Melbourne v Penrith.

[Crab]

Furthermore to my noticing bug eyed riff players last night made me think of the mid season rage by the riff forward, it looked very much like a roid dummy spit.

That blokes coming our way next year BTW.

[Tommy Smith]

The Warriors and Storm are two of the worst sides I've seen in a Prelim final.

If you include the Cowboys last year, that's two years running a team has made a Prelim purely on the back of incredibly soft draws.

[mattyh]

Our 2018 GF performance beats Penrith's best effort.

On paper I think the 2018/2019 GF sides are the best of the NRL era.

of course you would ...statistics disagree

[Tommy Smith]

of course you would ...statistics disagree

I don't care about stats. It's called the eye test. The comp has been historically weak the past couple of years. Stone cold fact.

Are you a Roosters fan or Penrith fan?

The 2018 Roosters GF performance is the best I've ever seen in a GF. And id back that effort against any other I've seen in my time.

We had a gun forward pack and maybe the best backline ever assembled.

But you can back Penrith if you like...

[Rooster_6]

Feel sorry for the Warriors, have looked the 2nd best side tonight but got absolutely nothing from the refs tonight.

60 minutes in not 1 penalty for inside 20 or ruck infringement. Staggs should've been sin binned, Pompey was sin binned. One of the most blatant forward passes you'll see in the lead up to the try that took the lead from 12 to 18.

Not sure if they would've been good enough to win but they really haven't been given much of a chance.

[Thirteen]

The Warriors and Storm are two of the worst sides I've seen in a Prelim final.

If you include the Cowboys last year, that's two years running a team has made a Prelim purely on the back of incredibly soft draws.

It’s been a very weak comp this season. Testament to the fact that Warriors and Melbourne made the top 4 and Cronulla made the top 8 and Newcastle won so many in a row. Penrith were further weakened in player depth this year and were still pretty dominant and should go on to win again.

[Tommy Smith]

Feel sorry for the Warriors, have looked the 2nd best side tonight but got absolutely nothing from the refs tonight.

60 minutes in not 1 penalty for inside 20 or ruck infringement. Staggs should've been sin binned, Pompey was sin binned. One of the most blatant forward passes you'll see in the lead up to the try that took the lead from 12 to 18.

Not sure if they would've been good enough to win but they really haven't been given much of a chance.

The first pass was 5m forward. The second one was 3m forward.

Lol Most horrific singular moment of officiating in the history of team sport.

Shockingly one sided refereeing on the whole. They are suffocating the NRL atm.

[Tommy Smith]

It’s been a very weak comp this season. Testament to the fact that Warriors and Melbourne made the top 4 and Cronulla made the top 8 and Newcastle won so many in a row. Penrith were further weakened in player depth this year and were still pretty dominant and should go on to win again.

With the Roosters Rabbits Cowboys and Eels flopping it's lead to easily the lowest quality comp I've seen.

Congrats Warriors on a great season but some seasons this NZ team wouldn't have even made the finals.

It's been a perfect storm... A historically great and young - and INJURY FREE - Penrith side, colliding with a historically weak era of NRL footy.

But they absolutely deserve all the credit in the world because they still play blindingly good footy when it matters in the finals.

[roosterchook]

It’s been a very weak comp this season. Testament to the fact that Warriors and Melbourne made the top 4 and Cronulla made the top 8 and Newcastle won so many in a row. Penrith were further weakened in player depth this year and were still pretty dominant and should go on to win again.

Agreed. The top 8 consisted of mediocre teams. The only teams that offered any competition were the broncos, panthers and roosters. Refereeing the roosters out of the preliminary has made fans watch through matches where only one side dominated with the other team offering no resistance whatever and completely surrendering. But the NRL clearly did not want the roosters in the gf.

[BTRD]

5 out the 8 semi's have been floggings. Not a good look.

[Rooster_6]

5 out the 8 semi's have been floggings. Not a good look.

Not enjoyable for the neutral but it's going to happen every now and then, been some great prelims over the last few years just didn't fall that way this year.

[King Salvo]

No matter what, the two best teams during the regular season are in the grand final, which is not always the case in post-season finals games that determine who the two grand finalists are.

2014 and 2015 come to mind and 2017

I am waiting to see when an 18th team is admitted to what the competition will look like, as surely they will go to a two-conference system of nine teams in each conference.

Teams in each conference play the same teams the same number of times to avoid this hard and easy draw as a result of teams not playing the same teams the same number of times.

It seems to be a big political push for PNG to be the 18th team. Both the Australian and PNG governments are behind it.

If so, an example of a two-conference system

Conference 1

1. Roosters
2. Souths
3. Sharks
4. Dragons
5. Manly
6. Warriors
7. Storm
8. Knights
9. Raiders

Conference 2

1. Brisbane
2. Dolphins
3. Titans
4. Cowboys
5. PNG
6. Penrth
7. Parramatta
8. Wests Tigers
9. Bulldogs

[BTRD]

Not enjoyable for the neutral but it's going to happen every now and then, been some great prelims over the last few years just didn't fall that way this year.

Point taken.

[Bondicigar]

At least we will get to watch a competitive grand final.
it would have been a lopsided GF had the Broncos and Penrith ended up playing a prelim final.
the two best teams by a long shot are in the GF

[The Marshall]

I might be in the minority but I HATE Penriff. Almost as much as Souffs.

This current arrogant crop are destroying the game of rugby league and turning it into a touch footy hybrid.

Can somebody name me a more protected player both on the field and by the media than Nathan Cleary? Insanely overhyped it's not funny.

You could argue Latrell but there was the time he was a Rooster and copped it from the media every week.

I agree mate, they are sickening. I think The drongos can beat them.