NRL Tipping

Qbert · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:03 pm�� Post subject:

I was really happy top see QLD win wuch a hard match. Allthough game 2 was great, I much prefer for QLD to win like the good old days when their chips are down and they are being out-played yet still pull through. Allthough i will take any win

.

I agree with you Toasty, NSW showed absolutly nothing in attack which really hurt them. They had much more oportunities and had 2 play makers to go to (as oposed to our one) yet still showed nothing. I think replacing Wallace with Pearce solved nothing, they were both spectators letting the #6 rule the game. (Not including game 1 where Wallace had a blinder).

About Bellamy...He has so many rep players to coach from which does make his job a hell of a lot easier but I'm not going to write him off yet. I still think he's a very good coach, just not the second coming what so many people describe him as. I mean really he lost the 2006 GF which the Broncos had no right to win, won the 2007 GF against absolutly dismal competition and then lost this years SoO at one game up against a side with only one player maker (a combination that they thrashed in game 1).

The worst call of the night goes to the chargedown being played at by Mick Crocker. Hits the bloke on the back of the head and knocks him out and he is ruled to have played at it?! What a joke.

The important thing is the win though, I'm over the moon right now. Let's make it 4 straight!
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RAMPAGE · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:48 pm�� Post subject:

Great 3rd game. But what the most important thing of the night was... How Hot was that chick that sang the national anthem. OH MY.. Those jeans in tight singlet in that cold weather I was hoping to see some more but hey she was hot. lol.

Kurupt · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:04 pm�� Post subject:

From what I remember she looked more like a crack addict.

RAMPAGE · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:36 pm�� Post subject:

^Well then you need bloody glasses mate, if you think she looks like a crack addict.

RAMPAGE · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:55 pm�� Post subject:

Man melbourne were on fire today. Good game. And Big Del had a great game last night. Man he was so close to scoring lol.

Qbert · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:52 pm�� Post subject:

The big news this week is of course Sonny Bill Williams leaving the country to play for a second div french rugby team in France for a reported $1.5 million aussie dollars a year. I've never liked SBW, he has always seemed way to up himself and is one of the most over-rated players running around. But even I didn't think that he would stoop this low and bail on his best mates and club which he made his name at 2 days before a game. What a dog act. I really hope that the NRL keep this tough stance and do not let him back to the NRL ever, if he he does not want to come back.

Other news this week is Joey Johns wanting to cut Sydney teams. I half agree with him that I am a huge supporter of expansion, but I think that he is over-reacting. I actually think a lot of people are and that the NRL is not in as bad a shape as people are saying.

Here's my $0.02 on what should be done....

First of all, we need teams in Perth and Adelaide. They need to be financially supported by the NRL in order to get going (Similar to the Storm and Lions in AFL). People bitch and moan about Melbourne not producing any local talent after 10 years in the competition (Parramatta CEO every 2nd week for example) but they are missing the point that it gets millions more in TV rites each year. The SoO is now shown there live I believe and I would assume that the Storm games are shown on free to air. TV networks care about ratings on a 5 point scale - Bris, Syd, Melb, Adel and Perth. The NRL has teams in only 3/5 of these cities which is stupid. Give Perth and Adelaide a team, add in Auckland and then you have even more capital cities than the AFL for TV rites. Plus, rugby league is booming (so to speak) in WA compared to any other time, with a team from Perth playing in the Jim Bean cup (like the QRL i think, the 2nd division comp (not the national Youth Comp though)). Don't forget that Rugby Union has a decision to expand to either Perth or Melbourne and they chose Perth. The Western Force oer there are doing fantastically and it's such a shame that the Reds (defunct rugby league team in the 90's) were scrapped.

On top of that, QLD is crying out for a fourth team, ideally in the west out near Ipswich. League in QLD is going great, especially compared to NSW. The only problem is that the whole of QLD has only 3 teams with NSW having 10! That isn't right, especially considering that QLD has so much depth (in SoO) these days, there are plenty of players to make as 4th QLD team.

So in my opinion that means that the following teams are certain starters for my ideal NRL comp...

1. Brisbane
2. Nth QLD
3. Gold Coast
4. West Brisbane
5. Canberra
6. Melbourne
7. Adelaide
8. Perth
9. NZ

Add the 10 teams from NSW and you have 19 teams, which is obviously way way to many teams to have in a comp. So the following is my proposal to cut them down....

10. Newcastle are fine. They are not in Sydney and have a huge fan base with good crowd figures.
11. Need a superpower team from Sydney's West to fight of the AFL team moving in. That would mean merging Penrith, Wests and Parra. Or kicking two of those teams out of the competition. Or relocating them to a new place.
12. One team from central Sydney, which atm would seem to be the Roosters (even though they are really Easts). The Roosters have to much money and power to be kicked out IMO, but a merger would work.
13. Someone needs to relocate to the Central Coast or a new venture there.
14. St George Illawarra should be relocated permanently to Illawarra.
15. Manly/Bulldogs/Cronulla/Souths
16 Manly/Bulldogs/Cronulla/Souths

Out of those 4 clubs, I'd go with either 3 but the Sharks as they have terrible croud figures and seem have never won a premiership.

So that would leave it like this...

1. Brisbane
2. Nth QLD
3. Gold Coast
4. West Brisbane
5. Canberra
6. Melbourne
7. Adelaide
8. Perth
9. NZ
10. Newcastle
11. West Syd/Blue Mountains
12. Sydney City
13. Central Coast
14. Somewhere in the south of Sydeny/NSW
15. Sydeny team #1
16. Sydeny team #2

That's 7 teams from NSW which is still a lot for one state. Personally I don't think dropping it to a 12 or 14 team comp is the way to go. I know that this craps on a lot of history and culture of the game, but what they need to understand is that most of the fans or potential fans do not care about the culture too much. The N in NRL stands for NSW. Look at all the QLD cup sides that have history that the NRL doesn't care about. It counts the post 1988 days as the NSWRL premierships counting, with the QRL premierships meaning squat.

If the NRL don't want to expand straight away, then they either need to drop some teams or relocate them. Because less teams in more areas with a greater fan base means more money and more of a quality comp. This means that the players will get the money they need here and not have to move overseas.

The only other solution I can think of is the idea being thrown around of a 2 tiered comp, like the English soccer. So there are 24 teams, 12 in first grade and 12 in 2nd. The winner of the 2nd div comp moves up to the prop per comp the next year and the loser of the proper one moves down. Now in theory i really like this comp. It means that 8 more teams can be added into the comp, easily enough to have more in QLD, WA, SA and even NZ and that no NSW teams need to be kicked out, just start out in the 2nd comp. However the one big problem is that this doesn't create better crowd figures, which atm are terrible. Sydney teams, the 'heartland' of the game, average like 12 000 people a game whereas in the AFL, the heartland, teams average something like 35 000 people at least a game. So having a lot of clubs all having a small amount of support will get small crowds to games, meaning that those clubs will lose money and we will be stuck in the same situation we are now.

Glad to get all this off my chest lol.
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Toastfarmer · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:03 pm�� Post subject:

I think 16 teams is definitely the right number but it is definitely too heavily weighed to Sydney. It's ridiculous how many clubs have 'home' games at ANZ Stadium.

And to that point I'll add:

Go the Raiders!

john_solids · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:36 pm�� Post subject:

the clubs need to do something about getting the games back to the original grounds and away from ANZ stadium. the problem is that other grounds it costs the club so much. where as ANZ is free to use.
look at the tigers with home games at cambelltown and leichardt not so much huge crowds (small grounds less seating) but the atmostphere, the passion and thats what rugby league is about. and seeing grounds like those packed out without a seat left is alot better then having a huge stadium with thousands of empty seats and no atmostphere.
And of course tigers to take premiership this year trust me! haha

Qbert · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:36 pm�� Post subject:

Big Pete · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:34 pm�� Post subject:

I believe it's safe to say what the NRL fans want from the administration is a 5-10 year plan so we have something to look forward to. All we have so far from the admin. is them making false promises and making petty excuses for problems that have easy solutions (ANZ Stadium, Crowds etc.).

As for the promise of expansion while I and along with every other League fan would love to see it eventuate as soon as possible, in a business stand point it's not a viable option just yet. What the admin needs to focus on is Sydney at the moment and how to promote the game down there so it can attract crowds that rival the AFL. With that said though the NRL has never been known for attracting great club crowds and while fans are complaining about crowd figures it's actually closing in on the record for the most crowd attendances in the history of the game. From my stand point while this might be true, the NRL administration needs to take a more hands on approach and truly dedicate themselves to attracting the fans to the games.

In terms of ratings I believe League is one of the most watched sports in Australia and still continues to bring in record crowds from home. Problem is the NRL somehow under-sold themselves to 9 who basically have a big say along with Foxtel on when games will be played and what time. The NRL need to man up and ask for more money. The AFL got an even bigger contract and a much better deal, but in comparison don't draw the same number of fans in Brisbane/Sydney as League does in Melbourne and elsewhere.

As for expansion which teams should be introduced? I believe we need to bring in a 2nd New Zealand team as well as a 4th Queensland team before we think of bringing in South Australia and Western Australia. The WARL is still developing their own junior system while the SARL is basically non-existant.

All in all the futuree leads to a lot of interesting discussion and I for one enjoy listening to everyone's theory's. Speaking of theory's what's your thoughts on the Salary Cap? Should it be expanded? Should their be new systems in mind?
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john_solids · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:00 pm�� Post subject:

The salary cap... ooo thats a tough one.

*Needs to be raised but unfortunately it cant raise by much because surely there are more then a couple of clubs that wouldnt be able to afford it.

*would be nice for the players to get sponserships which didnt need to get put on the salary cap. but in saying that you could see one sponser paying huge dollars on all the players in the team making an unbalanced comp.

*maybe something along the lines of unlimited cap on long serving players or opening for outside sponsership.

*but probably the biggest problem which i cant see a real solution to is stoping these players going to european rugby or even english super league clubs. there is noway that a salary cap can compete, it all comes down to the players and see who is truly in it for the love of the game or who is just in it for the money. to tell you the truth i would rather see alot of younger guys players playing it because they love it and it was their dream rather then see a player who keeps bitching about not getting enough then going over seas to play rugby.
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Qbert · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:49 pm�� Post subject:

I think that at least 9 out of 10 fans would be happy with having a salary cap in place, but many would want it tinkered with and changed. The only real thing that I think would be good is like john mentioned, exclusions for long serving players (although I'm pretty sure they exist currently to an extent). Usually a long serving player leaving a club is bad for everyone as the fans are sad to loose them, they are often over their peak and then disappoint the new club they go to. However this year Petro has changed that and shows why the salary cap is good. I was/am absolutely devastated to lose him, he is one of the games greats. But at the same time, he is playing wonderful for Penrith and with his help and influence they have come from 16th last year to probably playing in the finals this year. It has also got some of the Brisbane forwards to step up a little earlier than they would have had too (Parker and especially Thaiday), although his loss is still felt.

On one hand it would be great to have that, but then think if Brisbane got exemptions to keep Lockyer or if Newcastle had got exemptions to keep Johns*. These clubs would play these players heaps anyway and would be their first priorities to sign so it would be unfair if Brisbane had a couple of hundred thousand extra a year to make its team even better. Though it is sad to see long serving players getting paid lowly such as Fitzbiggon, although that just proves loyalty on his behalf.

*I'm still dirty about the NRL topping up his money to keep him from Union, but he wasn't changing clubs so it's not as bad.
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Toastfarmer · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 2:55 pm�� Post subject:

My thoughts on the salary cap:

Salary cap has to exist. Competition crumbles without it. I think this fact is obvious to most people. But it's true that there isn't enough money circulating in the game at the moment. I think that in terms of third-party payments there should be a particular categorization for the game's star players that allows them third-party payments without limit. It's not a perfect solution and its not completely fair, but I think it can be effective if you take the club out of the equation.

Take the game's top twenty players and give them additional clauses in their NRL, not club, contracts, that give them access to unlimited third-party payments that aren't tied to their club. So for example, if Lockyer is earning 500k a season at the Broncos he can be earning a further 200k a season from a third-party, but should he decide to switch clubs that 200k is still completely intact. The clubs still have to operate as normal within their cap, but treat the elite players as an independent group that have the privilege of those unlimited payments because of their talent.

Qbert · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 4:59 pm�� Post subject:

^That's a good idea, but what happens when someone says to say Lockyer that they will give them an extra $x00k a year, but only if they stay at the Broncos? Or only if they move to the Roosters or somewhere.

It would be hard to say who the top #25 or so players are as well and based on what? I mean would you count it on players who play rep footy for Australia? What about people who retire from rep footy, how do they get chosen? I really dislike the idea of choosing which players are in the elite group in the NRL, not to mention the bias between QLD/NSW. There was all that fuss about Anasta being picked for NSW a few years back that he only got it for joining the Roosters. Surely some players would get picked because their clubs want them on the elite list. It's easy enough to pick a top 5 or so, but after that it gets way too hard. It makes the 'third-party' payments seem like first party. I don't think any amount of regulation will make that run smoothly.

I do like the idea of the clubs choosing 1-2 of their players because then it is fairer and means that clubs can not have more than 2 elite players per team. However then it is not taking the power away from the clubs which is what I like about your suggestion Toastfarmer, so that rules my idea out.

It's a hard situation though and I guess nothing is perfect so there will be little flaws in all solutions.
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Qbert · Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:30 am�� Post subject:

Double post but I have a reason, the great game of Brisbane v Gold Coast earlier tonight. I wasn't at the game because I work Friday's and have to watch a recording, but did any one go? Would have been a cracker of a match to be at.

For those of you who don't know here's a small summary.

The Broncos scored first to lead 6 - 0

At half time the Titans were up like 14 - 6 (maybe 16-6 I forget?). Anyway the Titans played really well but they had so much more possession than the Broncos and they defended really well. The Titans also seemed to have a 14th player on the field with a whistle which didn't help the Broncos' cause.

In the second half the Broncos score 3 tries or so to lead 20 - 14.

Agaist the flow of play the Titans level at 20 all.

Lockyer snaps an easy field goal with 3 mins to go to lead 21 - 20, the game seems set.

With jsut over a minute to go Mat Rogers strips Joel Moon one-on-one about 40 or so out and Prince get the equaliser to make it 21 -21 at full time.

In golden point both Prince and Lockyer miss hard kicks. Then the Broncos snap it back to Lockyer as the defence rushes up to block his kick. He decided to run, passes out wide, backs up and recieves the ball to give the match winning pass to Greg Eastwood and the Broncs' win 25 - 21!

Also the Roosters lost so the Broncos need only 1 more competition point to make the top 4 and get a home final. Realistically that would mean winning the next two games and hoping that the Roosters lose to the Dragons or the Bunnies.
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Big Pete · Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:07 am�� Post subject:

Being a season member Qbert I feel obliged to honour it's value and attend every game possible. So yes I was at the game last night!

The atmosphere was electric. I attended the game with my cousin's room mate who is very anti-Broncos. As soon as we found our seats we were met by a lot of Titans supporters, this bloke must've been thinking jackpot. Infact if his luck was anything to go by you could've sworn he had.

Anytime there was a decision pending from Cummins he'd predict the ruling and he was correct, 100% of the time, even when he wasn't watching the match Cummins seemed to agree with him. I don't know what that says, this guy was a genius or Cummins was a complete joke. I'll never know.

But essentially every Broncos fan was blowing up deluxe while the Titans fans just played it up. Personally I was confident even heading into half time. I felt we had been dudded and knew we'd hit back come the second half and the boys didn't dissapoint.

Loved the ending. During the last ten minutes the stadium officials decided to air footage from the last game held at Suncorp where Lockyer kick 'that' field goal against the Titans in golden point. This confused everyone around me greatly and lead to a Titans fan to shout out, "What are they trying to say"? I replied deja vu. Sure enough as soon as Lockyer set up for his second field goal attempt it felt like I was instantly transported back to the Eels game. Same feeling, same desperation on the players faces and I turned to my cousin and said he's going to run it here...just watch.

He replied with a chorus of cheers! Lockyer never lets me down when it counts and this was yet another example. It was also great to see the Titans supporters following the game. Despite being very loud and boastful through out the entire game they were humble in defeat and every Titans fan I encountered talked up both teams. It was great to see.

All in all another superb match. Havn't the Broncos been apart of a few this year?
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Toastfarmer · Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:27 am�� Post subject:

^ It was a good match, though I was rooting for the Titans because it would help the Raiders improve their position.

They've got a decent little test ahead of them today in the Bunnies, but as long as they don't get complacent they should get them. Terry Campese is my new hero.

I'm actually hoping it might end up Brisbane 4th Canberra 5th so I can go to the final. It's actually a fairly likely scenario at this stage, especially if the Roosters continue to slip.

Speaking of the Roosters I can't believe they lost to the Sharks. I thought they'd simply outscore the Sharkies in a 20-10 sort of deal, but the Shark's defense held up. It doesn't help that the Rooster's attack is extremely predictable. They seem to just rely on Anasta and Pearce's kicking game. If the other team can defuse their kicking game, the Roosters just crumble.

But anyway, come on Raiders!

john_solids · Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:09 am�� Post subject:

my tigers

what else can i say. we have hit a massive wall at the worst time of the year, at half time we were still well in the game, 2 tries went begging with the last pass being dropped but the spark was there, second half our defence went to sleep we had nothing.
there will be a pretty much whole new team next week and next year wow the team is gonna change, since we won the grand final we have chocked in the last 5 or so games coming up to finals only needing to win 2 or 3 of them and we have choked, played like a schoolboy team.
sure i can put it down to having forwards missing and not having a no. 7 but the problem is our defence not so much our attack.
ahhh Sheensy has a huge task ahead of him.
well im not gonna say we are out of the finals yet we still have a chance and i still have faith in my team so go TIGERS! i can never give up on them, we only need to have 2 huge wins and we should come extremely close to the top eight spot, fingers crossed (yeh the fingers with no finger nails, actually i think i bit half my fingers off haha)
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Toastfarmer · Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:30 pm�� Post subject:

Anyone for Top 8 predictions two weeks out?

I see it like this:

1. Melbourne
2. Manly
3. Cronulla
4. Brisbane
5. Canberra
6. Dragons
7. Roosters
8. Eels

Qbert · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:23 pm�� Post subject:

1. Melbourne
2. Manly
3. Cronulla
4. Brisbane
5. Sydney
6. Canberra
7. St George Illawarra
8. New Zealand

A lot depends on the NZ Parra game though. If parra win (keep in mind it's beeing played in Aus, but they are both 2 unpredictable teams) I think the bottom spot would go to Paramatta

I'll put my money on the first 8 I listed though.
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john_solids · Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:00 pm�� Post subject:

storm
sea eagles
sharks
broncos
roosters
raiders
dragons
tigers/eels

ok i know i know the tigers need to be extremely lucky, but i beleive we can do it, just hoping that the sharks lose form without bird, maybe dropping their spirits or something, then if we win that it will give us a bit of confidence against the titans. then its all fingers crossed on who wins and who loses for the other teams around the 8.
but if it doesnt go our way i would have to say eels to get in, i think they are starting show a bit of form and consistency so yeh they have a good chance.
knights i think they have no chance without buderus
warriors for and against is gonna hurt them i think.
and panthers have a tough last game against manly so i think they will come just short.
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Qbert · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:47 am�� Post subject:

Wow did anyone watch the Souths - Easts game tonight? I turned over to Dexter (first ep season 2 was awesome, wrong thread for that though) at half time as it seemed over. Turned back and it was even more over at 22-0. Then turned over a last time and it was somehow 22-16 with 10 to go. Unfortunatly the Bunnies couldn't gt the win, and this will sound so lame, but the Roosters got the 2 points, but Souths walked off the winner imo.

And how good is Chris Sandow! He's what I love to see in a halfback, someone willing to try something, not the same old boring stuff. Souths has a team full of those type of players though which makes some great football. I mean 20 seconds to go and he thinks of doing a 40/20!? Who else would think of that!? What a great player and as Stero said, he's the best 7th choice half back he's seen in his life.

Also, what was Mitchell Pierce thinking when he didn't pick up the ball in goal?? I really can't see them beating the Dragons next week.

The annoying thing about the end of the game was that it seems that there were a lot of bad calls that went the Bunnies way, especially that try when it would 9/10 times be a no try (because of the players offside in the 10m...stupid rule but still a rule), but then at the end when it looked like it should have been a 40/20 the call went against them. I think all league fans (bar Roosters) would want to see 15 seconds to play, 2 points down and 20 out, what an ending that would have been!
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Big Pete · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:30 am�� Post subject:

I caught the Souths/Roosters game and thankfully to Ray Warren was aware a comeback was on the cards. It was a shame the video referee didn't award the 40/20 to Sandow but Souths had their oppurtunities and they weren't good enough to take them.

Sandow is an absolute freak and has been making waves for years in South East Queensland in the junior division. I remember asking a peer of mine who played in said division and asked him who are the best players coming through and Sandow of course was on top of his list. For interests sake he also mentioned Kevin Proctor and Ben Cronin who have both played Under 20's for their respective clubs (Melbourne and Roosters). This was way back in 2006 so of course my memory is a little fuzzy (I can't recall if he mentioned Capewell or Folau but have some mental indication he had).

The Pearce incident reminded me of the Broncos/Rabbits game from 07 when the Rabbits nearly won the game in the 80th minute after Hunt for some reason decided to let the ball roll inside his in goal with no time to spare.

In other news who do you think is going to win the Dally M?

Judging on the points tally leading into Round 16 I believe Orford should win it but honestly I don't think he deserves it. I've found Slater and Gidley have had much better seasons and I don't rate Orford one bit.

So Orford should win
Kurt Gidley deserves to win it though.

Also Minor Premiership? Melbourne, Manly or heck...the Sharks?

I'm hoping Melbourne win it as I can't stand the Sea Eagles. While the Sharks would probably be my prefered option, in a political sense I'd hate it as it'd make the Top 8 so much more competitive IMO.

In any case tonight should be a great night of footy. Broncos/Knights at Suncorp (Bennett's last ever home game at Suncorp) and the Roosters/Dragons. Both should be cracking contests and a real treat to every Rugby League fan. I'll be at Suncorp cheering on the Broncos on hopeful Top 4 finish (if results go our way).
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Toastfarmer · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:55 pm�� Post subject:

Well the top 8 has pretty much cemented, it's now just a matter of positions shifting within the 8. Minor premiership is still up for either Manly or Melbourne, Melbourne have to beat Souths by a certain number of points to snatch it from Manly. Warriors won so Knights are shunted out, Eels are shunted out. Raiders will finish 8th with a loss against the Bulldogs, 7th with a win and 6th if they win by more than 16.

If I had to guess Dally M I would say Cameron Smith narrowly snatches it from Slater's hands. I can't see Orford picking up too many points over the last few weeks.

Qbert · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:17 pm�� Post subject:

Turns out I got the top 8 right, just with 4 and 5 swapped.

Anyway, with the Broncos win last night that means a home final against either Canberra of Cronulla. I want to go but I don't know where to buy tickets (if there are any left). I tried ticketec and googling but can only find home game tickets, no mention of this final. If someone knows and lets me know that would be awesome as I want to be there.
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