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Finally the day is here for the NRL Grand Final. The 2009 NRL Premiership match will take place this Sunday at ANZ Stadium and it is bound to one hell of a match.

The Melbourne Storm are in top form after smashing the Broncos last weekend in the semi-final. They have had a great season and will appear in their 4^th NRL Grand Final in as many years this weekend. Meanwhile, the Parramatta Eels have had an incredible finals series and will be keen to take the NRL premiership after finishing 8^th and barely even making the finals.

Melbourne Storm

The Melbourne Storm has once again made it to the NRL Grand Final this year and has a very good chance to take the trophy. They have been in great form of late with their last four games being 28+ point victories. So far in the NRL final series they have smashed Brisbane by 30 points (last weekend) and in the first week of the NRL finals they were able to absolutely dominate against Manly winning by 28 points and eliminating last year’s premiers.

The Injury list for the Melbourne Storm hasn’t changed since last week with Sika Manu, Anthony Quin and Matthew Cross all still out of the side. All three of these guys have been missing for a while now so I don’t really believe that it will have much effect on the outcome.

Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels have won all of their NRL final series games so far and have really earned their place in the 2009 NRL Grand Final. Since the start of the finals, which they only just made it to by the skin of their teeth, the Eels have dismantled the Dragons in the first week of finals, the second week seen an impressive victory over the Titans by 25 points and last weekend they got up over the Bulldogs in a great match by only 10 points.

The injury list at Parramatta continues to be blank with no major troubles for the Eels.

My Opinion

The simple fact that it is the NRL Grand Final means that it will more than likely be an incredibly tight match. With both teams in fantastic form it really is hard to choose one way or the other, but I would like to see Parramatta take the NRL Premiership. The Melbourne Storm is by far the favourites however and they should be able to take the 2009 Grand Final win.

My Tip – Melbourne Storm

I would recommend Betfair for placing your 2009 NRL Grand Final bets. They have plenty of options for anyone as well as the best NRL Premiership odds. Some options include the first scoring play, Clive Churchill Medal, and they also accept bets on the winning margin.

The end of round 22 has seen us move another week towards the end of the season without too many serious developments coming from the round.

The first game of round 22 saw the mighty Dragons’ juggernaut take a very nice win against the Penrith Panthers. The final score on Friday night was 6-25 in favour of St. George Illawarra.

The second game for Friday night saw the Cowboys face off against the Storm in a pretty ordinary match. By the end of the game, Melbourne had taken a comfortable enough lead to be satisfied with the win. The final score was 20-8.

Saturday afternoon was able to produce a great game for the Rabbitohs. Their competitors, Manly, could barely get anything right after the first 10 minutes of play and in the end the Rabbitohs were able to run away as 14 point winners, 22-36.

The game Saturday night between the Bulldogs and the Canberra raiders, although not pretty, turned out to be a very close match with only 3 points the difference in the final score. The Bulldogs were able to reign victorious at the end, 23-20.

There were 3 games played on Sunday afternoon, each producing varying results. The Warriors were disappointing in there defeat by the Titans with a final score of 10-30. Also, Parramatta fans were cheering while there team marched to an excellent 40-8 win over Newcastle. The Third game on Sunday afternoon saw the West Tigers jump into a top 8 position after a 10-17 win over the Roosters.

The final game of round 22 saw the Broncos grind out an ugly, 30-10 win over Cronulla.

My Round 23 tips are as follows.

Friday August 14^th @ 7.35pm

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Bulldogs

With neither side playing very well in round 22, I would expect this to be a rather close match. I personally believe that the Cowboys want it more and would like to see them take home the win.

My Tip – North Queensland Cowboys with odds of $1.80 @ CentreBet by less than 8 points.

Friday August 14^th @ 7.35pm

South Sydney vs. Gold Coast Titans

With both teams in this matchup in quality form, picking a clear winner is a difficult task. However, I would expect to see the Titans push on to the end and snatch a very close victory.

My Tip – Gold Coast Titans ($1.90 @ CentreBet) by 4-10 points.

Saturday August 15^th @ 5.30pm

Sydney Roosters vs. Manly Sea Eagles

I believe that after the insulting loss last week that Manly suffered, they will be determined to get up. If current form is anything to go by, then, in my opinion, the Roosters have very little chance of taking home the win here

My Tip – Manly ($1.24 @ CentreBet) by 15+ points.

Saturday August 15^th @ 7.30pm

Canberra Raiders vs. St. George Illawarra

I simply cannot tip against the Dragons at the moment as they have been playing some fantastic rugby. St. George Illawarra will undoubtedly take the win here in round twenty three.

My Tip – St. George Illawarra ($1.43 @ CentreBet) by 12+ points.

Saturday August 15^th @ 7.30pm

Parramatta Eels vs. New Zealand Warriors

Given the current disappointing form being showed by the Warriors I have no choice but to back the Eels on this occasion. Particularly after last weeks’ win, I would expect Parramatta to run out of the stadium as clear winners

My Tip – Parramatta Eels ($1.22 @ CentreBet) by 12+ points.

Sunday August 16^th @ 2pm

Cronulla Sharks vs. West Tigers

For this match up, I really could not go past the West Tigers. After the way that Cronulla took the loss last week, I would not expect them to produce anything special here.

My Tip – West Tigers ($1.33 @ CentreBet) by 12-18 points.

Sunday August 16^th @ 3pm

Brisbane Broncos vs. Penrith Panthers

I believe that this one has the potential to be one of the best games of the round. The Panthers suffered a defeat last week and will be looking to make up for it, meanwhile the Broncos are coming off of a tidy victory over Cronulla.

My Prediction – Brisbane Broncos ($1.50 @ CentreBet) by 6-12 points.

Monday August 17^th @ 7pm

Newcastle Knights vs. Melbourne Storm

Monday night can often produce some amazing games, but I do not believe that this matchup will be one of them. My prediction here is a night of reasonable quality, but nothing fancy, with the Storm getting up in the end.

My Tip – Melbourne Storm ($1.75 @ CentreBet) by 4-12.

Round 21 of the NRL championship saw some interesting matches to say the least.

St. George-Illawarra have proudly stood up and shown that they have what it takes to win the premiership after a tidy 14 point (26-12) victory over the Melbourne Storm. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that Manu has broken his leg in 2 places.

The Cowboys managed to bring an end to the Titans home ground winning streak with a very nice 16 point win (18-34). To add injury to insult, Titans midfielder Brett Delaney tore a hamstring during the loss and will spend 4 – 6 weeks on the sidelines.

Brisbane were handed a massive (there biggest in the NRL) defeat against the Canberra Raiders. The final score ended at (56-0) and Brisbane has now conceded over 300 points in their last 8 games.

Newcastle’s top eight chances have grown slimmer after a 12 point loss (18-30) to the Sydney Roosters. Meanwhile, the Panthers and Warriors have shared the points after a thrilling 32-32 draw.

Also, the Eels quite easily managed to defeat the Sharks with a 30-0 win and the Bulldogs were able to recover from a poor start to take the points against the Rabbitohs (18-26).

Monday night saw the final game for round 21 and it was a thriller to say the least. In the end however, it was the Tigers who were able to get up over Manly for a 1 point victory (19-18).

My Round 22 tips are as follows.

Friday August 7^th @ 7.35pm

Melbourne Storm vs. North Queensland Cowboys

Although Melbourne took a loss last weekend, I believe that they will have no trouble getting up over the North Queensland Cowboys in this Friday night clash. The match is to be played at Olympic Park, Melbourne.

My Prediction – Melbourne Storm with odds of $1.47 @ CentreBet.

Friday August 7^th @ 7.35pm

Penrith Panthers vs. St. George-Illawarra

After the nice win in round 21 and the run of form I think it would foolish to go against St. George-Illawarra here. This is another game to be played on Friday night. Penrith will definitely have a challenge on their hands here. The match is to be played at CUA Stadium, Penrith

My Tip – St. George-Illawarra ($1.40 @ CentreBet) by 15+ points.

Saturday August 8^th @ 5.30pm

Manly Sea Eagles vs. South Sydney

I believe that after the narrow loss last week that Manly will be determined to get up here. If current form is anything to go by, then I really believe that the Rabbitohs have very little chance of winning this one at Brookvale Oval.

My Tip – Manly ($1.30 @ CentreBet) by 15+ points.

Saturday August 8^th @ 7.30pm

Bulldogs vs. Canberra Raiders

This match up to be played at ANZ Stadium will more than likely be one sided as the Bulldogs will be looking to finish the Raider off nice and early. I truly cannot see a Canberra victory in this one.

My Tip – Bulldogs ($1.30 @ CentreBet) by 12+ points.

Sunday August 9^th @ 2pm

New Zealand Warriors vs. Gold Coast Titans

In my opinion, this will probably be one of the closer matches in round 22. Although the Titans are the favourites, I would not be surprised if the Warriors were able to get up and win. That said I would bet against the Titans.

My Tip – Gold Coast Titans ($1.57 @ CentreBet) by 6-12 points.

Sunday August 9^th @ 2pm

Sydney Roosters vs. West Tigers

For this match up to be played at Sydney Football Stadium, i really could not go past the West Tigers. After the way that they were able to get up in last week’s thriller, I would not hesitate to tip them over the Roosters.

My Tip – West Tigers ($1.48 @ CentreBet) by 12-18 points.

Sunday August 9^th @ 3pm

Parramatta Eels vs. Newcastle Knights

With the possibility of a close game, this match that will be played in Parramatta on Sunday afternoon could very well turn into a thriller. The Eels had a good win last week; meanwhile, the Knights will be fighting hard for a chance of a top eight finish.

My Tip – Parramatta ($1.50 @ CentreBet) by 6-12 points.

Monday August 10^th @ 7pm

Brisbane Broncos vs. Cronulla Sharks

Quite frankly I would be surprised if Cronulla are even able to score in this game, let alone win. The Broncos are by the favourites to take the points from this came and I would not put money against it.  The game will be played on Monday Night at Suncorp Stadium.

My Tip – Brisbane Broncos ($1.24 @ CentreBet) by at least 15.

Round 7 of the NRL kicks off tonight with a couple of fairly unexciting games -  Brisbane take on the Eels and and The Sharks are looking for a win against the Rabbitohs. The game of the round should be the annual ANZAC Day clash between the Sydney Roosters and the St George-Illawarra Dragons.

Brisbane vs Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium

Parramatta could not have looked any worse last week against the Bulldogs, especially in the second half where they were expected by many to take advantage of the relatively short rest period the Dogs had after their previous Monday night game.

The exact opposite was the case with the Dogs storming home for a huge win over the Eels, further shortening their odds to take out the wooden spoon this year.

The Bronco’s on the other hand continue to impress and should win by double digits at home.

Broncos – $1.27

Eels – $3.85

Broncos by 14

Cronulla vs South Sydney at ANZ Stadium

At the start of the season there were high hopes for Cronulla fans with the signing of Trent Barrett and their strong showing in 2008. So far however, there has been little to cheer for supporters in the Shire with The Sharks sitting at the very bottom of the ladder.

Their opponents tonight, The Rabbitohs have surprised many with some strong showings early on and go into this game as the hot favourites to come away with the two points which would cement their place inside the top 8.

Rabbitohs – $1.60

Sharks – $2.35

Rabbitohs by 6

Sydney Roosters vs St George Illawarra Dragons at the SFS

The Dragons have been one of the strongest teams of the comp so far this season and are really coming together well under new coach Wayne Bennett. The thing to like about the Dragons is their lack of ego – there are no big name superstars just a well drilled group of skilled players coming together as team.

This couldn’t be further from the truth with their opponents the Roosters, many of whose players seem to suffer under the burden of expectations. Their squad consists of many more rep players than the Dragons, but going on their form so far this year they are very hard to back.

One positive for the Roosters is that their last two losses have been very close and to strong opposition so they may closer to hitting some winning form than many people think. The only thing wrong with that idea is that they were 16-0 up last week against the warriors and were run down in the second half.

I think the match will be closer than the odds would suggest.

Dragons – $1.55

Roosters – $2.47

Dragons by 4

Melbourne Storm vs Warriors at Olympic Park Stadium

The Warriors were lucky to get the win last week against the Roosters and face a much tougher task this week on the road against the Storm.

Storm – $1.48

Warriors $2.35

Storm by 8

North Qld Cowboys vs Manly Sea Eagles at Dairy Farmers Stadium

Both of these teams have had extremely disappointing starts to their season, falling far behind what the expectations were. The return of Brett Stewart seemed to fire Manly inot action so it will be interesting to see how they perform with him now out of action due to injury.

Cowboys – $1.65

Sea Eagles – 42.25

Cowboys by 6

Raiders vs Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium

The Bulldogs have had just the one loss so far this season and while the Raiders are a fast improving side and are playing at home, I think the Dogs have enough to get them across the line.

Raiders – $1.74

Bulldogs – $2.11

Bulldogs by 4

Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Stadium

While the Knights are the team sitting higher on the ladder, the Tigers are undefeated at home this season and will start this game as slight favourites in what should be a great match up in the west of Sydney

Tigers – $1.85

Knights – $1.95

Knights by 4

Penrith Panthers vs Gold Coast Titans at CUA Stadium

The Titans are the surprise competition leaders after round 6 and are playing a team who have managed to scrape together just the two wins so far this season. There form has suggested they are playing better than that and this should be a close match.

Panthers – $1.74

Titans – $2.11

Titans by 2

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