Valheru
Coach
- Messages
- 18,481
Two rounds to go until the finals, how do we see the matchups and schedule looking at this stage? The Storm are confirmed minor premiers and hosting in week 1. The battle for 2nd is alive and well with roosters favourites due to F/A. Schedule for the 3 teams in contention are:
Roosters - Raiders, souths
Sharks - Warriors, Manly
Panthers - Souths, Titans
The hardest match up of all of them is by far sharks/manly which is being played at Brookvale. Upsets are a definite possibility but it's hard to see any of those teams losing both games which leads to my next point...
Dogs to finish 5th as due to F/A they need to win both games and hope one of the above loses both although in the case of Penrith one might be enough as they are only 12 ahead.
Put Manly and Cowboys in whatever order you like for 6/7. They both have very tough draws to finish the season. I'll say they both win one and lose one meaning Cowboys finish 6th. The battle for 8th is intriguing. Dolphins/Broncos is an elimination game this week. Knights probably have the easiest draw with two home games against Titans and Dolphins. I'm going to go with St George to do enough against Parra and Canberra to keep their spot. So for me that all means the below with potential crowd in brackets
1 Storm v 4 Sharks - AAMI (25k) - Saturday 4PM
2 Roosters v 3 Penrith - SFS (37k) - Friday 8PM
5 Dogs v 8 Dragons - ANZ (55k) - Sunday 4PM
6 Cowboys v 7 Manly - QCB (25k) - Saturday 8PM
Given the realistic scenarios that is probably the best result available for week 1 crowds.
Scheduling wise, the above scenario would see roosters/panthers open on Friday night as Sharks play their last game on a Sunday and everything else follows from there with rest for week 2 kept in mind. Storm in the arvo slot to A) avoid a potential clash with a Geelong semi at the MCG and to B) avoid playing during the day in Townsville.
Please discuss how wrong I'll be
Roosters - Raiders, souths
Sharks - Warriors, Manly
Panthers - Souths, Titans
The hardest match up of all of them is by far sharks/manly which is being played at Brookvale. Upsets are a definite possibility but it's hard to see any of those teams losing both games which leads to my next point...
Dogs to finish 5th as due to F/A they need to win both games and hope one of the above loses both although in the case of Penrith one might be enough as they are only 12 ahead.
Put Manly and Cowboys in whatever order you like for 6/7. They both have very tough draws to finish the season. I'll say they both win one and lose one meaning Cowboys finish 6th. The battle for 8th is intriguing. Dolphins/Broncos is an elimination game this week. Knights probably have the easiest draw with two home games against Titans and Dolphins. I'm going to go with St George to do enough against Parra and Canberra to keep their spot. So for me that all means the below with potential crowd in brackets
1 Storm v 4 Sharks - AAMI (25k) - Saturday 4PM
2 Roosters v 3 Penrith - SFS (37k) - Friday 8PM
5 Dogs v 8 Dragons - ANZ (55k) - Sunday 4PM
6 Cowboys v 7 Manly - QCB (25k) - Saturday 8PM
Given the realistic scenarios that is probably the best result available for week 1 crowds.
Scheduling wise, the above scenario would see roosters/panthers open on Friday night as Sharks play their last game on a Sunday and everything else follows from there with rest for week 2 kept in mind. Storm in the arvo slot to A) avoid a potential clash with a Geelong semi at the MCG and to B) avoid playing during the day in Townsville.
Please discuss how wrong I'll be
