Wow, since you were embarrassed yet again by the Raiders, you've played 11th, 9th, then 8th, and then had the week off.
Choke coming up.
If you repeat something often enough, someone might eventually believe you...
Let's have another look at this shall we? Our second half of the season (after smashing the slugs 30-0 in round 12):
Round 13 - won 22-20 vs Warriors (11th/5th): at the time they were 11th, and had just been smashed 50-6 by the Tigpies. They were definitely on the rebound in this game, and could very well have beaten us if a couple of bounces had gone the other way. We were also buggered, being the only team not to have had a bye. This agme was definitely the catalyst for the Warriors turning their season around.
Round 14 - bye
Round 15 - won 22-4 vs Cronulla (12th/14th): should have been a walkover on paper, but the gummies played out of their skin, and their idiot fans even claimed they would have beaten us if Gallen's "try" had been awarded.
Round 16 - won 34-10 vs Tigers (3rd/3rd): for the second week in a row, we had to listen to opposition fans go on about how close the game really was and how they just might have beaten us. Unlike the previous week, we were always in control of this one. it was closer than the scoreline suggested, but nowhere near as close as Tigpies fans have tried to claim.
Round 17 - lost 12-8 vs Penrith (2nd/2nd): the Panthers' Grand Final. Went with us for 80 minutes in a very committed performance (both sides were Origin depleted though). For some unknown reason, they were never the same side after this game, though they managed to cling on to 2nd position on differential.
Round 18 - bye
Round 19 - won 16-13 vs Souths (7th/9th): yet another game where the opposition were going on about how they coulda, shoulda, woulda. This time though, there was some justification. Souths were playing to consolidate their spot in the 8, and hit us with everything they had. They were definitely the better team, but that doesn't always guarantee a win.
Round 20 - lost 11-10 in extra time vs Titans (8th/4th): the Tits were on the slide leading into this one, and were playing to resurrect their season. This game convinced me they are one team that can go 80 minutes with us in a slug-fest. Got a little help from the ref, but they deserved to win on the night.
Round 21 - lost 10-6 vs Brisbane (9th/10th): yet another team walking the finals tightrope and desperate for a win. Not the best game I've ever witnessed (I was at this one), but a couple of flashes of brilliance from Folau got them over the line. This game sh*t me for the fact we only started playing football once the game was gone, though we did go close to pinching an undeserved late win.
Round 22 - won 19-12 vs Roosters (3rd/6th): another team that stuttered after running into us. They were the form team leading into this one, and the media love-inw ith Carney was in full swing. We completely outplayed them, but some questionable decisions, some poor finishing, and a flash of Carney brilliance kept them in it. A busted Brett Morris running down SKD saved our bacon.
Round 23 - won 32-10 vs Manly (6th/8th): plenty of talk about Manly climbing into the top 4 heading into this one, especially after the way they touched us up earlier in the season. Des was still talking them up after we smahsed them comprehensively. Injury and suspension (and their own uselessness) put paid to that.
Round 24 - lost 32-16 vs Canberra (11th/7th): yet another desperate team walking the tightrope. We held them well for half the game, but weren't able to convert our chances, and once they got a sniff, they ran all over us. Best lesson we could have got heading into the semis, even if it did come with a side dish of a sh*tload of trash talk from green slime fans.
Round 25 - won 26-18 vs Newcastle (11th/11th): they were still a chance of sneaking into the 8 if they won, and were apparently fired up by some event called Old Farts Day or some such. We ran roughshod over them in the first 40, but to their credit they came back hard in the second. We could ahve very easily been overrun for the second week in a row, but the players had learnt, and we closed the game out nicely.
Round 26 - won 38-24 vs Souths (9th/9th): Manly's incompetence had given Souffs a glimmer of hope, but alas, their incompetence was of a higher grade. Nothing much can be concluded from this game, other than the fact we have some decent backup options. We needed an easy one after so many weeks of playing either top 4 teams or teams fighting for finals survival. Manly did their best to ensure we didn't get it, but Souffs inevitably trumped them to ensure we did.
Qualifying Final - won 28-0 vs Manly (8th): not the greatest spectacle, but with the troops Manly were missing (and those they lost nduring the game), it was never going to be a contest. We had two options: play it safe against a team with nothing whatsoever to lose and make damn sure we progress, or throw caution to the wind and put a massive score on a second string lineup. Bennett for whatever reason went for option 1. We'll see in 6 days time whether it was the right option.
There we go, my best effort at summarising how we've gone and who we've faced in the second half of the season. To me it looks like a pretty decent preparation for finals footy. The last 9 weeks we played either fellow top 4 opponents (Tigers, Penrith, Roosters), or teams playing for their season (Titans, Broncos, Newcastle, Canberra, Souths x 2). The exception was Manly, who were playing to break into the top 4 according to the talk at the time.
Conclude from this what you will.
