A few weeks ago it was alleged that the St George Dragons were already printing up premiership t-shirts. If so, that could be a huge waste after the Dragons lost their first final to the Eels. NRL betting was thrown on its head as the massive outsiders upset the whole apple cart.
What it did was give Melbourne a week off as well as a home preliminary final. If Melbourne’s weekend wasn’t good enough, it only got better when the Eels victory, in the process eliminated the Sea Eagles.
The Dragons now head to Brisbane to take on the Broncos. Here you have Wayne Bennett taking on his old club in a game filled with storylines. The winner of this match will have to go down and take on the Storm. Both sides have played the Storm in a Grand Final and know how much of a threat they are.
The other game this weekend sees Parramatta play the Gold Coast Titans. The Titans finished third and lost last week to the Broncos. The winner of this match plays the Bulldogs for a spot in the Grand Final.
Was it the complete lack of expectations which helped the Eels? In recent years they have struggled with favouritism and maybe being complete outsiders helped them against the Dragons. The lack of distractions would have been good for them.
In other NRL news, South Sydney coach Jason Taylor fights for his job after his Mad Monday meltdown. He slapped one of his players who didn’t react too kindly to it. Elsewhere there isn’t much news.
Over in Manly, they weren’t celebrating like they were last year and were another NRL side to be eliminated when not actually playing. It is a difficult feeling to deal with seeing as its totally out of your control but that is how the system works. Interestingly, the NRL and AFL used different Final 8 systems and then swapped to the other one, the exact same year.
The one the AFL currently use is deemed to be fairer as the top four have more control over their own destiny. Had Melbourne lost to the Sea Eagles it would have been them who was eliminated and crazily it would have been the Sea Eagles not only not eliminated but having the week off.
Many people find this exciting while others don’t think it is fair. What do you think?
When David Wiseman isn't wondering who will win the NRL Grand Final, he is wondering who will win the Melbourne Cup.
