The 2016 NRL season comes to its conclusion this weekend with the biggest match of the year to take place on Sunday, so read our 2016 NRL Grand Final Preview and Betting Tips!
Cronulla Sharks vs Melbourne Storm (Sunday 7.15pm AEST)
The 2016 NRL premiership will be decided between arguably the two best sides throughout the year. The Storm and the Sharks were the two sides leading the way this season and they played in round 26 to decide the minor premiership. In that match the Sharks had plenty of chances throughout to take the victory but they weren’t able to capitalise on these opportunities. They will learn from those mistakes and ensure they turn those chances into points this weekend.
The Storm were victorious in that match but since then the Sharks have been able to regain their attacking form whilst the Storm haven’t been as impressive.
The Sharks will be chasing their first ever premiership and fans will be desperate to celebrate and brush the dust off their trophy cabinet that currently has nothing in it.
A lot of experts have stated that the Raiders were the better side on Saturday night and we agree with them. If it wasn’t for a few favourable calls and the home field advantage in favour of the Storm it could have easily been a different story. However, at the end of the day it was the Raiders who were their own worst enemy with drop balls at crucial times and the Storm did what they do best – grinding out a victory and relying on their defence and experience to get them the victory. The Storm completed 20 of 21 sets in the first half but only took a 2-point lead into half time. They don’t play with much adventure and prefer to try to capitalise on the back of either a penalty or their opponent making a mistake. This type of style reminds us a lot of the way the Broncos approached their games in 2015 and the way they played the grand final against the Cowboys. They focused on kicking to corners and winding down the clock when they were in the lead and we won’t be surprised this weekend when the Storm do the same. Meanwhile the Sharks play with a similar game plan to the Cowboys. They use their tough forwards to barge the ball up through the middle of the field but are capable of offloads and creating second phase football. This is beneficial for them as they have a lot of young talented backs that are able to capitalise on any space given to them.
James Maloney was a stand out performer in the Sharks win against the Cowboys and he will need to put on another man of the match performance this weekend. Chad Townsend responded well after being pulled in the win against the Raiders whilst Ben Barba played at a high level despite clearly suffering from a knock to the knee he suffered in the midway point of the first half. Their forward pack was led by Paul Gallen who had a high work load but Andrew Fifita was doing the most damage and his offload led to their opening try. The only negative was their end to the game as they allowed the Cowboys to score three quick tries but it was easy for the team to begin to think about the grand final as they were leading by a large margin.
The Storm will attempt to defend their way to victory, as they will attempt to use the experience of Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith to get them over the line in the big moments of the match. Their back line isn’t as skilful as the Sharks but their forward pack will be able to match it as they have arguably the best front rower in the game Jesse Bromwich and two great back rowers Kevin Procter and Tohu Harris.
We believe it will be a tough close game but the Sharks have more x-factor in Ben Barba, Andrew Fifita, Wade Graham, James Maloney, Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes and they will find a way to penetrate the Storm defence and earn a narrow victory to lift the clubs first ever premiership.
TIP: Sharks by 1-12 - $3.10 with Sportsbet
We are predicting the Sharks to come out on top in this weekend’s decider and for them to do that they will have to get off to a good start. This has us predicting a sharks player to open the scoring and the perfect player to do so is Ben Barba. The speedster has lost form throughout the end of the year but he will find his best on the biggest stage as he is the type of player that has everything fall to him. He is a huge vocal point of the Sharks attack and if the Storm hang off him at all he will carve them up and find his way over the line.
TIP: First try scorer Ben Barba @ $14.00 with CrownBet
We of course can’t have a grand final preview without a prediction to win the Clive Churchill medal. As stated earlier, we believe for the Sharks to come out on top James Maloney will have to have a man of the match performance. He is coming off a great season where he was once again selected for NSW origin duty and also led the Sharks to one of their best ever finishes. He was instrumental in their win against the Cowboys and scored two tries. He has the most finals experience in the side and is going into his third NRL grand final and won his first with the Roosters in 2013. We are predicting him to have a great game and lead the Sharks to glory.
TIP: Clive Churchill Winner James Maloney - $9 with William Hill Special
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
