The race to NRL Finals 2017: Form guide and projected results

23 August, 2017 The81stMinute 0 Comments 1 category

BY CURTIS WOODWARD
@woodward_curtis

The 2017 NRL Finals are just around the corner with nine teams left in the running to claim rugby league’s greatest prize. Curtis Woodward takes a look at the remaining teams left standing.

 

Melbourne Storm
Current Position: 1st
Projected Results: R25 WIN v Rabbitohs, R26 WIN v Raiders.

The undisputed premiership favourites are flying and finish the season with home games against South Sydney and Canberra. Any lethargy ahead of the Finals will be forgotten as the Cooper Cronk farewell party begins. Realistically, the Storm has another four games at AAMI Park if they win in Week One of the playoffs so it will take an almighty effort from a rival side to knock them out before the Grand Final.

Melbourne will be at ANZ Stadium on the 1st of October.

Form: A+

 

 

Brisbane Broncos
Current Position: 2nd
Projected Results: R25 WIN v Eels, R26 WIN v Cowboys.

Wayne Bennett’s Broncos have begun their surge and are looking for a fourth consecutive victory this weekend in a blockbuster showdown against the Eels.

Brisbane is now the top contender to dethrone the rampaging Storm.

Star five-eigth Anthony Milford has found another gear recently but it is the form of Tautau Moga, Kodi Nikorima and Ben Hunt at hooker that will have Coach Bennett smiling.

All good teams through history boasted class in key positions – the great teams also found a way to get the most out of everyone else in the squad.

Form: A+

 

Sydney Roosters
Current Position: 3rd
Projected Results: R25 LOSS v Sharks, R26 WIN v Titans.

There is no doubting the credentials of this team – they are after all, sitting third on the ladder without really finding any serious line of form in 2017. In the last three weeks they’ve only managed one win and even that was a scare against the 15th placed Wests Tigers.

Saturday night is a chance for them to make a statement against Cronulla-Sutherland. Whether that happens is another question.

The Roosters have the roster to win the premiership but now is the time to drop the hammer.

Form: C

 

Cronulla Sharks
Current Position: 4th
Projected Results: R25 WIN v Roosters, R26 WIN v Knights.

You get the sense that the Sharks are waiting for Finals footy.

They were pretty poor against the Raiders at home in Round 22 and again the following week in Brisbane. But this side has so much experience that Sharks fans shouldn’t be too worried. They are the Premiers and in a better position for this time of the year than many defending Champions before them.

Expect them to come good this Saturday against the 3rd placed Roosters.

Remember too that the last time they had to flex their muscle this season was against the same opposition in Round 17 where they hammered the Chooks in Gosford 44-12.

Form: C-

 

Parramatta Eels
Current Position: 5th
Projected Results: R25 LOSS v Broncos, R26 WIN v Rabbitohs.

Was their shock loss to the Knights in Round 23 the wakeup call they needed or was the 29-10 defeat a window into things to come?

Some had the Eels missing the Finals at the start of the season but the mid-year addition of Mitchell Moses has been the injection they needed. Parramatta is a mature rugby league team that knows how to win – whether it is by 20 points or 1.

This Thursday’s trip to Brisbane is a real test. It isn’t the end of the world if they lose but they must challenge the Broncos across the field and show the other contenders that they won’t go meekly into the night.

Form: B+

 

 

Penrith Panthers
Current Position: 6th
Projected Results: R25 WIN v Dragons, R26 WIN v Sea Eagles.

The Panthers have not lost since July 2nd and are currently on a seven game winning streak. They should beat the Dragons and the Sea Eagles in their final two games. Theoretically, Penrith could go into the Finals as the form side in the NRL but still probably won’t have won over the experts.

Anthony Griffin’s team are yet to claim a heavyweight scalp this season and until they do – they’ll be considered a dark horse and nothing more.

Form: A+

 

North Queensland Cowboys
Current Position: 7th
Projected Results: R25 LOSS v Wests Tigers, R26 LOSS v Broncos.

It will be a miracle if the Cowboys hold on and claim a Finals birth as the injuries in Townsville continue to mount. There is no questioning the heart of this side as they went down fighting against the Sharks last round but you have to wonder how much petrol is left in the tank.

Wests Tigers have shown enough in recent times to suggest they are a new outfit under Coach Ivan Cleary and the Cowboys just so happen to get them at Campbelltown in James Tedesco’s final home game.

They will fight all the way in their final two games but there just isn’t enough left.

Form: C-

 

Manly Sea Eagles
Current Position: 8th
Projected Results: R25 WIN v Warriors, R26 LOSS v Panthers.

If the Sea Eagles scrape into the Finals, they’ll be hammered in Week One and bundled out of the premiership race on current form. They need to find a win in their last two games but it won’t be easy.

They should be able to sneak by the Warriors and that will be enough to secure a Top 8 spot.

Form: D+

 

St George Illawarra Dragons
Current Position: 9th
Projected Results: R25 LOSS v Panthers, R26 WIN v Bulldogs.

Despite their annual late season wobbles, the Dragons can still make the Finals. If the Cowboys drop their two games, St George Illawarra should get in with a victory over Canterbury in Round 26.

Shock losses to the Knights and Rabbitohs in back-to-back rounds hasn’t helped but they’re still a real chance.

Form: D+

@woodward_curtis

 

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