The boys and the men have been separated in the NSW Intrust Super Premiership as week one of the finals is ready to explode into your living room.
The SWR League team will be out covering all four Intrust Super Cup finals over Saturday and Sunday led by Daniel Pettigrew and the team.
1st Qualifying Final: Panthers Vs Bulldogs
The Panthers have been the best side over the course of the season through their defence and red hot attack. The big question is whether their young side will fall victim to any 1st week jitters. That said, with quality players throughout you can be confident in backing the Panthers. For the Dogs look out for their young and hungry backs (Josh Bergamin and Thomas Carr to name a few) and their mobile forwards. This should be a cracking game full of points.
1st Elimination Final: Mounties Vs NZ Warriors
It’s do or die for one of these two sides who need to leave everything out on the field on Saturday night. Mounties need to find some semblance of form after losing their last 5. The losses of Brad Abbey and Sam Williams has hurt Mount Pritchard badly. If they can complete their sets and hit the front early then the sky is the limit.
The Warriors have been inconsistent all season but if there’s one side that can cause problems when they flick that switch it’s the boys from NZ. Sam Cook is a natural play maker and along with Karl Lawton at dummy half and a monster forward pack, Mounties might have their work cut out for them.
2nd Qualifying Final: Dragons Vs Jets
The pick of the games over the weekend. Both sides were neck and neck all season and have played in some classics in the past. Similar to the Panthers vs Dogs game, this game has the potential for lots of points and excitement. The battle of the forwards will be intriguing as will be whether the Jets can fire if Kyle Flanagan plays first grade again. Not one you want to miss.
2nd Elimination Final: Wests Vs Wyong
Wests not too dissimilar to Mounties have fallen away after a superb start to the season. There is enough quality all over the park to do some damage in the finals series but poor ball control and lack of discipline defensively has hurt them over the last two months.
Wyong have the experience at this level and with one of the best coaches in the business in Rip Taylor, they know they can get the job done. Look for Mitch Williams and Eloni Vunankece to lead from the front for the Central Coast based side.
