The four teams in the bottom half of the top eight have declared they can make a run for the title, in what shapes as an unpredictable NRL finals series. Scott Bailey, of AAP, reports.The NRL’s bottom-four finalists have declared they are ready to defy history, with Nathan Cleary revealing how he never lost hope that Penrith could still fight for a fifth-straight title.
Not since Canterbury in 1995 has a team won the premiership from lower than fourth spot, with that side and the 1993 Broncos the only teams to do so.
But rarely have the cards been stacked as they are headed into this first weekend of finals.
While Canberra are the new premiership favourites after topping the ladder for the first time since 1990, there is a long list of genuine contenders below them.
Both Melbourne and the Bulldogs have serious injury headaches ahead of their qualifying final today, while Brisbane loom as a threat in fourth.
All three could be forgiven for looking over their shoulders, with Cronulla, the Sydney Roosters and Panthers hopes alongside the injury-hit Warriors.
Last on the ladder as recently as round 12, Penrith players have made no secret of the appeal of now winning the competition in a different way.
"It is an exciting prospect," Cleary said at the NRL’s finals launch on Monday.
"Obviously, it’s a lot different to what we’ve had to deal with in previous years.
"But there’s been a number of times where we’ve been written off in previous years as well. So, it’s no different [in that sense].
"Being able to turn our season and get into the finals and give ourselves a shot has been something that we’ve been happy with, but obviously not content with."
Cleary was hesitant to talk premiership hopes on Monday, revealing Penrith had only begun playing good football when they stopped worrying about their chances.
"As soon as you let go of that, you relax a bit and just take it one week at a time and focus on winning those games.
"There’s was a bit of head scratching going on and sort of wondering what was going on. It was pretty frustrating.
"But I knew that we had the calibre of players and also the mentality to do something good.
"We’d won a game in Magic Round against the Broncos. We’d won in Vegas against the Sharks. So I knew we could turn it on when we needed to."
Beyond Penrith, Cronulla have won the most games of any team over the past two months, with a 7-1 record since round 19.
They easily dealt with Canterbury on the weekend, though at the cost of Nicho Hynes being charged with a hip-drop tackle.
"That game was a blueprint of how we can perform if we get it right," Sharks captain Blayke Brailey said.
"We have been there in finals games before and we’ve learned a lot from our wins and losses. We know what works and doesn’t work."
First the Sharks must get through a red-hot Roosters tomorrow, who have the finals experience and strike to also put on a run through September.
"The comp is pretty open this year. Anyone can beat anyone," Roosters captain James Tedesco said.
"Obviously the top four helps, if you win you get a week off. But to win you have to beat everyone, you have to beat the best teams.
"We’ve had do-or-die games for the past six weeks, we’ve got everyone healthy ... and having that plus everyone in form is really important."
