting match.
Recommended Bet: Sydney Roosters 1-12 $2.70
