Australian TAB, Sportsbet, confirmed a $50,000 wager on Manly at $3.25 on Saturday to win the premiership, before it shortened to $3.10 as the contenders were narrowed down to four on Saturday night.
Defending premier Melbourne shortened to $1.90 favouritism after its last-gasp 16-14 win over Brisbane but has a nervous wait over whether captain Cameron Smith will be cited today and potentially suspended for a grapple tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday.
The Warriors' 30-13 win over the Sydney Roosters resulted in their price being cut from $13 to $6.50 to win the premiership while Cronulla, which enjoyed the weekend off, was a $7 outsider.
Last year's beaten grand finalist, Manly, also put its feet up after a 38-6 dispatch of the Dragons in week one.
It received a further boost when injured prop Josh Perry (knee) and centre Steve Bell (calf) trained on Friday and were rated excellent chances of facing the Warriors at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Warriors are injury free but coach Ivan Cleary has to wrestle with the question of who to put in the No 1 jumper.
Does he stick with Lance Hohaia, who continued his tremendous form with a double in Friday night's 30-13 win over the Sydney Roosters? Or does he go back to first-choice Wade McKinnon, who is available again after serving a three-match suspension? Most Warriors fans and even Cleary himself probably thought McKinnon's season was over the second the appeal over his three-game ban for spitting at a touch judge was thrown out.
At that stage the Warriors were not even assured a finals berth, let alone being 80min away from a grand final.
While McKinnon's return from a long-term injury was one of the catalysts for the Warriors fine end-of-season form, which has now stretched to 11 wins from 13 games, Hohaia has given the side an extra dimension in attack while filling in at fullback.
The logical move is for Hohaia to start off the bench with McKinnon in the No 1, but Cleary said he had been pleased with Hohaia's contributions from the back.
The Wayne Bennett era came to an abrupt halt at Suncorp Stadium with Melbourne's stunning rescue job on Saturday night.
But Bennett - maintaining his poker face until the end - reckoned he was not emotional at all after the curtain was drawn on his remarkable 21-year stint in Brisbane.
"I had 21 years here guys; it was never going to go down to one game.
Can you get that into your heads?" Bennett snapped.
The Broncos emerged from a week of off-field controversies to have a gutsy win in their grasp leading 14-12 in the final minute and in possession.
However, a bruising Sika Manu hit caused a turnover, the Storm spun it wide and Greg Inglis crashed over with the match-winner with 46sec left on the clock.
Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer had stared down the media before the kick off to admit he was the man tackling a Brisbane bar manager in CCTV footage splashed across the TV news all week.
But his steely resolve left him after Inglis dived over.
He cursed to the heavens before joining his team-mates slumped on the ground, even before Smith was lining up the conversion attempt.
Lockyer looked inconsolable as he fronted the media, shattered to know that they had given a sad farewell to Bennett and veteran Tonie Carroll. - NZPA/AAP
