Monday 9 September 2013

#NRLFinals Notebook: Ahoy September! | Monday 9th September 2013

NRL Finals Notebook: Ahoy September!

2013 NRL Premiership Finals Series

By W D Nicolson - September 9, 2013


Welcome to your #NRLFinals Notes
| NRL FINALS WEEK 1 MATCHUPS |

 Every day during the work week (so Monday to Friday) www.wdnicolson.com will have NRL Finals Notes for you to digest at the start or end of the day.

If you need to know something heading into the weekend Finals - you'll read about it here.

#NRLFINALS NOTEBOOKS: Monday Week 1 | Tuesday Week 1 | Wednesday Week 1 | Thursday Week 1 Preview | Friday Week 1 |

If you've got something we need to tell people about - comment below or grab us on @NRLTweet

@Horry37
Plus we have the final regular season tipping results from www.wdnicolson.com below - and we salute 'Awesome Foursome' Tipping Expert Jake Hauritz (right) for tipping 120 games correctly in 2013 for a strike rate of 67.7%. Well done Jakey Jake - too good sir.

[] DAILY QUESTION: Which captain of a Finals team had to leave the NRL Finals launch early to pick his kids up from school? (answer below)
  • MATCHUPS: 
    • Here is how the Finals Week One Matchups look for this weekend.
  • PODCAST: 
  • NEWS: 
    • The NRL launched the 2013 Finals on the HMAS Leeuwin on Monday morning with captains from all eight teams on deck at Sydney's Garden Island.
      Anthony Minichiello (Sydney), John Sutton (Souths), Cameron Smith (Melbourne), Jamie Lyon (Manly), Paul Gallen (Cronulla), Michael Ennis (Canterbury), Jarrod Mullen (Newcastle) and Matthew Scott (North Queensland) took part in a ceremonial 'kick-off' on the deck of the ship... launching club logo branded footballs into Sydney Harbour... our spy at the launch reported that Sutton kicked it furthest... while Scott may or may not have asked 'what do I do with this again?'
      Last year the SFS was the location, and having been there for the mass-team press conference I wonder how much poorer the quotes were today without Brisbane captain Sam Thaiday who handed Ken Sutcliffe some serious embarrassment after the 'Male Model from Mudgee' foolishly tried to tell Thaiday that his team sucked...
  • INJURY/JUDICIAL UPDATES: 
    • Andrew Fifita is in doubt for the Sharks after leaving the field in the 1st half of Cronulla's Round 26 win over the Raiders. He says he'll do all he can to play but calf injuries are notorious for sticking around for ages if pushed too early... team-mate Todd Carney has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring strain but is expected to take his place on Saturday night against the Cowboys.
    • Matthew Scott wants to take his place for the Cowboys against Fifita's Sharks but he may be defying his surgeon's instructions if he chooses to play with his broken finger not yet healed. Scott told the press on Monday "I'm a chance for this week, the surgeon said three weeks initially but that's obviously the week after this. I'll be doing everything I can this week to get it ready for the weekend."
    • Jared Waerea-Hargreaves got slapped on the wrist with a one match (early guilty plea) ban for his elbow on Chris McQueen... he will fight the ban as it won't cost him any more than just this week's clash with Manly. But like Paul Gallen a week or so ago - he should be incredibly thankful he only got a week.
    • Brett Finch left the field with a sternum injury against the Titans and is in doubt for this weekend - but Gareth Widdop made a successful return from injury in the QLD Cup. Craig Bellamy has a tough call ahead of him.
  • COMMENT: 
    • The reaction to the Double Header seemed to be positive... until every team that may could have featured in the SFS game on Saturday played in Round 26. The Sharks play the Cowboys at 4pm, followed by the Roosters and Manly at 7:30pm. A lot of fans went to social media to complain but realistically - if you want to get to the game then buy a ticket today or tomorrow and stop whinging. The fans who will get 'locked out' if Allianz Stadium sells out (which really it should) will be the ones who don't do anything serious about getting a ticket til late this week.
      Suck it up and buy a ticket NOWAt least you'll be in the stadium to watch your team play, even if I disagree with the SFS and not ANZ being used instead (if Channel 9 didn't run the game I believe the NRL should have moved the double-header to ANZ on Sunday), fact is if you truly support your team all that should matter is getting out there and watching them... from whatever seat you end up in.
      Plus you get to see two semi finals at one ground... that's not a bad thing.
  • NEWS: 
    • With eight teams still alive in the premiership, that means eight teams are done for 2013. And that means for some - the off-season, and others their coaching staff wants them to keep training through to Grand Final day in early October.
      But for some players they'll also take part in the Australian Kangaroos train-on squad for the upcoming World Cup in England.
      The squad is: Matt Gillett, Corey Parker, Ben Hannant and Sam Thaiday from the Broncos; Brett Morris from the Dragons; Jarryd Hayne from the Eels; David Shillington, Josh Papalii, Jarrod Croker and Josh McCrone from the Raiders; Robbie Farah from the Tigers; David Taylor, Ryan James, Kevin Gordon, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Greg Bird and Nate Myles from the Titans.
      There are no representatives from the Panthers or Warriors - so David Simmons from the Panthers in particular can feel a little aggrieved considering he had a far better season than Croker, McCrone or really even Gordon (who was more deserving than the other two as to how his season finished).
      Other snubs - though some players do withdraw due to impending off-season surgery can be a factor - Andrew McCullough (Bri), Josh McGuire (Bri), Ben Creagh (Sti), Jack de Belin (Sti), Jacob Lillyman (War), Luke Douglas (Gld), Keith Galloway (Wtg), Tim Mannah (Par), Anthony Milford (Can).
      Who do you think should have been there or got very very lucky?
  • PODCAST: 
  • DAILY QUESTION ANSWER... Cameron Smith. According to our spy - he had to get on a flight at 12pm in order to be back in Melbourne in time to pick his kids up from school! Hopefully it wasn't just a smart ploy to avoid a drawn out press session!
@NRLTweet Player of the Year
Listen as we crown the 2013 Winner on Monday Night September 9! #NRLTweetPOTY

 Here was the Round 20 Leaderboard before it went silent

@NRLTWEET's 2013 TIPPING RECORD 
TIPPING TOTAL AFTER 26 ROUNDS - 120/192 @ 62.5%
FOOTYTAB TOTAL AFTER 26 ROUNDS - 98/192 @ 51.0%
SPECIAL FRIED RICE involves each tipster taking a 'certainty' in a set order, with the tipster with the highest score at the end of the year literally winning a mountain of Special Fried Rice. The SFR Order rotates every week and is a fun way to put your rice where your mouth is.
REGULAR SEASON RESULTS | The Awesome Foursome
@NRLTweet
Warrick D. Nicolson, The NRL Tweet
TIPPING:
Finished 2nd with 120 correct from 192 selections @ 62.5%
LW: 5/8 | SEASON: 120/192
FOOTYTAB:
Finished 1st with 98 correct from 192 selections at 51.0%
LW: 5/8 | SEASON: 98/192
Special Fried Rice: Finished 1st with 18.5 correct from 26 selections @ 71.2%
Season SFR: 18.5/26
CAN4 CBY3 SOU2 MEL1 CRO4 MAN3 SYD2 SYD1 SOU4 MEL3 NQL2 SOU1 MEL4 CRO3 CBY2 SOU1 SOU4 CBY3 CAN2 CBY1 SOU4 BRI3 WAR2 MEL1 MEL4 NEW3
TIPPING:
Finished 4th with 102 correct from 192 selections @ 53.1%
LW: 4/8 | SEASON: 102/192
FOOTYTAB:
Finished 3rd with 91 correct from 192 selections @ 47.4%
LW: 3/8 | SEASON: 91/192
Special Fried Rice: Finished 4th with 17 correct from 26 selections @ 65.4%
Season SFR: 17/26
SOU2 SOU1 MAN4 PAR3 NQL2 MEL1 BRI4 WAR3 STI2 BRI1 NEW4 NEW3 CBY2 SOU1 MEL4 NEW3 SYD2 BRI1 WAR4 BRI3 MEL2 MEL1 BRI4 NA3 SYD2 MEL1
@Horry37
Jake Hauritz, Channel 9 Darwin
TIPPING:
Finished 1st with 130 correct from 192 selections @ 67.7%
LW: 5/8 | SEASON: 130/192
FOOTYTAB:
Finished 2nd with 97 correct from 192 selections @ 50.5%
LW: 5/8 | SEASON: 97/192
Special Fried Rice: Finished 2nd with 18 correct from 26 selections @ 69.2%
Season SFR: 18/26
MEL1 BRI4 MEL3 CRO2 MEL1 CAN4 NQL3 MEL2 MEL1 CAN4 MAN3 CBY2 SYD1 BRI4 CAN3 MEL2 MEL1 MAN4 MAN3 SOU2 MAN1 CBY4 CRO3 NA2 SOU1 NQL4
@MrDC
DC Chapman, League Lover
TIPPING:
Finished 3rd with 118 correct from 192 selections @ 61.5%
LW: 4/8 | SEASON: 118/192
FOOTYTAB:
Finished 4th with 86 correct from 192 selections @ 44.8%
LW: 4/8 | SEASON: 86/192
Special Fried Rice: Finished 3rd with 17.5 correct from 26 selections @ 67.3%
Season SFR: 17.5/26
NEW3 MAN2 CRO1 NEW4 SOU3 NEW2 MEL1 NEW4 BRI3 SOU2 SOU1 GLD4 PEN3 MEL2 SOU1 STI4 MAN3 PEN2 SOU1 MAN4 NEW3 SYD2 SYD1 SYD4 STI3 MAN2
The NRL Injury List is updated regularly during each week of the season, making it an invaluable Fantasy and Tipping Tool alongside our Weekly NRL Previews once again.
Remember if you want game-specific Late Mail every week, then check out our Round Previews Every Wednesday and they are updated with all the very latest Late Mail on Friday.
Who will take Ben Barba's mantle as champion in the 4th Annual @NRLTweet Player of the Year Awards?

 The Prestigious Award is names a new champion on September 9th!
@NRLTweet Player of the Year Award Voters:
Warrick Nicolson @NRLTweet | Nigel Wilbow @parramatters
Justin Davies @dragonpunk12 | Greg Delaney @gregdelaney84
Matt Spillane @devonhead | Matt Trodden @trods2906
Matt Vickers @mercurialmattyv | Ben Hoese @gunnermcdagget
Adrian McMurray @adrmcm | Matthew Duncan @mrpeninsula
Maria Tsialis @mtsialis | Ben Jones @benwah87
Jake Hauritz @horry37

Review all of the voting results from 2012 right here

Remember you can track all the votes each week after each match in 2013 via the Twitter hashtag #nrltweetpoty
By Warrick D. Nicolson