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There are so many ways to describe the Roosters\u2019 win over the Sharks last week: courageous, tough, improbable. Even days later, I still don\u2019t know how they won.<\/p>\n
But the cold hard truth is that match wasn\u2019t anywhere near semi-final standard. We\u2019ve all been swept up in the way they managed to win with Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii not finishing the game, James Tedesco spending 10 minutes in the sin bin and back-rowers defending in the centres. That\u2019s all true.<\/p>\n
Yet I don\u2019t think the formline will stand up this week against Melbourne. The Broncos-Storm final was light years ahead of the Roosters-Sharks game in terms of quality and the way I see it, it\u2019s almost going to be impossible for the Roosters to beat Melbourne at AAMI Park on Friday night.<\/p>\n
You just don\u2019t see the Storm play that badly two games in a row. Cameron Munster and Harry Grant were quiet against the Broncos, but Melbourne\u2019s big challenge is in the forwards. Watch the way Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Tom Flegler constantly bent the Storm defensive line last week. It\u2019s not often you see Melbourne players being left on the ground at the ruck, but the speed and power of the Broncos was just too much for them to handle.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no better coach at exposing a frailty in an opposition and Craig Bellamy will go at the Roosters\u2019 two halves, Sam Walker and Luke Keary, who are among the smallest in the competition.<\/p>\n
Combine that with new centre combinations \u2013 Paul Momirovski and Corey Allan have been named this week \u2013 and the Storm will be targeting the area where the halves and centres will be defending.<\/p>\n
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The Roosters will be trying to keep their season alive in Melbourne.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Where do the Roosters\u2019 points come from? It\u2019s a good question. I can\u2019t see them scoring more than one try per half. That leaves them with 10 or 12 points at most. And I can see the Storm racking up 20-30 points with the dry conditions.<\/p>\n Cameron Munster will stand up. He won\u2019t be as bad as he was last week. It all points to a big Melbourne win.<\/p>\n Joey\u2019s tip:<\/strong> Storm by 20 Who\u2019s going to own the big moments: Shaun Johnson or Kalyn Ponga? I think the result of the Warriors and Knights semi-final will come down to which of the two superstars can do the business when it matters.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a case to say both of them could be fighting it out for the Dally M medal in a couple of weeks\u2019 time. I know Ponga missed a lot of the first half of the season through his concussion lay-off, but in Newcastle\u2019s nine-game winning streak before the finals, he would have gone close to polling maximum votes almost every week.<\/p>\n But the Dally M won\u2019t matter to either of them, they\u2019ll just be desperate to win this week.<\/p>\n This is Newcastle\u2019s biggest test since their win over the Storm back in July. They\u2019re coming off a really tough victory against the Raiders which went to extra time. You can\u2019t underestimate the physical and mental toll that would have taken on them.<\/p>\n Kalyn Ponga tore the Raiders to shreds on the right in the second half on Sunday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NRL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n For whatever reason, they looked flat in the first half against Canberra. Maybe it was expectation? But they can\u2019t let that happen again over in Auckland.<\/p>\n The combination between Ponga and Tyson Gamble really got the Knights back into the game. I\u2019ll admit, I thought Gamble was just a fringe first-grader when he came to the club. That\u2019s unfair. He\u2019s got a lot more class than that. And he\u2019s really stood up with Jackson Hastings having his injury problems over the last month.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s Newcastle crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n The winner will be the team which can keep the scoreboard ticking when they have possession and field position. The other side of the coin is, who will scramble best in defence?<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got the Knights winning by two in a close one. We can only hope!<\/p>\n Of all my years of going to McDonald Jones Stadium or the old Marathon Stadium, I\u2019ve never seen a better atmosphere than for last week\u2019s final against the Raiders.<\/p>\n Thinking about the crowd as Dom Young raced down the sideline is still giving me goosebumps.<\/p>\n The one thing about a Newcastle crowd is they\u2019re well educated. In the first half, they picked up on the anxiety of the team. But once the Jack Wighton bite happened, it lifted the crowd.<\/p>\n I thought it was one of the great days in the club\u2019s history and it made a lot of people happy.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it matters who wins this week, it\u2019s hard to see anything but a Penrith-Brisbane grand final. If that\u2019s the case, then we\u2019re in for some treat with the best attacking team against the best defensive team.<\/p>\n In big games, your big guns stand up. Nathan Cleary is an absolute champion. Last week\u2019s qualifying final win over the Warriors was the best all-round game I\u2019ve seen him play \u2013 and that\u2019s saying something. I thought with Jarome Luai out he might be a little more conservative, but it\u2019s been the opposite. He knows his side has lost a little bit of flair and X-factor and he thought, \u2018right, I\u2019ll make up the difference\u2019.<\/p>\n His try when he showed the ball to several teammates to turn under, and then knowing the exact moment to run himself and where the best gap was to exploit, was sublime. He was in total control of his game and the match as a whole.<\/p>\n Adam Reynolds\u2019 big-game experience is similarly important for the Broncos. The way he landed that 45-metre kick on a dime over Cameron Munster\u2019s head was the exact reason the Broncos bought him. His side just looks fit, fast, powerful and hungry. That\u2019s scary for any opposition.<\/p>\n We might be in for a grand final for the ages.<\/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 Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First try-scorer:<\/strong> Harry Grant
Man of the match:<\/strong> Cameron Munster<\/p>\nSJ versus KP in battle of the superstars<\/h3>\n
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Newcastle crowd at its best<\/h3>\n
Cleary, Reynolds on track for grand showdown<\/h3>\n
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