{"id":287773,"date":"2023-09-06T19:20:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=287773"},"modified":"2023-09-06T19:20:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:20:14","slug":"the-stats-and-facts-you-need-to-know-before-the-nrl-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/the-stats-and-facts-you-need-to-know-before-the-nrl-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"The stats and facts you need to know before the NRL finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Save articles for later<\/h3>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters may look to Vitas Gerulaitis for inspiration if the Broncos defeat Melbourne on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Gerulaitis failed to defeat Jimmy Connors for six years and 16 matches on the professional tennis circuit between 1974 and 1980 before recording a win.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!\u201d Gerulaitis famously said after his win.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Adam Reynolds, Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n

Brisbane\u2019s record is not as dire as Gerulaitis\u2019, but the Storm have beaten Brisbane 14 times in a row.<\/p>\n

Before the finals series gets under way, here are the stats and facts you need to know ahead of kick-off.<\/p>\n

The Broncos\u2019 shocking record against Melbourne<\/h3>\n

Brisbane may be one of the favourites to lift the trophy, but their first finals match-up is quite the challenge.<\/p>\n

The Broncos play Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night \u2013 a team they haven\u2019t beaten since round 25, 2016 \u2013 and if you just count their matches at Suncorp, the Storm have won every game against Brisbane at the venue since 2009.<\/p>\n

Melbourne most recently beat the Broncos at the Brisbane venue last week, but Craig Bellamy and Kevin Walters rested more than half their usual squads.<\/p>\n

Talking on Tuesday, star fullback Reece Walsh said he didn\u2019t believe in hoodoos, and that the Broncos were ready to end their dismal record.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I fear the Storm? No, I don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got an awesome team, awesome squad here, and we\u2019ve shown that through the year, and it\u2019s just about building on top of what we\u2019ve done and taking what we\u2019ve done this year to another level.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re the ones going out there; we\u2019re not the same team as whatever it is, the past 13 or whatever [years] everyone\u2019s tossing up. We know the team that we are, we know the footy we can play and on our day we\u2019re one of the best in the comp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warriors need to end their week-one curse<\/h3>\n

The Warriors and week one of the finals aren\u2019t the best of friends.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand team is playing finals football for the ninth time, but their biggest hurdle is winning the first game.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve lost their past three games in the first week of finals, the most recent of which was against the Panthers in 2018 \u2013 the team they just happen to be playing on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Of their eight previous week-one finals games, the Warriors have won just three.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand team is chasing an elusive maiden premiership, after losing in their 2002 and 2011 grand final appearances. Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was part of both those finals games for the Warriors, first as a player and then as a coach.<\/p>\n

If the week one curse continues to haunt the Warriors, they\u2019ll get a second chance against the winner of Sunday\u2019s Knights v Raiders clash.<\/p>\n

Unchartered waters<\/h3>\n

Despite having one of the closest head-to-head records in the competition, the Knights and the Raiders have never met each other in the finals.<\/p>\n

In fact, this is just the eighth time the two teams will be in the top eight together.<\/p>\n

The Knights\u2019 deepest run in the finals was in 2001 when they took home the club\u2019s only premiership in the NRL era (which started in 1998). It is also the last time the club made the grand final.<\/p>\n

As for the Raiders, the closest they have come to lifting the NRL trophy was in 2019 when the Green Machine lost in controversial circumstances to the Roosters.<\/p>\n

The Knights are in great form, having won their past nine games on their way to the finals, and have beaten the Raiders twice in 2023.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Brisbane coach Kevin Walters may look to Vitas […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-league"],"yoast_head":"\nThe stats and facts you need to know before the NRL finals - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/the-stats-and-facts-you-need-to-know-before-the-nrl-finals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The stats and facts you need to know before the NRL finals - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. 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