Sharks versus Cowboys
Friday night's Preliminary Final turned out to be a rather one-sided affair. The Sharks were bristling with energy and enthusiasm for the big occasion. The Cowboys performed like a tired and worn-out football team. This looked like a contest between a team on the way up and a team on the way out.
Fresh from a fortnight's break and clearly with premiership intentions in mind, the Sharks were never going to be denied in this one. They took charge from the opening whistle and never gave their opponents a look-in at any stage.
The Sharks' ball control in the early stages of the match was outstanding. They easily won the early possession and field position battle, to totally sap the Cowboys of whatever energy they had left after their epic semi-final against the Broncos the week before.
The Cowboys tried valiantly to stay in the fight, but it was only a matter of time before the Sharks' dominance was reflected on the scoreboard. Forget the late flurry of points from the Cowboys when the match was over. The Sharks had bigger things on their minds by that stage of proceedings. They will be ready for an 80-minute effort in this week's decider.
Where to now for the Cowboys?
Last year's competition winners staged a very respectable defence of their title in season 2016. No team has won back-to-back premierships since the 1990s. The Cowboys can be proud of the fact they were among the last four teams standing. They just ran out of legs towards the end of the year. The obvious question now is how the Cowboys are placed for next season and beyond?
Beating the best: Sharks coach Shane Flanagan shakes hands with Cowboys skipper Johnathan Thurston. Photo: Mark Kolbe
I think their long-term prospects are quite good given the performances of their junior rep and NYC teams in recent years. They have a good crop of youngsters coming through the system and several of them are ready to make the step up to NRL level. However, it might take a couple of years before they can find consistent winning form at the top level. The Cowboys have been around the money for several years now and it remains to be seen if their current premiership-winning window of opportunity is coming to an end.
For season 2017 there is a consensus of opinion that this side might be over the top of the mountain and heading down the other side. I think they will definitely be semi-final qualifiers again next year, but I don't predict another victory lap for at least a couple of seasons.
Storm versus Raiders
It would be quite easy to say that the better side lost this match. The Raiders didn't have much luck. They will probably feel they let this one slip through their fingers. However, the Melbourne Storm just keep finding a way to win close games. For this reason, it can be argued that they were again the better team. They produced the big plays when they were needed and got the result.
The Storm's ball control and completion rates were close to perfection. They defended brilliantly. The kicking game was first class as always. These are the things we have come to expect from this very professional, Craig Bellamy-coached side. At the end of the day, these are the things that win big matches.
Jordan McLean of the Storm is tackled during the preliminary final between the Melbourne Storm and the Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park on Saturday. Photo: Quinn Rooney
To be honest though, I was disappointed in the Melbourne attacking game. Despite dominating possession and being aided at one stage by an 11-6 penalty count, the Storm only managed to score two tries, one of those when the Raiders were reduced to 12 men after fullback Jack Wighton was sent to the sin-bin.
To their credit, they defended their points and turned a meagre 14-point tally into a winning score.
The Raiders would like to have this game over again. They looked by far the more dangerous of the two teams in attack. They just didn't quite know how to deliver the knockout blows.
Where to now for the Raiders?
No doubt the Canberra boys will be hurting after that narrow loss. So close, yet so far. However, the pain of this narrow defeat could well provide the motivation that drives them towards premiership success next season. This is a team on the rise and their best football is definitely in front of them. Right now I would rank them as premiership favourites for the 2017 season. The finals experience they gained this year will be extremely valuable to a side that is still coming together as a unit. The Raiders have assembled all the ingredients needed to win a premiership. They will watch this year's Grand Final, green with envy. I dare say the Green Machine will be there this time next season making other teams jealous of their success.
Then there were two
Melbourne and Cronulla are now the last two teams left standing. Both clubs have put together brilliant seasons. Mind you, that won't mean a thing to the loser on Sunday night. In this situation it's a clear case of winner-takes-all.
For the record, I think that the Sharks are "good things" to win their first ever premiership since joining the big league in 1967. It feels to me like their time has come. It really doesn't matter how this game is played, I believe the Cronulla boys have the football to win.
The Sharks showed they can tackle their way to victory with a stout defensive performance to beat the Raiders in a low-scoring semi-final in Canberra three weekends ago. Last Friday night they displayed their attacking prowess when they dismantled the Cowboys' defensive line with a highly impressive display.
I know the Storm beat the Sharks by a healthy margin only a month ago, but I walked away from that match believing the final score on that occasion was no reflection of the actual contest and that the Sharks could reverse the result during the finals if the two teams met again. As luck would have it, they now meet in the decider and I'm confident the Sharks will prevail. Sharks 25 Storm 12.
