Likely Premiers and Dark horses.

[Teddy]

Melbourne, I think it’s theirs to lose provided nothing catastrophic happens like injury to star players I can’t see anyone beating them not atm anyway.

Penrith, not the dominant force they once were, injuries to Cleary and a host of players moving on over the last 2-3 years has them reeling, still very difficult to beat and as they have proven time and again never out of the contest.

Easts, depends which Easts team shows up Jekyl or Hyde we are our own worst enemies if our A team shows up we may just steal it, defence is still a worry, patience and building pressure is not our game it’s we blow them off the park or hand them the game.

Cronulla hard to say at times they look very solid and switched on other times can be completely rudderless much like us can they beat the top 2 perhaps on their day and Stork or riff have an off night.

CBY, a lot of talk about their chances and going deep come finals have proven nothing apart from beating teams lower placed then themselves, yes they pick up a GP win vs Cronulla who were woeful kicking goals and field goals to win, and beat us although a man down for 65 mins, defence is good right attitude but they haven’t been properly tested finals is a different ball game and they haven’t played any for years.

Manly, Dark horse for me have proven ability to beat Riff and Melbourne danger team for sure if they finish inside the 4 I reckon they’re a very good chance. No top 4 finish a brodge to far I reckon.

Nth Queensland, have a great balance across the park can do damage but not outside of the top 4.

Phins/Dragqueens/Knights/drongoes, punchers chance that’s about the best they can hope for.

Souffs? Bahahahahaha if they can avoid the Tigers.
Dicuss.

[ism22]

IMO it'll be Storm or the Panthers most likely.

Dark horses? IMO there's basically us if all the stars align and the Sharks if one of us implodes.

The rest you can pretty much write off.

[Easts75]

IMO it'll be Storm or the Panthers most likely.

Dark horses? IMO there's basically us if all the stars align and the Sharks if one of us implodes.

The rest you can pretty much write off.

Penrith,big gap to Melbourne,Easts and zero other chances

[Teddy]

IMO it'll be Storm or the Panthers most likely.

Dark horses? IMO there's basically us if all the stars align and the Sharks if one of us implodes.

The rest you can pretty much write off.

Yeah can’t argue with that Izzy, good thing is Riffs dominance is seemingly ending Melbourne have proven that with two very good victories against the odds with NAS in the bin away at Penrith cannot be understated how good that victory was for them one of their best.

[Bates]

A full strength Roosters outfit playing at their best should beat both the Storm and the Panthers comfortably imo. We still haven't quite found that sweet spot that we can maintain for the full 80 minutes. It's definitely there as we're seeing it in large parts of most of our games.

James Maloney and Cooper Cronk were great at keeping us focused, calm and playing within our system. They also managed to control the tempo of the game to suit it's environment. This is a key part that's currently missing. Teddy has been playing well however he also needs to focus on better leadership especially when we start to get loose and then clock off defensively.

It's all very exciting!

Up The Chooks.

[Andrew Walker]

Canterbury are the not so dark horses

[Mickie Lane]

Ive said all along Melbourne & I still think that but as has been mentioned the Roosters have the team to win the comp if we have our best 17 on the paddock
Teddy, Toups, Sualli, Manu, Young, Keary, Walker, Whyte, Rads, Gus, JWH, Cheese, Collin
Watson, Leniu, May, Sitilli.
I dont think any other team can win it other than the top 3 teams.
I think the Cowboys have the team on paper to get to the GF but not win it.
Now for the Dogs, they have really surprised me they are playing tough hard arse footy & have a very good back 5.
Blokes like , Mann, Tracey, Preston & Curran play well above their weight & play tough footy add Burton, Kikau, Mahoney & Max King & they have a nice blend there.
I dont think they can win the comp but I think they will win their 5 v 8 game & then beat one of the top 4 sides but they wont enough in the tank this year to make the GF. Gus &Siro have done a excellent job.

[Random Rooster]

I think we got the forward power to give this a real big shake with Lindsay, Spencer, May and JWH up front then add Angus on the edges who is the form forward in the NRL.

Our poor record against Penrith and Storm means nothing come semi finals- if anything it will be a motivator.

For now we need luck with injuries and suspensions

[Kentucky_Fried_Rooster]

Before the season kicked off I had us playing Melbourne in the grand final.

But for most of the season I have had Melbourne beating Penrith.
If Cleary is out during the finals Melbourne will play Easts but I think Melbourne would win.

Cronulla seem to be great one week and lost the following week, that doesn't work in finals.

Canterbury fans think they have it won, they are beating teams below them but I don't see them beating the top 3 teams and when they bow out the party in the streets will be riots like they in the 1990's

Manly are the dark horse, would love us to play Manly (my brother's team) in the grand final.

The rest should be planning end of season trips.

[Mr Whippet]

Before the season kicked off I had us playing Melbourne in the grand final.

But for most of the season I have had Melbourne beating Penrith.
If Cleary is out during the finals Melbourne will play Easts but I think Melbourne would win.

Cronulla seem to be great one week and lost the following week, that doesn't work in finals.

Canterbury fans think they have it won, they are beating teams below them but I don't see them beating the top 3 teams and when they bow out the party in the streets will be riots like they in the 1990's

Manly are the dark horse, would love us to play Manly (my brother's team) in the grand final.

The rest should be planning end of season trips.

Hope you are right, they are a hard physical side that grind away, be difficult to overlook a real possibility that they sneak in.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

We aren't dark horses. We are one of the favourites.

Manly fit that descriptor for me and said as much at the start of the year.

[zac]

3 horse race atm without an odds on favourite. injuries will play a part and we're as good a chance to win as anyone

[King Salvo]

Finals are a different ball game - The Roosters still need to win at least 2 games to cement a top 4 spot.

The Roosters need to be consistent across the 80 minutes.

[BraveTheWorld]

I actually think pretty much anyone in the top 8 can beat the Storm or the Panthers, although I can't see most of those sides winning 3 or so games in a row against the best opposition.
For instance, I don't think it's crazy to think the Cowboys could beat the Panthers or the Storm on any given day, where a lot goes right for them. I just don't think they can beat say, Manly, Panthers, Roosters and Storm back to back.

I'd say the Bulldogs are the genuine dark horse. Maybe the Sharks if they mop up the weak teams in their remaining games, and then do a job on the Storm week 1.

[Steggles]

I think it’s only a 3 horse race between Melb, Penrith and us. The bookies think so as well with both Melb and Penrith at $3.40 and us at $3.75, with the next best the Dogs at $11. I’m quietly confident we can get the chocolates on GF day, most likely against Melb, but it relies on Sam Walker continuing to call the shots rather than Luke Keary, which I believe has been a big part of our success in the 2nd half of the season. Robbo will have us ready for the day to send JWH off with a 4th premiership ring.


The other teams could jag a win here and there in the finals, but realistically they are just not in the same league as the top 3.