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NRL Final Series Wheel of Fortune
10 September 2013 01:29 AM
Without doubt the 2013 NRL Final series will go down as one of the toughest on record for punters to predict. For as long as footy fans can remember there isn't a single side that clearly stands out as the dominant team coming into the final series. For punters looking to invest their hard earned cash over the coming month it will be like spinning the Wheel of Fortune or the Chocolate Wheel at the Casino and then biting your nails to see if you are in the cash as the last peg clicks over. Before you jump to the defense of your team consider some of the facts that support this view.
Let's take the four teams that finished at the top of the table. None of them could hardly say they have had an ideal run into the Final Series with each of them experiencing a significant upset in the final rounds of the season.
Although finishing on a high note against the Rabbitohs last week the Roosters lost their two previous games to the Sharks and the Titans, who did not make the final eight. Not the sort of form that would have you brimming with confidence when putting your cash on the Minor Premiers.
The Rabbitohs had a similar topsy turvey run into the semi finals. They can be forgiven for a hard fort effort against the Roosters last week but how confident are you that they won't repeat their 18 point losses to the Storm and the Cowboys just a few rounds before. Or worse still a repeat of the ordinary effort that saw them lose to the hapless Dragons in Round 19.
The Storm have also been far from convincing coming into the finals. They scraped in against the Titans last week after being belted by the Sea Eagles at Brookvale the week before. Their run before that was up and down with big victories against teams like the Eels in the mix with loses to the Warriors and the Bulldogs.
Although looking very strong for the majority of the year Manly have a few demons to overcome on the eve of the finals. Remaining winless on the two occasions they met both the Roosters and runners-up the Rabbitohs will certainly create a strong psychological barrier for them to overcome. Just to top it off they were convincingly beaten by tenth place getters the Panthers in the final round of the season.
The bottom four teams have all proven they can shine on their day however patchy form seems to be the order of the day for most of them coming into the final series.
The Sharks can take pride as being giant slayers this year with the scalps of both the Roosters and the Rabbitohs during the season. Consistency however appears to be their greatest challenge with a pattern that reads 2 wins then a loss coming into the finals. On that basis they should win their first game and say farewell in the second week of the finals.
The Bulldogs and the Knights have a similar story to tell with fluctuating results over the second half of the season, punters found it difficult to predict which team would turn up on the day. Not sure much changes coming into the business end of the season.
Finally the Cowboys, who snuck into eighth spot after their sixth consecutive win in a row, including wins over finalists the Rabbitohs, Sharks and Knights, appear to be the only finals team who can boast consistency and a trend of improvement. Are they the dark horse? How important will their strong run home be in the psychological ding dong battle of the finals?
When you consider the facts it really is a tough one for punters to process. Which ever bets you decide to make over the next few weeks, you're better off looking for value, because with this much uncertainty surrounding each finalist it really is a wheel of fortune!