Big Guns Return

Well it must be Finals time because all of the contenders are getting their big guns back. Hello everyone and welcome to the 25th edition of my weekly dribble. While players at clubs like the Rabbitohs and Tigers are doing as their premiership hopes are, dropping off the radars, the powerhouse teams are getting their big guns back for the end of season shootout. Tonight I will have a look at the four big names returning this week and how they will shape the 2009 Finals.

Israel Folau
This bloke is a superstar but of the big four he is probably less important to his teams’ success. Make no mistake about it, the Broncos or any other team would move mountains to get this man mountain firing in September. Folau is a try scorer and a real go to man. When Brisbane need a try they can always call ‘kick it to Izzie’ knowing there’s a better than 50% chance of him delivering. He will be returning in the centres though, probably on the left side of the field. In his career Folau has been primarily a right side winger or centre. So the change may take a bit of time or Folau, being the superstar that he is, might have no trouble at all. Regardless, the Broncos attack is much stronger with Folau roaming around somewhere.

Greg Inglis
The Storm lifted his suspension today and the NRL rubber-stamped his return for this weekend. As above, GI is an absolute superstar of the game. Inglis tends to go missing a bit at times during the season but he seems like a bloke that loves the big stage. His best days have been in Origins, Test Matches and Finals so every other team has to look out from here on in. The two weeks off might have been physically good for Inglis as well after a busy rep period. His presence alone makes the Storm a much more formidable team.

Ben Hannant
The Bulldogs haven’t struggled without him in terms of win/loss, but Hannant is their forward leader and has big game experience. In the last couple of years Hannant has risen to Origin level, won a Grand Final and become a regular 70 minute prop forward. The ‘Polar Bear’ leads by example and the rest of the Bulldogs pack follow him, allowing Kimmorley and Ennis to do their thing before guys like Morris, Idris and Patten to score the points. Then there’s Hazem to kick the goals. All of this revolves around the forwards and Hannant is the new ‘Steve Price’ of the Bulldogs. Hannant’s return is a major boost heading into the finals.

Brett Stewart
This is the return that everyone in Sydney is talking about…and most other rugby league regions as well. Stewart played just two games this year before injuring his knee…some five, nearly six months ago. If you believe the papers Stewart is expected to be the ‘saviour’ or the ‘x-factor’ to propel Manly towards another Grand Final. My word that’s a big ask…the guy has had a pretty nasty knee injury. Darren Lockyer and Willie Mason took 18 months to get over their bad knee injuries and most other players follow similar paths.

Granted Stewart did not have a knee reconstruction like Lockyer and Mason, but knee injuries appear to be the hardest to come back from. I would doubt the Manly camp are pinning their hopes solely on Stewart, I would hope they’re not. It’s great for the game to have a star player come back now but realistically it would be unfair to expect anything more from Stewart other than to be solid at the back and to pop up in attack. He won’t be at the level we saw last year, but if he can be even a shadow of that player then Manly will remain a force in season 2009.

So, they are the big four coming back this week into clubs I believe have qualified for the finals. We saw Souths drop out of the race last week and I think a depleted Tigers team will suffer the same fate on the Gold Coast this weekend.

The way I see it the loser of tomorrow night’s Parramatta v Penrith game will probably drop out too. The only way for the loser of that game to qualify would be to win their Rd 26 match and hope one of Manly, Brisbane or Newcastle lose their last two games. Exciting times for all involved.

Tips this week: Brisbane, Eels, Gold Coast, Dragons, Storm, Manly, Bulldogs, Canberra
Last week: 6/8(Total: 100/170)
Winning percentage: 59%

Thanks for reading and if you have a comment or a complaint you can find me at andrew.keyte@gmail.com, Facebook or using the comment function below.

Enjoy your week,
Keyto