Storm clinch 2009 NRL title - Vini Vidi Vici

On Sunday evening the Melbourne Storm sent the western suburbs of Sydney into a spiral of depression. Meanwhile the majority of Melbourne jumped on a sporting bandwagon that has no signs of abating.

Melbournians, on the whole, know about as much about rugby league as Chicago knows about Olympic bid techniques, but they appreciate quality when they see it. They will claim the Storm victory as their own and hail it as a certainty, whilst at the same time wondering what a maths fraction has to do with Brett Finch.

In contrast, Parramatta knows rugby league like Einstein knew physics. Parramatta had surfed a wave of optimism for the past 3 months where they believed anything was possible. And why not? They had beaten the Dragons (Minor Premiers), Titans (3rd Place) and the Bulldogs (2nd place) to get to the big show, not to mention everyone else just to make the finals. Many Eels fans thought that this was the end of their long premiership drought (stretching back to 1986) and a return to their glory days of the 1980's.

How wrong they were. Anyone who saw the opening seconds of the match would have realised that the hit on Fui Fui Moi Moi was evidence that the Storm were not going to roll over and play dead. Yes Moi Moi hit back (see the hit on Brett White) over and over again, but without fellow enforcers, excluding Hindmarsh (who made a staggering 62 tackles) he was for the most part strangely uninspiring.

There was no doubt that the Eels were the underdogs and the way they played showed this. They threw the ball around like it was a pair of dirty jocks and created numerous breaks up the unusually soft Storm ruck. But for all their flamboyance and skill the Eels could simply not break through the last line of impenetrable Storm defence. It didn't help the Eels' cause, in fact some might argue that it created the bridge to far, when Inglis and Slater decided to leave their own marks on the game with two amazing tries.

To their credit, when all seemed lost, the Eels came back from the dead. It was that man again, Moi Moi, who led from the front (this time with some weary but courageous followers) and had the Eels back and within a whiff of victory after his rampaging run and try in the corner deep in the second half.

The Storm quickly put an end to the Eel revival with Inglis' drop goal (one of the ugliest drop goals you'll ever see, but nevertheless successful) and with only a few minutes left the premiership was again heading south.

Despite Melbourne's general lack of understanding about the game, the Storm's victory will go some way to illustrating that they have one of the best teams of all time in their own back yard. Rugby League is far from being a religion in the way that AFL is but this team is special. No ordinary team makes 4 grand finals in a row. And with such a high rate of player turn over Bellamy has shown that he has that inspirational coaching quality of make good players a hell of a lot better when under his tutelage. It obviously doesn't hurt having a core group of players such as Smith, Slater, Inglis, Cronk and Hoffman to further your success, but prior to this season who had ever heard of Dane Nielsen, Aidan Tolman, and Ryan Tandy. Only 2010 will tell whether Bellamy can do it all over again, but with that core back again for another tilt, don't rule it out.

A small aside, this was Daniel Anderson's third grand final loss in a row as he had lost the last two English Super League Finals with Leeds. As they always say, things come in threes, so what are the chances of a turnaround next year? He will find it particularly difficult with the salary cap putting a huge squeeze on his playing resources, but he turned around the club from being near bottom dwellers to grand finalists so nothing is beyond the realms of possibility. Having said that bookies are already putting the Storm back near the top of the favourites for the 2010 premiership, so there is no doubt 2010 will be eagerly awaited by sports fans all over the world. Only 156 days to go.....

Sports Wrap (NRL).....what a weekend!!

NRL: Well well well, didn't the first week of the finals throw up a few curve balls, not to mention a few mad monday celebrations going a little off the rails (stand up South Sydney)!

Dragons v Eels: The Dragons showed that a drubbing dished out to the Eels the previous week counts for little when the pressure of the finals kicks in. In true recent Dragon style, the red-v army on the field produced a performance that was reminiscent of skippy in the headlights. The headlights in this match were the feet and skills of Jaryd Hayne and he showed that he not only is an amazing player but also an inspirational player. He and his teammates last week were more like George Bush in a spelling bee, whereas this week under his tutelage they were able to spell and pronounce "Batrachomyomachia". Such was the turn around that betting agencies now have the Eels as being at $6 to win the premiership! Not bad for team that was at roughly $150 before they went on their winning streak.

The Eels now have a semi final against the travel shy Titans, whereas the Dragons have to face the Broncos in Brisbane. Not a bad result for the Eels, whereas Dragons fans have already started mad monday in preparation for the worst.

Bulldogs v Knights: The Bulldogs proved that without Kimmorley they can still put on a show and win well. The Knights, whilst plucky, determined and persistent, were no real match for the Bulldogs. The Knights took the lead first but, that was the end of any real momentum that they had in the match. It didn't help that their gamble on hooker Isaac De Gois paid less than 16 minutes. Not a great return in anyone's book.

The Bulldogs now have a week off to prepare for the winner of Eels and Titans and with Kimmorley a chance to return the Bulldogs may again firm as grand final favourites.

Titans v Broncos: The Broncos proved that the Titans are beatable at home. The Broncos got out to a commanding 20 point lead early on in the game as the Titans were anything but defensive. Whilst the Titans came back into the match only to be beaten 40-32, the talk after the match was all about, you guessed it, the refereeing. Titans coach John Cartwright had very few choice words to say about the men in the middle, but sadly for him the only thing to come from that may be a fine, the fact that his team lost, and now they have to travel to Sydney to play a team that finished 5 places below them in the regular season. Not really any consolation is it considering they like travelling as much as a punch in the groin.

Storm v Sea Eagles: Ah revenge tastes so sweet. The Storm avenged last years grand final drubbing by putting the boys from Manly onto their mad monday very early into the finals series.

It took Manly 70 minutes to register a point and by that stage, the Storm were 34 points in the good. Manly managed another try and conversion a few minutes later but that was the end of a comeback as Slater put down his fourth and final try for the game in the 77th minute. All in all, the Storm ran out 40-12 victors and will now enjoy the week off waiting to see who they face from the Broncos Dragons match.

NRL Finals Preview

Dragons (1) v Eels (8):

The most obvious question is will Wendell's head fit into the stadium? The Dell is getting more media coverage than Paris Hilton at an adult film festival and it will be interesting to see if he can handle the pressure as the Dragons look to get rid of the choker tag.

Under Nathan Brown, the Dragons arguably had some of the best players the NRL has seen in the past decade but just couldn't put it together when it mattered. Maybe he was taking his coaching tips from Greg Norman, but with Wayne Bennett in control if they cant win the competition the psychological damage may be irreparable and the Dragons faithful may be waiting some time before future finals chances come a'knockin.

Now back to the actual game, the Eels will be struggling to turn around from last weeks dismal shellacking against the Dragons. Of course they will get some inspiration from Jarryd Hayne having won the Dally M medal earlier in the week and undoubtedly his actual form during the game. Similarly, they didn't win 7 in a row by being a dud team, but can they actually turn it around?! No really, can they?!

The Dragons on the other hand have it all to lose. They are the heavy favourites after a dominant season (albeit a few minor hiccups towards the end end of the season). They also have history in their corner as well with only one 8th placed team beating the minor premiers under the NRL McIntyre finals system (Warriors beat the Storm in 2008).

Tip: Dragons by 8

Bulldogs (2) v Knights (7):

Kevin Moore might have dropped the coach of the year trophy at the Dally M awards earlier in the week, but he is unlikely to be caught on the hop against the Knights this weekend.

He was a well deserved recipient of the award having almost done the impossible of turning the Bulldogs from wooden spooners into minor premiers in one season. It was only a special Benji Marshall and a relaxed West Tigers who prevented the dream turn around.

The Bulldogs will again struggle this weekend without Brett Kimmorley, but they had better learn to live without him fast as, barring divine intervention, he will not be back for the entirety of the finals. The Bulldogs will play tight and solid (as evidenced by their 5 award recipients at the Dally M awards), but whether they have that little bit of creativity will depend on the halves and whether they can shut down Mullen.

The Knights have snuck under the raider into the finals with most attention being on their opponents and the Dragons but with steady heads in Gidley, MacDougall, and Mullen, not to mention the bookends of those three with their creativity. It will be very interesting to see the result and despite the the praise heaped on the Bulldogs above, there is a whiff of a boilover...

Tip: Knights by 2

Titans (3) v Broncos (6):

Did someone say derby? Did someone say sibling rivalry? Did someone say epic clash that most of Queensland will be besotted with?

It is the first time the Titans have been in the finals and they have proved that the are worthy title contenders.....if only the final was played on the Gold Coast. The Titans are supremely dominant at home but represent a wet dead fish away from home. Having said that, they have played good football home and away over the past 5 weeks (except for a minor blip last weekend).

The Broncos are storming into the finals like Casta Semnya on the final straight of the women's 800m world championship final. They have played some very attractive but also sensible league and teams that underestimate them will do so at their peril. The Broncos also have a fantastic mix of youth and experience (players with a combined total of 300 plus finals games) and should they be in a position to win the game against the Titans, the old heads should prevail and see the Broncos survive the first round.

Tip: Broncos by 7

Storm (4) v Sea Eagles (5):

In what is fast turning into a rivalry to match some of the greats (see Bulldogs v Eels, Manchester United v Liverpool, Collingwood v Essenden, England v Australia) these two teams play a grand final rematch in round one of the finals!

After 6 rounds of this season, hardly anyone gave the Sea Eagles any chance of making the finals let alone almost getting a home final. Similarly, most punters and pundits would have placed the Storm in their top two teams come season's end.

Watmough has been a revelation this season and has stepped up in the absence of Brett Stewart. Orford has also been fantastic as he has not been able to rely on Stewart getting onto the end of of his passes and kicks not to mention directing the team around like a cattle dog.

The Storm, on the other hand have had an indifferent season and looks like its been one of transition. They have not been helped by the late off season dramas with Inglis and the large number rep players during the middle of the season, but with Inglis back and firing on all cylinders, the Storm look like peaking at the right time. Finch was a great pick up during the season and he has done well with Cronk and the Storm at home will be tough to beat. These two teams will undoubtedly put on a spectacle, so tune in for fireworks.

Tip: Storm by 10