Places in the preliminary finals are at stake as the Panthers and Cowboys enjoy a week offAnd then there were six. Goodbye Sydney Roosters, see you later Melbourne Storm. Buckle up, because week two of the finals series is here. For a reason escaping just about everybody except the NRL, there are three weeks still to go but we have already reached the “semi-finals” stage. But stranger things have happened in rugby league. And more curious turns could be taken yet. Penrith and North Queensland are now sitting pretty in the preliminary finals and will watch as Parramatta, Canberra, Cronulla and South Sydney play for the privilege of facing them with a grand-final berth on the line. Continue reading...
Fortune favoured the brave as six teams became four in week two of a thrilling 2022 AFL finals seriesAt Melbourne, they often speak of learnings. There aren’t many more weasel words than learnings. It’s a word that’s popular with chin strokers, with LinkedIn loiterers, and with football coaches. In the past, there haven’t been many learnings (sorry) to take from the second week of finals. Semi finals are often a reordering of the top four, a reminder not to be seduced by the previous week’s winner.But this weekend was different. This weekend taught us a lot. We learnt, for instance, that Melbourne simply isn’t good enough. After Round 10, they were the shortest priced premiership favourites in the history of...
After a barnstorming opening round of finals a ridiculously high bar has been set for this week’s two matchesNot enough has been written about the art of being underwhelmed by football. Certainly not in the past week, after a few days of finals footy that began as engrossing and ended up as epic, heralding a media deal equivalent to Fiji’s GDP.But for the neutral supporter, there is a sense of AFL ennui this weekend, particularly in the context of it approaching the middle of September. To use the words of Ross Lyon: “Sometimes it’s just... it wasn’t vibing. There was no vibe.” Continue reading...
History says the premiers are unlikely to come from outside the top four but the tale of the tape can only tell so muchIt won’t be lost on the Sydney Roosters that winning a premiership from outside the top four is about as likely as cracking a double-yolked egg. An exaggeration, perhaps, but the odds are not good. In the 113 years since 1908, 111 champions finished inside the four – Brisbane claimed the title from fifth in 1993 and the Bulldogs from sixth in 1995.Still, there’s something brewing in Bondi. The Roosters, who finished sixth on the ladder, are on the longest winning streak of any team entering the finals. The last match they lost was to Penrith at...
Australia had a spring in their step in Sydney but walked away with one of the more woeful implosions of recent yearsThe Wallabies’ trajectory this year has been, like their namesake, steadfastly up and down. Every ascent – the courageous 14-man win in Perth against England, the pounding of the Pumas in Mendoza, the demolition of South Africa in Adelaide – has been followed by a thud, as they come back to earth the following Test with a crushing defeat after a glorious victory.The inconsistency is infuriating for fans who crave momentum and want to see progress heading to next year’s World Cup on 8 September – now 12 Tests and 12 months away. But the Wallabies have not won...