with the game in the heartland booming via crowds and ratings, and now with the storm eliminated for cheating, the only real contenders left are sydney teams.

clearly my club is in the box seat, the dragons

manly are playing a very attractive style of footy. hell, they even beat the cheaters down there in melbourne

parra will find form when it counts, they are way to skillful not to challenge

the tigers can do anything. tuqiri is playing as good as he always has, and benjis form could win him the dally m

below that the dogs and maybe panthers will round out the 8

heck the titans could be the only non sydney team to make the finals

an all sydney final would see the games popularity through the roof

if my team cant make it, i hope its a tigers / eels grand final. the 2 most skillful sides in the nrl in terms of attack

Manly will take some stopping IMO, they've got a good solid pack and the two young halves are only gonna get better the more games they play. It's just a shame Brett Stewart is out for the season but they could still win it without him, Ben Farrar has been doing a good job for them at FB and Jamie Lyon is in good form aswell.
I expect the Eels to come good and they wont be far off, Dragons will be there abouts but i dont think they'll win it. Tigers are too inconsistent and i dont fancy anyone else.
Manly v Eels GF

manlys halves are awesome

foran and marshall is going to be a fantastic halves combination for the kiwis

unlike orford and lyon who run sideways, these halves always play direct and put pressure on the line

i havent missed a manly game and they are unlucky not to be undefeated

Don't care as long as my teams there.

If my teams not there, the only Sydney clubs I'd like to see have some much needed success would be the Bunnies and the Sharks.

The Warriors are hot and cold like always, so I wouldn't write them off just yet.

The game will always be popular in Sydney, and probably Brisbane as well. Therefore wouldn't it be better for the game if someone like the Warriors made the GF, increased the game's popularity in NZ, and paved the way for a 2nd franchise there.

Thanks Ronny.

Whooosh....

I don't like our (The Tigers) chances.

Sheens has lost the plot. First, he plays a 2nd game halfback at frigging fullback even though Beau Ryan has done the job over the past few weeks, he puts a complete nuffy (Fitzhenry) in the halves and to top it all off, he has a lightweight bench against the Pennies who have a monster pack. If it weren't for Chris Heighington, we'd have lost by 40. You can see the team's confidence slipping away and it's all to do with Sheens' playing "let's see how he does somewhere other than his best position". He thinks Fitzhenry is a good utility when it's patently obvious he isn't up the NRL standard anywhere on the park. Christ, I'd rather have John Morris back and playing 7 than have Fitzhenry anywhere in the 17.

Losing Moltzen is a kick in the guts. But then again, even though we have won 9 from 9 when Moltzen has started at 7, he would have moved him to fullback in a heartbeat.

I believe Taumata and Lui will both be available next week, so he'll probably put them both back to NSW cup and start with Blitzy Fitzy in the halves. I'd love to see Taumata given a shot but I have no doubt that Sheens will do something retarded again.

Sheens is 3 years past his use-by-date, time for him to step aside and let Folkes coach us.

Tigers play great then they play like the Tigers of old, a very hot and cold side, must be frustrating to support them.

They never seem to strengthen the forward depth though.

tigers are a great side

lui back from injury and was wondering about tamata

sheens has brought on some great kids

fifita is going v.well

top 6 for sure

Tigers could easily go on a long winning run but could just as easy lose every game this year. Sheens should step aside, hasn't even made the finals since 05 and they look the same inconsistent team again this year.
Fitzhenry was cr@p at HKR, i dont know what Sheens see's that others dont. They've had there injuries but he just seems to tinker with the team alot anyway. Losing Moltzen was a massive blow but i thought this Taumata guy was meant to be a really good player, just couldn't stay out of trouble?
When is Tuiaki back and will Sheens move Lote because Tuiaki usually plays on the left wing?

tuiaki wont be back till round 15 or so i think, complications with his anke

taumata will get picked soon i heard

St Chokers in the box seat?

Bulldogs v Manly final with Manly to win it imo.

Taumata, Lui, Payten and the Shirnack brothers all back in round 10 apparently. That was after them going to be back in round 6, then 7.....

Sheens is off again, our best player week-to-week is Robbie Farah, so what does Sheens do, he moves Farah to half again (a failed experiment from the past) and moves Fulton to Hooker. Fulton will go well at Hooker but Farah isn't a 7. He probably thinks that Smith at Melbourne did the job whilst Cronk was out (The big difference is that Melbourne's pack is a dominant pack, unlike ours).

Sheens' insistence on pushing players out of position is maddening. Last week was the nadir though, he puts a kid in for his second NRL game at 7 then moved him to fullback before the kickoff and puts Fitzhenry in the halves. Fitzhenry is a waste of space.

Lui hasn't done a lot but I look forward to him coming back. I can't see Taumata getting a shot, he's starting to smell like Matty Head....

Dogs v Saints final. That would be awesome. Were just starting to show something now. I reckon a top 3/4 finish will see us through.

massive game tomorrow!

shame hanant aint playing

both sides off wins