There is good reason why both sides have a chance in the last dance.
And it's because they both well and truly deserve to be there.The best and most entertaining teams are in Australia's biggest sporting event.And who could begrudge them?
Brisbane with their livewire set of halves which are setting everyone's imagination on fire,with a great backline waiting to pounce on the advantages that they will take.
The Broncos have a forward pack to match any of the past 10 years.Big,tough,mobile and brutal.
They will be charging at the line of scrummage in a battle of forwards that will jiggle the local seismograph no end.
The Nth Qld Cowboys will come into this match very confident after beating a close full strength Melbourne outfit in Melbourne which has most experts claiming is the perfect dress rehearsal for this showdown with the Broncos.
The Cows on board have probably the best performing,and on top of this,the better experienced of both of the halves pairings.
Nth Qld also has a giant backline,which will come in handy in the final 20 minutes of the game when relief will be needed for their tiring forwards.
The Cows forward pack is one of the scariest I've seen for some time.Size,raw power,speed,it has it all that you could wish for in a near dream team such as this.
One with a keen eye has to take in what each team faced on the weekend,and weigh up the variables in how they got to the Grand Final.
For Brisbane: The Roosters started in a way that only nightmares are made of.Having 18 points put on by Brisbane in virtually no time,albeit 12 of those points were very fortunate and aided by a lax of concentration by the Roosters side,Brisbane will not get this luxury out of the Cows.
And as a consequence,the Roosters were made to play catch-up football for the rest of the game.
Although the underlying popular opinion is that if Pearce and Hargreaves played,the outcome might have been different.But that kind of logic is purely academic but,to be fair,it is note worthy point.
The difference here is that Nth Qld beat a very-very good side in Melbourne which was at full strength.Whilst on the other side of the coin as I mentioned,Brisbane beat Easts,minus their kingpins (with Pearce practically a passenger for the time he was on) at home which was aided by some fortuitous plays.
Conclusion:I see most of the first half territoriality dominated by the Cows,with a lead of 14-6.The Broncos will come home with a wet sail late in the second half,but with no avail with the Cows running out victors by 28-20.
And with this game that is promising to be one that has the potential to go down as a game for the ages,let us all hope the result is not bound by a reason but for the football Gods to manage,and not the refereeing.
And at the end of the night,it will be the Cowboy that will be riding the Bronco to the North.
1st try scorer Coote.
MOM,Cooper.
