Just four teams remain in 2023, and last week proceeded without surprise as far as results go, but Friday night was quite the ride:

The Storm were 10-0 up on the Roosters in the 1st Half, then it looked like Easts might pull off another amazing 13-12 comeback victory when Sam Walker put them ahead with 10 minutes to go, but it took an all-time great play from Will Warbrick to fly through the air and pluck the game from the visitors with 2 minutes to go, confirming the Panthers-Storm Prelim…

On Saturday, the Knights’ great run in 2023 came to an end in Auckland, as the Warriors blew them apart 40-10 to win their first final in 12 years, igniting New Zealand in spectacular fashion, something the All Blacks are yet to do in France this year…

Meantime, we’ve only got to endure the Wallabies for one more game before the Welsh knock them out.

So expect to see a fair few Kiwi expats in Brisbane on Saturday evening, as the Broncos host the Warriors in the visitors’ first Preliminary Final appearance since 2011.

Among other stories to pop up this week:

Wynnum-Manly great Lionel Morgan, a member of the Indigenous Rugby League Team of the Century and the first Indigenous player to represent the Australian national team in 1960, died aged 85 on Monday.

In fact, it sells Morgan short – Not just the first to represent the Kangaroos, but the first Indigenous person to represent any Australian national sporting team, just under 2 years before Lloyd McDermott debuted for the Wallabies.

Now that’s a trailblazer.

Moving on, several Storm players were seen wearing Penrith jerseys at training on Tuesday, and maybe this is all part of Craig Bellamy’s plan – Have the ressies player show up at the game Friday night on the Panthers sideline in the jerseys make it look like the Panthers have got too many players, next thing you know, the Storm call a headcount, and woosh, Penrith’s points get wiped.

Only problem is, the Panthers are going that well that the Storm will probably be shut out themselves.

Another story from this week is that Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher (The much more unlikeable version of Brian Fletcher) once again felt compelled to talk shit by arguing that the Broncos get an unfair advantage by getting to play a home Preliminary Final, because Penrith have to play at Accor Stadium instead of Panthers Stadium, and that all Prelims should be played at neutral venues….

Which is what the league did for SIX DECADES.

First of all, I think he’s playing the dickhead card in an effort to agitate the Broncos, because no sane person would think a team that earned a home prelim should have to play it in another state (Which the Broncos had to do for years), and second, the Broncos are playing at Suncorp, which is after all the Redcliffe Dolphins’ home ground, and if they wanted a true home ground advantage, they’d play the game at the old QE2 Stadium.

Some people.

Anyway, as mentioned, this week’s fixtures:

– The Friday Night Preliminary sees the Panthers and the Storm meet in the finals for the third time in four years, the second Prelim after Penrith’s upset at Suncorp in 2021, and their last encounter at Accor Stadium was none other than the 2020 Grand Final, the last appearance of Cameron Smith’s endless career as he naturally went out a winner.

– The Saturday Night Preliminary up in Brisvegas has the Broncos hosting the Warriors, and the teams did previously play a final up in Brisbane back in Week One of 2011 (Darren Lockyer’s second-to-last appearance), when the Broncos absolutely walloped the Wahs 40-10, but with the old McIntyre system the Warriors survived due to 7th and 8th losing, and they subsequently knocked out the Tigers and Storm to make the Grand Final, while the Broncos eventually got knocked out by Manly in a Preliminary Final.

What a Saturday night it’ll be in Brissy, with the Lions hosting Carlton in a Prelim at The Gabba, followed by the Broncos kicking off right as the Lions finish.

Now, it’s time for the random tip generator to do its thing, and I am slipping badly, with a mere 4 in Week One, then a mere 2 tips correct in the Semi Finals…. I might only get 2 at best this week:

Semi Final Tips = 2/2, Progress Score = 142/210 (67.6%)

Preliminary Final Tips =

Both home teams, pencil it in Eddie.

Preliminary Final Lock of the Week

Because when you’re right 52% of the time, you’re wrong 48% of the time!

The Warriors were a no-brainer lock last week and they didn’t disappoint anyone in New Zillund, and once again I’ve got the huge choice of having to pick between two games, so here we go…

The Panthers have defeated the Storm twice in two attempts in 2023, and both times it was characterised by the Storm trying to catch the Panthers off guard in the 1st Half before the defending premiers stormed over the top, no pun intended…

AND YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS FRIDAY NIGHT THE MOUNTAIN MEN ARE GOING TO PROVE THAT BLIND MELON WERE RIGHT… THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER!