http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-roosters-to-win/story-e6frexnr-1225932010635
MATTHEW JOHNS: Welcome everyone to a Daily Telegraph edition of Controversy Corner. We've got an esteemed panel here, we've got Jason Stevens, Paul Kent, Eric Grothe Jr and Steve "Blocker" Roach. I suppose the first thing, going into a grand final, Dragons v Roosters, is who looks the best?
Kent: The Roosters look the best by far. They're the most
relaxed team we've seen for a while, grand final-wise, surprisingly because I didn't think the Roosters could do it.
Blocker: Is that because of they're out of sight, out of mind, the Dragons? We haven't seen that much of them during the week, just hiding down there in Wollongong. We've seen a lot of the Roosters sipping cappuccinos and carrying on. They are the best-looking side aren't they?
Guru: I reckon it's confidence, that's why they're going good. They're so confident they can just be in the public eye and not give a damn.
Blocker: You always look at body language after a game of football. The Roosters were yahooing straight after they beat the Titans convincingly.
Stevo: It was more a sigh of relief for the Dragons when they won. It looked like a nervous sort of win.
Matty: Brian Smith doesn't usually carry players like this, but they've got a few rascals in their side. People like Pearce and Carney, who have a high threshold for emotion. For me, emotionally the Roosters are higher than the Dragons at the moment.
Kent: They're in better shape to handle it. The Dragons, despite winning on the weekend, haven't thrown off the choker tag everybody labels them with and they didn't play like they wanted to get rid of it, either.
Matty: No, they played nervous.
Blocker: I think the speed of the game means that attacking teams can put points on in grand finals. The speed of the game and the size and number of the Dragons forward pack [means] there'll be a lot of guys lying in and around the play-the-ball and I think the Roosters can dominate that.
Guru: Six from six grand-final wins for Wayne Bennett has got to be mentioned. You've got to think this guy knows what he's doing, so that's a bit scary for the Roosters.
Matty: Have you ever seen Brian Smith so
relaxed and confident?
Stevo: Guru, you had him as a coach a lot more recently than I had him.
Guru: He was pretty
relaxed back then as well, but this is another level. He just seems so calm,
relaxed and happy to roll with it. I remember he used to pull people up for going too crazy getting into a grand final. Now he's letting them get into it.
Blocker: The more free and easy Smith is, you'll see the players being more
relaxed.
Matty: He's given a lot of the ownership of the side to the Pearces, Carneys and Anastas.
Blocker: The Roosters have had to go through a fair bit of pain to get to there. When Carney came into the side, Minichiello wasn't 100 per cent, they played Carney at fullback and the man [who] suffered was Anasta, who moved to lock. The rest is history.
Guru: That's the sign of a good team. They're just happy to roll with whatever confronts them. They're just doing what's working.
Matty: It's a big week for Jason Ryles. When he left the Dragons, he was the whipping boy on the hill at Kogarah and he's come out and said as much.
Stevo: It would be sweet for him. He's copped so much flak. He's come back from France and resurrected his career.
Blocker: I think his form is just as good if not better than when he was playing for the Kangaroos.
Kent: He gets a chance this week to give the Dragons fans their receipt.
Matty: There's no doubt there is going to be a lot of pressure on Jamie Soward. What pair of halves would you prefer to play behind, Stevo?
Stevo: Defensively, I'd be worried about Pearce particularly. As a front-rower, dealing with the fatigue of a grand final, I'd be more worried about what they can do.
Kent: In a way I think Soward is the key. If he steps up the Dragons are capable of kicking away. If he plays like he has the past few weeks, I don't believe they can get the points.
Blocker: He's done enough, but not what he should be doing. I don't believe you can just bang on a game in the grand final, you've got to have a bit of form leading into it.
Matty: The field goal might give him confidence. That's what got them through and he struck it beautifully. The advantage that Pearce and Carney have is they hound the lines relentlessly, and Anasta too.
Stevo: He's in his career-best form.
Matty: I reckon they'll attack Weyman big time. He's got that groin injury, his lateral movement, there's going to be a lot of questions there. I think Pearce and Carney will run riot. What will Brian Smith say to his Roosters before they go out there?
Guru: His eyes are so intense. He's good for a pre-game speech too. A bit of gladiator talk and you feel like you're 10-feet tall. I'm sure he'll bring out his best this week. If I had to go one way I'd go the Roosters.
Blocker: Bennett's strange in that the less is said, the more motivation he's giving you. The only other bloke I've seen do that is Jack Gibson.
Matty: On the other hand Wayne looked very nervous the other night. He looked probably more nervous than I've seen him before.
Stevo: And he had a right to be nervous. They dropped balls, their kicking game was off. It just didn't seem like they were hitting that line.
Blocker: It's amazing the way things change in semi-final football. The Roosters were 30 seconds away from getting kicked out and now they're in a grand final.
Matty: Dragons fans will probably read this and say hold up boys. But if you talk to rugby league people, 90 per cent are picking the Roosters. We might be underestimating the Dragons' defence.
Guru: They mightn't be interesting to watch but that's the thing. Teams that usually go all right in finals are the teams can grind a win.
Matty: All right, pick a winner and a Clive Churchill medallist.
Blocker: I think the Roosters will win by nine and the Clive Churchill medallist will be Mitchell Pearce.
Guru: I think the Roosters.
Matty: I think the Roosters in a really tight one, probably two to four points. I think Mitch Pearce will win it.
Kent: Roosters and Anasta.
Stevo: Roosters and Todd Carney.
Matty: Well there you go people. The five of us have gone for the Roosters so the Dragons are certainties.
