What a weekend of Finals footy that was! The Panthers consolidated their Premiership favouritism, the Cowboys pulled off the unthinkable and we saw some big upsets! It will also be the first time we that we haven’t seen the Roosters or Storm feature in Week 2 of the Finals for nearly two decades.
Another mouthwatering weekend of finals awaits, and it’s sudden death for every club from here on in. The Eels and the Raiders lock horns at Commbank Stadium on Friday night, with Preliminary Final date with the Cowboys to be claimed by the victor.
On Saturday, we head to Allianz Stadium for a monster clash between the Sharks and Rabbitohs. Will Nicho Hynes return another world-beating performance for his club, or will Latrell Mitchell continue his incredible form in big games?
Check out our previews of both matches and find our NRL Finals Week 2 Tips below!
The action is back in session in Sydney’s west on Friday night, and the Eels face the Raiders for a spot in next week’s Preliminary Final against the Cowboys.
Parra’s inconsistency throughout the reason really hasn’t hindered them at all, all things considers. They fought their way into a Top 4 berth, were therefore granted a second chance after losing last week, and their best form would be too much for this Raiders side to handle, in my opinion.
I thought that the Panthers did expose a few chinks in the Parramatta armour, but those are what Brad Arthur and his staff absolutely would have seen to this week, and there’s literally no doubt at all that the Raiders are a big drop in class in terms of opponents.
On paper, the Raiders’ journey into the finals itself looked to be their Grand Final but apparently, no one told them that. They were given little chance by pundits (including me), by the bookies and nearly everyone else, but they went to Melbourne, weathered the Storm, and they are fitting Semi-Finalists.
Hudson Young’s rise to prominence really has underlined what the Raiders have managed to achieve in this season half of the season, and while I personally won’t be with them this weekend, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them sneak another win.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Eels (-5.5)
- Maika Sivo Anytime Try
- Hudson Young Anytime Try
The match of the weekend will almost certainly come up on Saturday night when the Sharks takes on the Rabbitohs.
The Sharks were desperately unlucky not to win through to the Preliminary Finals last week, in fact, they probably should have. They had themselves in a winning position for most of the game, conceded late in regular time and ultimately lost after nearly 100 minutes of footy! They had their chances, and they cannot afford to do that again against a similarly destructive opponent.
Wasn’t the Souths vs Roosters game a cracker? It certainly wasn’t the best contest of the week, but more of these genuinely spiteful, history-fuelled rivalries are what we both want and need, and that was the most exciting game of footy I’ve watched from a neutral space for a long time.
Both clubs were pushed to the limit last week, but my question mark lies largely with Souths. A lot of players binned, and it was an extremely physical affair – what sort of toll is that going to have on them this week?
I certainly wouldn’t have priced Souths as favourites personally, and for that reason, $2 lines for the Sharks as outsiders is certainly my best bet of the weekend.