Two Games to Go!

The Finals have worked out as they should. The two best teams all year (Melbourne and Manly) get the chance to re-enact The Battle of Brookie in the Grand Final. But standing in their way are two wonderful teams filled to the brim with exciting young talent.

Two Games to Go! That’s all. Just two more wins and it’s 2008 all over again!

The Drum
By Dave Keogh

Of course, it won’t be easy… you only have to look at those two terrific Finals matches over the weekend to know that every match-up from here on in – the two Grand Final Qualifiers and then the big one on October 2 – will be tight, hard-fought battles that could just come down to survival of the fittest.

One more win and we have Glenn Stewart back for the Grand Final… and I’m thinking that makes the Sea Eagles unstoppable. But first… the Broncos this Friday night.

Manly Sea Eagles v Brisbane Broncos

How good is this young Broncos team? They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Youthful talent, enthusiasm and attitude all over the park… Gerard Beale; Matt Gillett; Alex Glenn; Andrew McCullough; Josh Maguire; Ben Te’o; Jack Reed; Jharal Yow Yeh.

Then you throw in the experience of Slammin’ Sam Thaiday back this week from suspension; Petter Wallace at half; Corey Parker having his best ever year and the brilliance and mongrel of Justin Hodges. And that’s before you get to the best of them all.

So to the $64 million dollar question… will Locky play?

How do you recover from a depressed fracture of the cheekbone, have three titanium plates inserted in your smashed face and then face up to the most physical side in the Comp. in a sudden death Grand Final Qualifier just six days after suffering the injury? If he does play, he risks his eyesight by playing before the orbital bone in his cheek is healed.



(Image Source - The Daily Telegraph)

Against that, it could be his last club match ever and he wants to continue the amazing fairytale he’s led this year. Tough, tough decision to be made by a very tough individual. To play on for 10-12 minutes the other night in that much pain AND kick the winning field goal in extra time was something special.

As was the effort of Brett Morris who, after suffering a serious ankle injury (at first thought to be a break), first had to cop the unsportsmanlike crash tackle of Hodges while he lay defenceless on the ground, then minutes later leapt into the air to diffuse a bomb close to his own try line before collapsing again in pain. Incredibly brave!

Plenty of Ticker

The Dragons as a whole showed plenty of ticker (as Lleyton Hewitt would say) the other night. Their performance defensively was one of the best you’ll see. But the Broncos deserved to win, looking far more dangerous in attack.

So we wait for news on Locky but what a game it will be. If he does play, we have some stunning match-ups right across the park. Foran v Lockyer… Cherry-Evans v Wallace… Stewart v Beale… Watmough v Gillett… Hopoate v Yow Yeh. It’s going to be something special… but I just can’t see the Broncos beating the mighty Eagles. Manly to WIN!

In the other match, Melbourne at home should be too good for the Warriors… but again, I love the young guns in the Warriors side, in particular Kevin Locke and Shaun Johnson. Coupled with the guidance of James Maloney, the brilliance of former Eels Mateo and Inu, the ferocity of Rapira and Packer and work ethic of Luck up front and the emotion surrounding Lance Hohaia’s impending departure and the Storm have a game on their hands too.

Two Best Teams

The Finals have worked out as they should. The two best teams all year (Melbourne and Manly) get the chance to re-enact The Battle of Brookie in the Grand Final.

But standing in their way are two wonderful teams filled to the brim with exciting young talent. I can’t wait for this weekend! (And for the Manly flag to again be flying high and proud above the NRL!)

Darren Lockyer Image Source: The Daily Telegraph

>>Click Here to Read Dave Keogh’s Blog

The writer of The Drum, Dave Keogh, has been a professional writer for some 30 years, contributing to publications as broad as Modern Fishing and Outdoor, he honed a passion writing a regular column – Talking Tennis – for The Manly Daily. With a varied history including work as a music industry publicist, theatrical agent, band manager, poet, editor and tennis coach, he found his niche in advertising, and with loads of awards under his belt, Dave went into business on his own and now runs several very successful businesses, including an online community connecting sport-loving people – www.doubledrummer.com Most importantly, Dave loves sport, and is an avid supporter of The Manly Sea Eagles…