NRL Preliminary Finals, Tips and Previews
Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles
September 24th
New South Wales rivals South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly Sea Eagles will lock horns in a massive preliminary clash under the light of Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
With a place in the grand final up for grabs, it is chance for both players and coaches to take another step towards becoming immortals within their respective clubs.
The Sea Eagles have had to take the scenic route on the way to preliminary final after copping a belting in the qualifying against Melbourne and then following it up with a big victory over Sydney.
South Sydney, meanwhile, caused a boil over against Penrith with a 16-10 upset win as a $3 outsider in its respective qualifying final.
The week off to ease the bruises and hard hits of a gruelling season might just be the advantage the Souths need to progress through to the grand final.
Souths have also have a very impressive recent record over the Sea Eagles having won the last four encounters by an average of nearly three converted tries.
Wayne Bennett will get his chance at a grand-final swan song.
SUGGESTED BET:
Rabbitohs head to head at $1.70
Storm vs. Panthers
September 25th
The two best teams in the NRL throughout the home and away season go head to head when Melbourne Storm meets Penrith Panthers on Saturday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium.
The Storm has become the un-backable premiership favourite after scooting into this preliminary final with a crushing victory over Manly a fortnight ago.
Penrith, meanwhile, has had to do it the hard way after a shock loss in the qualifying final against South Sydney was rectified with a grinding war of attrition against Parramatta which it won 8-6.
The Panthers would have liked the extra week off after such a brutal contest, but it must contend with less than ideal circumstances.
To make matters worse for the Panthers, the Storm will welcome back Josh Addo-Carr from a hamstring injury which kept him out of the 40-12 win over Manly in the qualifying final.
His barnstorming runs are going to cause issues for a weary Panthers defence.
Both teams have split the ledger in terms of wins against each other this year with a win each.
But the Storm have the most recent result over the Panthers after a crushing 37-10 win in Round 20 at this very venue.
Craig Bellamy is going to get another over Ivan Cleary and stake his claim as the greatest coach in NRL history.
