Canterbury and Penrith have blown the NRL finals series wide apart this weekend as Des Hasler demonstrated once again why he’s one of the great coaches of the modern era.
The Bulldogs, who led the competition in July on the back of seven successive wins, had sunk like a stone in recent weeks with just two victories in eight games to finish seventh on the ladder.
But when it really mattered Hasler got his side primed for the occasion and they romped to a stunning 28-4 upset over a heavily-fancied Melbourne at AAMI Park.
It sets up a mouth-watering clash against Hasler’s former club Manly next Saturday at Allianz Stadium.
Hasler is considered one of Manly’s favourite sons, having guided the team to two premierships in his nine years as a coach in addition to the two he won in a 13-season playing career with the club.
His side’s performance was a complete contrast to the Bulldogs loss to the Gold Coast last week where they spurned an 18-0 lead to go down 19-18.
“We played really well in the first half to set up the victory and held onto the ball,” Bulldogs centre Josh Morris told Triple M.
“Whenever we play a top-four team sometimes we seem to get complacent but we were up for it today.
“Whenever we play Manly it’s really tough and physical contest and we know each other inside out.
“They have a couple of injuries but you can never rule out a Manly side.”
But the Sea Eagles are expected to struggle following Friday’s demoralising 40-24 loss to South Sydney.
That victory saw the Rabbitohs installed as the new premiership favourites after the Roosters were stunned 19-18 by a Penrith side on Saturday that continue to defy the doubters.
The Panthers will now enjoy the luxury of a week off to prepare for a preliminary final against either the Bulldogs or Manly.
But the other side of the draw is shaping up as the toughest path to the decider with the Roosters and in-form North Queensland facing off on Friday at Allianz Stadium in a do-or-die showdown, with the victors meeting South Sydney in the preliminary final.
Brisbane are the last team to win a premiership by losing their first game of the finals back in 2006 and Roosters skipper Anthony Minichiello said Trent Robinson’s side aren’t pressing the panic button just yet.
“We’ll be right, we’ll get ready. It’s a few days to recover, everyone is a bit sore and sorry, but we’re still in with a shout and at home,” he said.
“We have to move on pretty quickly. The good thing here is that we are a pretty positive group.”
North Queensland comfortably dealt with Brisbane 32-20 in Townsville on Saturday and will head to Sydney looking to bury their Sydney finals hoodoo.
The Cowboys last won a sudden-death game in the NSW capital in 2005 and their season has ended at Allianz Stadium the last three years.
After a superb first-half display, the Cowboys led 24-0 at halftime but turned off in the second period allowing the Broncos back into the game.
In-form prop Ashton Sims warned doing the same to the Roosters will see them almost certainly lose.
“They will bury us if we toss that up in the second half,” Sims said.
“We’ll cop our medicine in video and move forward.”
