Who Plays Finals 2021

Discussion in 'The Cesspit: Rugby League Discussion' started by morgieb, Jun 7, 2021.

  1. morgieb MC Burridge

    It's mid-season, so it'll be interesting to see the finals race this year.

    Current ladder:

    Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
    1
    [​IMG] Penrith Panthers 13 12 0 1 0 400 114 +286 24
    2
    [​IMG] Melbourne Storm 13 11 0 2 0 430 162 +268 22
    3
    [​IMG] Parramatta Eels 13 10 0 3 0 360 212 +148 20
    4
    [​IMG] South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 9 0 3 1 317 272 +45 20
    5
    [​IMG] Sydney Roosters 12 8 0 4 1 344 197 +147 18
    6
    [​IMG] Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12 6 0 6 1 265 264 +1 14
    7
    [​IMG] North Queensland Cowboys 12 6 0 6 1 246 333 −87 14
    8
    [​IMG] St. George Illawarra Dragons 13 6 0 7 0 293 284 +9 12
    9
    [​IMG] New Zealand Warriors 12 5 0 7 1 265 305 −40 12
    10
    [​IMG] Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 12 4 0 8 1 233 280 −47 10
    11
    [​IMG] Wests Tigers 13 5 0 8 0 280 334 −54 10
    12
    [​IMG] Gold Coast Titans 13 5 0 8 0 284 345 −61 10
    13
    [​IMG] Canberra Raiders 12 4 0 8 1 219 305 −86 10
    14
    [​IMG] Newcastle Knights 13 5 0 8 0 221 342 −121 10
    15
    [​IMG] Brisbane Broncos 13 3 0 10 0 216 398 −182 6
    16
    [​IMG] Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 12 1 0 11 1 134 360 −226 4

    I genuinely think every club from Newcastle up can play finals, but equally I think all of the Top 5 are secure. Of the other three spots:

    Manly's hopes rest on Trbojevic. If he stays fit, they make finals easily. If he doesn't....depends on the injury length. Honestly though the calibre of the rest of the comp is so shit it might be enough to play finals anyway, lol.

    North Queensland I think are fluking it at 7th, they've won an extraordinary amount of tight games at home and most of them have come against ordinary teams. Won't win the spoon or anything but I think they fade away as the season goes on. Ehh, at least the season is better for them than it looked after Rd 4.

    St George have dropped off quite a bit since their start and I think their bubble has burst. Again, I think they miss finals but again have perfomed above expectations.

    Warriors haven't been too impressive this year, but they haven't been crap either. Their draw for the second half of the year looks pretty kind as well. I think they sneak in.

    Not sure on Cronulla. The Gold Coast game might prove to be a decent steadier, but before that they weren't playing well. The standard of the Top 8 is bad enough that even mediocre might crack finals, but I don't think they're good enough.

    Wests seem to be turning a corner. They seem to be playing some nice attacking footy now, and have gone some way to sorting their shitty spine. Things look good for 9th.

    Gold Coast I'm pretty down on at this point. There just isn't enough leadership or intent there. Was fairly high on them early on but their holes just look too glaring.

    Newcastle and Canberra are obviously this year's big underperformers. I have no idea what's happened with Canberra - initially they looked to be playing OK....before they weren't. It's still a decent side on paper so it's strange they've imploded. I guess the dire off-field situation doesn't help. Newcastle have had a tough injury run but I think their problems go beyond that - they just don't seem capable of playing with any degree of direction or consistency. While neither club is quite a write-off yet, it's not looking good.

    ~

    Cribb is 100% right about his finals opinions :p
     
  2. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    Outside of the top 3-5 teams, it really doesn't matter. We are gonna see a few hammerings in the early weeks of the finals.
     
  3. morgieb MC Burridge

    Imagine if the original McIntyre system was still in place!

    5v8 could be a belting though.
     
  4. jazman84 JM Eightyfour

    Needs to go back to top 5 are in the finals. Teams that barely break even or lose more than they win over the course of a season should not be featuring in the playoffs.

    They brought top 8 in '95 because they had 20 fucking teams!

    Half the sides in the comp should not be competing.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
  5. stupersteve03 SJ Cambridge

    I can't envision a world where it isn't just panthers v. storm so the rest of the 8 seems meaningless.
     
  6. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    Cleary injury.
     
  7. jazman84 JM Eightyfour

    Teams in the top 6 could beat them on their day (and maybe the Dragons if they played out of their skins) but a Storm/Panthers GF is pretty likely.
     
  8. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Current top 6 + Gold Coast and Warriors.

    I think I picked current top 5 + Canberra + Newcastle + Gold Coast at the start of the year. Newcastle have been fucked by key injuries and Canberra have been fucked by infighting; I think the only team I really pegged wrong was Manly.
     
  9. stupersteve03 SJ Cambridge

    I think this is backwards. On a bad day from Storm or Panthers, they are beatable. I honestly don't feel like any team's best is as good as Storm or Panthers average standard.
     
    Sultan Pepper likes this.
  10. stupersteve03 SJ Cambridge

    I think the closest mark is Manly with Turbo and Panthers without Cleary or Storm without Munster.
     
  11. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Souffs at their best are definitely better than the Melbourne and Penrith average IMO.

    They're not at their best very often though and basically pea-hearted when they concede a reasonable sized deficit. This is usually description of the "dark horse" who finishes 6th or so, but I reckon they'll probabbly finish 3rd. Closed off comp this year.
     
  12. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    Tigers make the 8 and win the comp. They ended the streak
     
  13. Magic AJ Parker

    Melbourne have done tremendously well given the injury toll they have had to battle this season. To only lose 2 games puts them right up there with the Panthers by my estimation.

    Not so much the number of players missing the importance of personnel missing. Harry Grant, Papz, Munster all missing for parts of the season.

    For a side that's looking to re-establish itself and probably reinvent itself to an extent post Smith its been an impressive performance to date.

    Bellamy proving he's definitely more than just the man benefiting off the big 4.
     
    Sultan Pepper likes this.
  14. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    I've got Storm as favourites. As dominant as Penrith have been, they'll have a whole other level of pressure, self doubt etc when it comes to finals. I also think the extreme gulf between the top few teams and the rest hurts Penrith more than the Storm, they need more hard games.

    I do think if NSW can get over Queensland in the origin it will do a lot for the self belief of the Panthers, for Luai, Yeo, Cleary to get one up on Munster and co. will be an important mental milestone.
     
  15. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    I'd enjoy seeing the Sharks have a bit of a run, them to do well with a half they don't want, half a pack they don't want, a back line of geriatrics and a care taker coach would be nice.
     
  16. Wilson SB Wilson

    We’ve also got a delightful run home. Warriors x2, Broncos x2, Tigers, Bulldogs, Knights. Still too much inconsistency to be comfortable about it, although the $6 to make the top 8 two weeks ago was delicious.
     
    Sultan Pepper likes this.

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