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Message: [QUOTE="I bleed Maroon, post: 2958427, member: 8274"] Of the current top 8, I think the following is very likely to be true: 1. Souffs - They're the rightful favorites. Their forward pack are scary, Damien Cook is in career best form and they have the likes of Adam Reynolds behind said pack guiding the troops around. Anthony Seibold seems to be the bolter coach of the year too. They will make the Prelims easily. [B]Final finish 1st or 2nd[/B] 2. Dragons - I think they're on their way out of the top 4. They have looked very shaky over the past few weeks and their last start was a loss despite scoring 30 points. The 50 pointer curse is also in effect, and while online forums like this one might treat it more as a joke than anything else, that stat will be playing on their minds behind the scenes, and we all know Merge's propensity for dropping off the pace in the latter half of the season. [B]Final finish 5th or 6th[/B] 3. Melbourne - It's agonizing to admit it, but they're right in the thick of it yet again. If somehow Slater or Smith announce their retirement from footy this year, you can forget about it, because the fairytale will be on for all money. Quality pack, quality halves with future immortals in 2 key positions. It's the ugly truth but it's the truth nonetheless. They could very well go back2back and insult us even further. [B]Final finish 1st or 2nd [/B] 4. Penrith - Same situation as Merge. They've looked very shaky the past few rounds, and while they have been carrying a tonne of injuries for most of their run, those classic Hook coaching signs we've become so familiar with are starting to shine through a bit. With teams such as Rorters and us right up their ass, I just can't see them holding on to the top 4 unless one of those two sides mentioned collapse. [B]Final finish 5th or 6th[/B] 5. Roosters - They're starting to hit their straps at the right time of the year, and have a laughably easy draw going forward. Their pack is decent, they have Cronk and Keary in their halves, Tedesco at fullback and the likes of Ferguson and Mitchell on the flanks. And even if you throw all that out the door, no chance does the NRL not allow them to do well. [B]Final finish 3rd[/B] 6. Sharks - To be honest, I don't think much of them. I've always thought the likes of Fifita and Gallen were overrated and they have straight up journeyman quality players like Moylan and Townsend in their halves so you look at their squad and think the only players worth feeding are Brailey and Holmes. Their fate in the final 8 feels like it's almost entirely dependent on how well the Broncos do. [B]Final finish 6th, 7th or 8th [/B] 7. Broncos - As the old saying goes, go in expecting nothing and you won't be disappointed. We've left it until Round 17 to really put a team to the sword, and it was a heavily Origin effected game against complete nuffies like the Titans...And yet, we've had to do it the hard way from the outset. So many games that have come down to 8 points or less and we've found a way to win them all. We're definitely battle hardened, and now we are looking like a battle hardened side that is finding form at the right time of the year. A young pack that is the envy of the whole comp, superstars like Milford in the halves, an experienced, safe pair of hands in the 1 and a backline that includes the Dally M rookie of the year and 3 representative players. If we beat the Warriors even half comfortably and the Sharks lose, the top 4 beckons. [B]Final finish 4th or 5th [/B] 8. Warriors - On current form, and especially if they get beaten by us, the Warriors might wanna get comfortable sitting in 8th. That 6 comp point buffer between them and the Raiders will keep them from dropping out, but patterns of the past give them no credit for finishing any higher. They can consider their game against us on Sunday season defining, which is exactly why we MUST go into it with the right mindset. Kearney is a joke of a coach, but that squad is not to be underestimated. [B]Final finish 7th or 8th [/B] So assuming the best case scenario for the Broncos, by R25 I think it'll look like this: 1. Souths 2. Storm 3. Roosters 4. Broncos 5. Dragons 6. Penrith 7. Sharks/Warriors 8. Warriors/Sharks Definitely not the sort of top 4 the NRL would like to see as a feel good story for the little men, but at this point it's the most likely outcome. [/QUOTE]

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