The Finals thread:

[LeonardCohen]

The storm getting done in another grand final made me think about what the dogs did this year with shaking up their 6/7 with Galvin

Melbourne are the ultimate club team where you need to be at your best to beat them but seem to be unable to overcome outstanding individuals when it comes to a grand final. It is why next year they will be there or there abouts again for the regular season.

I think the dogs were heading down the same path and see Galvin as another player to take them to the next level (jury is out if he actually does) rather than just being a minor premiership team.

I think Melbourne keep losing big games because their middles and centres are average. If you look at last nigh’s game, Howarth misses the tackle on Walsh that leads to the first try, he goes off injured, and Wishart stifled their attack for the remainder of the game. Meaney got smoked by Shibasaki for two tries. The middle forwards could not win the ruck against Brisbane’s superior athleticism in the second half; the Broncos were running downhill.

When you look at Melbourne, they have four of their own very special individuals; all four could have stepped up and owned the game and taken home a Churchill medal, but they were never given much of a platform. On the contrary, Brisbane did have that platform and you say, had the individuals to exploit it.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Right through the season I never thought Broncos would be premiers, but credit where it's due, they came from a long way behind in each of their finals games and that's pretty impressive.

They actually trailed 12-28 deep into the 2nd half v Raiders!

And yet again the winner comes from the Top 4...

Anyhow, remains to be seen how they will back up next year though, historically teams get a bit tired of Madge so they may struggle to match this year's heroics.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Right through the season I never thought Broncos would be premiers, but credit where it's due, they came from a long way behind in each of their finals games and that's pretty impressive.

They actually trailed 12-28 deep into the 2nd half v Raiders!

And yet again the winner comes from the Top 4...

Anyhow, remains to be seen how they will back up next year though, historically teams get a bit tired of Madge so they may struggle to match this year's heroics.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Also, Walsh is having his moment but like Turbo and Barba and Hayne and Ponga and other superstars, everyone waits around for it to happen again and sometimes it doesn’t.

 

[Niallcc]

Bar humbug. Let the kid be. He will learn to tame it down as he gets older.
He might be arrogant, but he is a good sport and never gets nasty on the footy field.

I would much rather watch Walsh than the robots of Penrith and most other players.

I heard him sounding halfway mature when he got off the team bus in Brisbane. Yes, he’s young and flashy, but he’s also a role model. Looking forward to seeing what he delivers in England. And what a high bar of skill in that game for us to meet next year.

 

[Scorpio]

Crazy game, it's have certainly eaten my words earlier in the year with Madge
He steered the ship around and proved alot of doubters wrong
Fair play and well deserved

I think the best thing the Broncos did was recognise that they had a problem with an underperforming team, and backed Maguire to make all changes he deemed necessary. Including making all of their players earn their spots, regardless of their credentials. Selwyn Cobbo was playing Origin last year but ended up in reserve grade.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Their huge loss to us was a turning point for the Donkeys, they also learned to win without Reynolds and that was evident last night.

I thought the Drizzle were really disappointing and I believed that they would win this season after witnessing them give us a hiding early on.

Reece Walsh as great player that he is , is very much a protected species and its annoying that rules that are enforced for 27 rounds are ignored come finals time!

 

[XV-1]

Melbourne have been served very poorly by the biggest most damaging forward in the game that plays for them.

Missing one grand final due to ill discipline is one thing, Missing two in a row is unforgivable.

I wonder who picks him up next year as he is on big coin.

 

[The '47ers]

Broncos star Reece Walsh is free to play in Australia’s opening game against England later in the month after escaping with a fine for his high tackle on Xavier Coates on Sunday.

Walsh survived a potential sin bin after he collected a falling Coates with a shoulder to the head, before going on to score a stunning solo try in a dramatic opening forty minutes of the grand final.

The responsibility is on the defender, oh wait, umm, play on, Coates led with his head.

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

Since the mandatory grand final era began in 1954, no team that has lost back to back grand finals has reached the next year's grand final and won it. Nobody.

Only one team since 1954 has even reached a third straight grand final after losing back to back. That was Wests Magpies in 1961-63 and they lost them all to St George.

Every other team since 1954 that has lost back to back grand finals, failed to reach the following year's grand final at all.

Newtown 54-55
Parra 76-77
Manly 82-83
Balmain 88-89
St George 92-93
Easts 03-04

 

[The Insomniac]

I heard him sounding halfway mature when he got off the team bus in Brisbane. Yes, he’s young and flashy, but he’s also a role model. Looking forward to seeing what he delivers in England. And what a high bar of skill in that game for us to meet next year.

The difference between Reece and Tommy Turbo in big games :
Reece = Hard to stop
Tommy = Hard to start.

 

[Buddy Love]

Aha fair call he did just run that game.

I will correct myself and say it was equal to that

I'm happy I witnessed both. Walsh was crazy last night he saved a few tries as well. Guys very strong for a small fella. I heard the commentator say he made 60 tackle breaks in the last 7 games ... can someone confirm this ridiculousness hahaha

 

[Buddy Love]

Crazy game, it's have certainly eaten my words earlier in the year with Madge
He steered the ship around and proved alot of doubters wrong
Fair play and well deserved

With a good team he's a good coach

 

[LeonardCohen]

With a good team he's a good coach

Thing is, this applies to 9/10 coaches in the NRL. Every now and then one comes along with potential and circumstances reveal that they're not cut out for the top job (a guy like Barrett springs to mind), but it's rare. Most of the coaches that struggle and get sacked have pretty ordinary rosters at clubs that are perennially languishing near the bottom of the ladder. Most of the coaches in the NRL would have been able to get that Broncos roster to shine; it's stacked. Even a guy like Kevin Walters was able to get them 16 points clear with 20 minutes to go against Penrith before they choked. That was serious choking that had nothing to do with coaching and everything to do with a lack of experience in big games. Walters technically, bar a Cleary miracle, was able to do what Madge did two years later.

I'm not directing this at you personally, but I feel too much credence is given to a coach when evaluating a team's performance, when it discounts the substantial role the players in that team have on whether they're successful or not. Robinson has Uncle Nick's deep pockets. Penrith have the best junior nursery in the league and the best player in the league at halfback. Melbourne have an incredibly well financed football department and their reputation alone means they get the players they go to market for and rarely miss out. Brisbane is the rich one town club (until the Phins came along) and all the best players in QLD want to wear their jumper.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

I'm happy I witnessed both. Walsh was crazy last night he saved a few tries as well. Guys very strong for a small fella. I heard the commentator say he made 60 tackle breaks in the last 7 games ... can someone confirm this ridiculousness hahaha

Not much discussion about the tries he let in last night.

A Barba/Hayne-style career meltdown for this mercurial bloke is quite possible.

Could be fun to watch.