So with 8 rounds to go who are the pretenders/contenders?

[BranVan3000]

Melbourne timing their run after being mediocre all season. Warriors flying under the radar.

Yeah I suppose Melbourne got lucky the ladder is so condensed this year, a couple wins and they are back in the mix

Slater is in the best form he has had in a few years, Cronk and Smith are always reliable. Could turn out to be the real dark horses. But then you have Ben Roberts.

Warriors aren't flying under the radar. IMO they have been struggling without the element of surprise the past few weeks, teams are showing up prepared for a tough match against the Warriors and the Warriors are losing these games. Same thing happened middle of last year, they won't make the 8

 

[POPEYE]

Yeah I suppose Melbourne got lucky the ladder is so condensed this year, a couple wins and they are back in the mix

Slater is in the best form he has had in a few years, Cronk and Smith are always reliable. Could turn out to be the real dark horses. But then you have Ben Roberts.

Warriors aren't flying under the radar. IMO they have been struggling without the element of surprise the past few weeks, teams are showing up prepared for a tough match against the Warriors and the Warriors are losing these games. Same thing happened middle of last year, they won't make the 8

Roberts > McCrone . . . like starting the last lap on an empty tank

 

[One Warrior]

Yeah I suppose Melbourne got lucky the ladder is so condensed this year, a couple wins and they are back in the mix

Slater is in the best form he has had in a few years, Cronk and Smith are always reliable. Could turn out to be the real dark horses. But then you have Ben Roberts.

Warriors aren't flying under the radar. IMO they have been struggling without the element of surprise the past few weeks, teams are showing up prepared for a tough match against the Warriors and the Warriors are losing these games. Same thing happened middle of last year, they won't make the 8

Struggling the last few weeks? Going into last week we hadn't lost for week and had just beaten the Eels 48-0, yes we lost vs Brisbane and should of beaten them.

 

[--Storm--]

Storm and Manly in a 2 horse race; will be the GF if the draw pans out.

Roosters and Rabbits in the hunt but neither will win.

Warriors and Dragons are the darkhorses.

 

[BranVan3000]

Roberts > McCrone . . . like starting the last lap on an empty tank

Okay?

 

[footy75]

Storm and Manly in a 2 horse race; will be the GF if the draw pans out.

Roosters and Rabbits in the hunt but neither will win.

Warriors and Dragons are the darkhorses.

Dragons gona make the 8?

 

[thommo4pm]

Dragons gona make the 8?

Yes. We are better than most of the sides at the lower end of the 8 or just outside.

 

[Pedro Morales Magonzales]

Storm and Manly in a 2 horse race; will be the GF if the draw pans out.

Roosters and Rabbits in the hunt but neither will win.

Warriors and Dragons are the darkhorses.

The Bulldogs don't rate a mention?

Surprising considering that they have beaten the Storm twice this season.

Dragons will struggle against the teams that have big packs of forwards.

 

[--Storm--]

The Bulldogs don't rate a mention?

Surprising considering that they have beaten the Storm twice this season.

Dragons will struggle against the teams that have big packs of forwards.

I personally don't think the Dogs will do much come finals I think there over-achieved IMO; Dragons have Raiders, Penrith, Broncos, Titians and Knights in the last 5 rounds so they have a pretty easy run home so they'll make the 8 I'd say

 

[BranVan3000]

If Dragons can jag a win against Roosters or Panthers in the next two weeks then they are a chance, but they will basically need to win all their other games with the way the ladder is log jammed

 

[Rebel]

I think Manly are gunna be hard to beat.

We will make the 8, but wont last longer than one week.

Think it will be a repeat of last years final.

 

[wibble]

Storm and Manly in a 2 horse race; will be the GF if the draw pans out.

Roosters and Rabbits in the hunt but neither will win.

Warriors and Dragons are the darkhorses.

That would be refreshing.

Its been ages since we've seen either side in a GF, let alone together.

Since everyone does look equally good/bad, you do tend to favour teams who have finals (and Grand Final) experience. But if ever there was a year for a team who hasn't been to a grand final in a while, this is it.

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

A Storm - Manly grand final would be a disaster. So f**king boring and uninspiring. Nothing against either team (okay I'm not really a Storm fan but genuinely besides the point) just seems to happen a bit too much in recent years.

Would like to see an unexpected team in the final, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Broncos, my own Warriors because I'm also biased, etc.

 

[Nice Beaver]

Personally I just don't see the Storm getting there.

They've come back to the pack and no longer have the aura they once had.

I think a few teams have their measure.

 

[BranVan3000]

I like that my team is so under the radar this year Nice change, best D in the combo and being under the radar going into the finals is a good combo

Of course we play Manly/Dogs/Roosters towards the end so I suspect the usual suspect will blow their loads if we get some wins there

 

[Apey]

combo

 

[slamminsam246]

Hasler vs toovey. Hodkinson vs cherry evans. Foran vs reynolds. Best pack vs best backline. 2012 gf runner-up vs 2013 runner-up. Written in the stars.

 

[Dutchy]

I like that my team is so under the radar this year Nice change, best D in the combo and being under the radar going into the finals is a good combo

Of course we play Manly/Dogs/Roosters towards the end so I suspect the usual suspect will blow their loads if we get some wins there

April 25
April 11
March 6

The only three games this year Souths have beaten a club currenrly in the Top 8.

 

[Vic Mackey]

It's been that way for the last 3 years

Souths are the ultimate flat track bullies

 

[natheel]

I'd love to see an old school rivalry as the GF