Brett Stewart won two NRL premierships on the Northern Beaches with some of the toughest to play the game,but he says he’s never seen anything like Tom Trbojevic.
In just two weeks,Canterbury’s prize-winning defence has been demolished by finals opponents. But it may take only a simple fix to restore its steel.
When Luke Brooks played his first NRL match,at the SCG in 2013,he thought finals football would duly follow. It did … but he’s had to wait much,much longer than anticipated.
This is one of the best weekends of the year – and I think the biggest winner will be one few are expecting.
When Daly Cherry-Evans and Stephen Crichton face off this weekend,memories of the recent State of Origin series won’t be far from the surface.
Having ducked a showdown with the AFL on Saturday night,the NRL knows there will be a flow-on effect for the second week of the finals.
The Herald’s experts take a look at this week’s finals matches and name the two teams they think will battle it out for the premiership.
The skippers of this year’s top eight teams tell the Herald which players are primed to cause havoc in the play-offs,and which opponent they’ll be keeping their eyes on.
Sydney’s east and west will collide,the 2016 grand final combatants will renew their rivalry and the Bulldogs will play finals for the first time in eight years.
The NRL has avoided a head-to-head clash with its rival code by moving the Canterbury-Manly clash away from Saturday night at Olympic Park,where the Giants are playing Brisbane.
Star fullback Tom Trbojevic was sorely missed as Manly went down to a damaging 40-20 defeat at home to Cronulla in the final round before the play-offs.