NRL Finals Week One

Its finally here and I cant contain my excitement. September and NRL can only mean one thing... Semi Final football.

There isnt too much between the top four teams. Personally I think any of those sides can win it if they produce their best football. I like the new system that the NRL has adopted for this finals series and its impact can be seen by the week one match ups.

Bulldogs V Manly is going to be a sensational game. Manly will start favourites, just the way Des Hasler would like it. We all know the back story to this game with Des and Manly and all that rig morale. I think all of that has been flogged to death and a bit more focus will be on some of the individual match ups.

Imagine being young Josh Jackson having to mark up against Tony Williams on your Finals debut. Ben Barba and Brett Stewart, Kieran Foran and Josh Reynolds the list goes on. I think Manly will win this game, they are peaking at the right time and have been in second gear during their last 4 victories. That being said I wont be surprised if the Bulldogs come out of the blocks quickly and blow the game away. It will be a hard hitting game and the loser will be vulnerable when they have to play next week against either Cronulla or Canberra.

Melbourne V South Sydney. Billy Slater said today that this Rabbitoh's side has a very 'Melboure' feel about them. Greg Inglis, Michael Crocker, Matt King, Coach Michael McGuire all spent significent time with the Storm and won Grand Finals. Michael Crocker only lost one game in his time with the club, an outstanding record.

Melbourne having a home game this weekend is a huge advantage. South Sydney have never won in Melbourne and they have struggled to defeat teams higher than them or around the same position on the ladder. With Greg Inglis in the kind of form he is in, the other guys will jump on board and I am sure they will play well. We will learn a lot about Souths this weekend.

North Queensland V Brisbane. A QLD derby is just what the doctor ordered for the first week of the Finals. They will bring out the best in each other. The Cowboys held Brisbane to 0 in Townsville earlier this year. 2004 saw the same match in the Cowboys maiden Finals series and it was a 10-0 upset to North Queensland. That match was won on defence and I think this one will be the same. We have all see how brilliant the Cowboys attack can be but defence wins championships. Brisbane have struggles severely after Origin and have looked tired. They will bust their guts and give it everything but I cant see them winning this one. Lacked potency in attack recently, they need to turn things around fast.

Canberra V Cronulla. If you had of told me 8 weeks ago this was going to be the 6v7 elimination game, I would have slapped you. The Raiders since round 14 have been pretty good. They have won 5 in a row and have been playing with the semi final mindset since about June. Cronulla's bubble has burst and have won just 2 of their last nine games but they will be markedly better come Sunday. Todd Carney returns to Canberra for a semi final for the first time since he was sacked by the club. This could be a classic finals game and I think Canberra will win. Since they have treated their home games like away games they have been outstanding. Josh McCrone has been wonderful and Shaun Fensom is a workaholic in the mould of a Dallas Johnson. His running game is much underrated. Shillington will lead the forwards and Josh Dugan returning is a constant threat.

There is my look at the first week of Finals.

This is going to be a great series. I honestly couldnt give you an answer on who will win the comp. My answer will change several times over the next month.