Sports Corner

24th August '07 NRL Week 24

The Bulldogs will take on the Storm at Telstra Stadium in what should be one of the most intense games of the year. The Storm has been brilliant for the past two years, whilst the bulldogs are always in the mix. The Storm though has been struggling of late, although this could be a good sign as even though they are not playing at their best they are still winning games.

This game will be determined in the forwards, and whilst the Storm forwards have struggled lately, this will no doubt provide them the perfect opportunity to go back to their hard running best. Storm to win in a close one.

In the second Friday night game the Cowboys should easily defeat the Knights at Energy Australia stadium. The knights management and coaching is a disgrace, they are treating big Kirk Reynoldson like he is a criminal and it's a joke. I hope the Knights get the spoon.

On Saturday night the Titans will be fighting for a top right spot when they take on the Sharks at Toyota Park. It will be up to Scott Prince to direct his troops around the park, because if he fires the Titans will win. The Sharks well they are too unpredictable to back and something needs to be done about their usual poor end of season form.

It's do or die for the roosters when they take on the Panthers at Aussie stadium on Saturday night. The Panthers looked impressive last week, however they will not be able to duplicate that form, or so their stats tell us. The Roosters looked flat last weekend; no doubt it had much to do with Mitchell Pierce. He seemingly gets in the way of the attack, somehow interfering with the flow, and he lets in tries with his defence. Craig wing should be at half back and I have no idea why the Roosters move him. Anything can happen with Pierce playing, but I think the roosters should still scrape over the line in this one.

The Broncos have showed plenty of heart lately in line with their big string of injuries; however they just don't have enough in attack to challenge teams at the moment. If Canberra man up in the forwards they should win this one.

Manly will be looking to show they will be right up there with Melbourne when they take on the Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium. Despite coming off a disappointing loss to the Bunnies I think Manly should win this one. To me the Warriors are still as unpredictable as the food you get from the dodgy Chinese restaurant next to the pub, and I think manly will win this one. The Tigers will be riding high on support when they take on the Bunnies on Sunday at Leichhardt and should win. The atmosphere is always electric at Leichhardt and it should see the Tigers through.

Finally on Monday the Eels take on the Dragons, in a game which means a lot more to the Eels. They need to win to help cement a place in the top four and I think they can do so away to a disappointing Dragons. Watch for some magic from the young eels stars. Also this week the A-League kicks off with Sydney FC boasting the best squad they have ever had. With Brazilian play maker Juninho in their playing ranks anything can happen. Their campaign starts tonight against a Mariners side that is now heavily cashed up and a force to be reckoned with. Sydney should win this at home however on the back of some unseen brilliance from the little maestro Juninho.