Rugby league is a funny game… The Raiders won the game against the Broncos twice and still lost

Amazing scenes on Sunday in Canberra, as the Raiders lead 28-12 with 18 minutes to play, give up 2 tries and cling on to a 28-26 lead with 40 seconds left, the Broncos charge down and get within field goal range, Reece Walsh’s kicking leg is impacted during a charge down attempt on the siren, which means a penalty in front of the posts (Citation being Black Friday 2015) to the Broncos to tie the game at 28-28 and force Extra Time…

In which the Raiders cough up the ball with 10 seconds left, which then leads into Golden Point where Jed Stewart seemingly wins an aerial contest to set up Fogarty’s game-winning try, only for the Bunker to rule it out for a knock-on into the shoulder of a Broncos player, leading to the Broncos getting the ball, and Ben Hunt, 10 years after his brutal knock-on in the Grand Final, having not played a final for 7 years, and having landed 1 field goal in his 352 previous games, lands the game-winner from 39 metres out.

Ben Hunt, the man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.

One of the most dramatic finals rugby league has ever seen, and one with dire ramifications…

Especially for the nightly Channel Nine news ratings, given the game went an extra half hour.

The carnage out of the game was wild, with Billy Walters having a partially torn ACL to end his season, Pat Carrigan got suspended, Reece Walsh got away with a fine for a headbutt that didn’t have enough impact, and the Raiders’ request to have the game on a Sunday means that…

For the first time since 2007, we have a Sunday afternoon Semi Final, which has led to the league announcing the first Sunday Preliminary Final since the Storm-Eels Prelim in 2007, which will be the Preliminary Final hosted by the Broncos at Lang Park.

So due to the NRL not wanting to host the AAMI Park Prelim on Saturday evening due to the AFL Grand Final, due to the impending slaughter that would cause for all parties, we’re going to have one team getting an 8-day recovery into the Grand Final, and one team getting a 6-day rest.

Of course, the Sunday Semis and Prelims were used for generations until the Friday-Saturday format gained preference in 2008, and one such example of a Sunday afternoon Semi was in 2005, when the Wests Tigers absolutely bulldozed the Brisbane Broncos 34-6 thanks to several long-range tries, and that opening try was a great tribute to Beni Marshall – He cover tackled Tonie Carroll, sprinted from marker, intercepted the ball, and ran 90 metres to score a try.

Of course, the other news this week is the revelation of Victor Radley’s communications to Brandon Smith in an attempt to get a hit off Smithy, resulting in Victor the Inflictor copping the biggest individual punishment in Easts history – 10 games suspended without pay and a $30,000 donation to St Vincent’s Hosptial, as Uncle Nick came short of sacking Radley, because apparently they didn’t want to go through an unfair dismissal case, and he didn’t want to be seen one-upping South Sydney for not doing the same to Latrell Mitchell after the white powder incident last year… although, wasn’t Josh Addo-Carr sacked by Canterbury last year for getting pulled over and failing a roadside drug test.

Anyway, I liked this photo from Simpsons NRL Memes:

So it goes to show that Uncle Nick apparently has zero tolerance for people using drugs (Although there’s no evidence that Radley failed a drug test), but he’ll recruit and employ people who make racist remarks (James Tedesco, Spencer Leniu), sex offenders (Blake Ferguson), domestic abusers (Zane Tetevano, Michael Jennings), and many more dredges of society.

Also, it was a nice coincidence that story broke AFTER the Roosters’ season was ended – But at the end of the day, there’s very few white knights in rugba leeg.

Anyway, time for the Semi Finals:

– Desperate to avoid becoming another fabled victim of the 50-point curse with a straight sets exit, the Canberra Raiders host the Cronulla Sharks in the nation’s capital off a 6-day break, which will be the fourth time since 2010 that the teams have played a final in Canberra (2012, 2016, 2020 + 2025) and fun fact – Heading into this game the all-time H2H is dead level at 42 wins apiece!

If you want to know, there’s only been 1 minor premier depart the finals in straight sets since the current NRL began in 1998… 2009 St George-Illawarra.

– And in the epic grudge match of the apprentice against the master, Cameron Ciraldo’s Canterbury host Ivan Cleary’s Penrith at Accor Stadium, with the Panthers now up to 13 consecutive finals victories amidst their Fourpeat run, and it does look like the Red Sea is starting to part for the Panthers with the Bulldogs up to their teeth in injuries, the Raiders getting toppled and the Storm never a sure thing…

But, if you know your history, in 1967 it was none other than Canterbury who proved to be the team that ended St George’s streak of 11 consecutive premierships… nothing’s impossible.

And now for the tips:

Finals Week One Tips = 2/4

Progressive Score = 119/200 (59.5%)

And now, here’s Kermit the Frog impersonating Ricky Stuart