The NRL has concluded its last round of games before the finals season beginning this week. The AFL played its first round of it finals this weekend and we say goodbye two teams.
NRL
With the standard home and away season complete we finally have our confirmed top 8 for the finals.
- Canberra Raiders
- Melbourne Storm
- Canterbury Bulldogs
- Brisbane Broncos
- Cronulla Sharks
- Warriors
- Penrith Panthers
- Sydney Roosters
The top 8 saw no change compared to the ladder last week, much to the disappointment of the Dolphins. The Roosters defeating the Rabbitohs was enough to secure their position in the top 8 and destroying all hopes that the Dolphins could make a finals appearance. The Titans were able to narrowly evade the wooden spoon with a victory over the West Tigers, and the Knights being defeated by 56 points by the Eels.
AFL
In the first week of the finals we saw the minor premierships defeated at home by fourth place contenders the Collingwood Magpies. The game however has garnered much controversy over the crowd booing Isaac Quaynor, the player who was the subject of Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur. Rankine claims the slur had been the result of some back and forth statements between himself and a different Collingwood player Dan Houston.
In Victoria this week we witnessed the Geelong Cats face off against the Brisbane Lions. The Cats showed a dominant display with the ball and came out on top with a victory by 38 points, securing their place in a preliminary final. On Saturday we witnessed the Giants host the Hawks at ENGIE stadium for the first elimination final. The Hawks defeated the Giants with a 19-point victory, but the giants also suffered the loss of star player Darcy Jones tearing his ACL mid-game.
Lastly, on Saturday night we saw the game of the week. Fremantle hosted the newest finalist contenders Gold Coast Suns in Perth. Gold Coast held the lead for the majority of the game until the final minutes of the game, Fremantle made an epic recovery to close the gap in the score and with barely a minute on the clock the scores were even. It wasn’t until the very last original Gold Coast suns player David Swallow sunk the behind with 9-seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Suns.
