Six teams made it to the finals series. Three from Queensland and three from NSW (two from Sydney). Two sides were likely to stand out. The Brisbane Broncos are the most successful club historically and the Sydney Roosters. who have been the best in recent times, The latter were the 2024 grand final winning club.
First round: Newcastle were expected to defeat the Gold Coast and delivered on that expectation. Cronulla vs North Queensland was slightly harder to pick, although I had Cronulla as my choice. In a tight affair, the Sharks prevailed 24-18.
Second round: The two rested sides returned to the action. The Roosters struggled to overcome the Sharks but in the end sqeaked home 17-16. In contrast, the Broncoes were in fine form in powering past the Knights 30-6. The Broncos certainly looked the form side going into the grand final.
Grand final: Brisbane got ahead early but the Roosters didn't go through the whole season undefeated by fluke and came back to lead with minutes to go. A late try was awarded to the Broncos that secured the title they last won in 2019.
I wasn't sure with that last try that the ball was grounded, but if it was, it was a prominent blade of grass that did the honours. Either way, it was awarded and that's all that matters. Tight games are often decided by fine margins.
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