I am seeing far too many people saying...

[Crab]

[QUOTE=Darkone;n765992]love it...under dog status

fence sitters are likely to cheer for us[/QUOTE Underdogs yes Thank Christ ! That's when we perform at our best .. Going in red-hot favourites would have been the worst thing possible for us ! Bondi Wall ..Go East's !!

[Johnny Tobin]

I think he will play...

So do I.

[Intercept]

We will be behind at some stage, perhaps very early in the match. However, I am supremely confident that Easts will win. We are simply a better team than the Storm. I'll plump for 22-8 and James Tedesco to be the Clive Churchill Medallist.

[Bondicigar]

We are a different beast this year. I'm confident whoever plays we win. I also have a slight suspicion cronks shoulder is not as bad as we are made to believe. After watching a fox sports interview. Iv had a shoulder reconstruction from torn rotator and it even hurts to laugh . He didn't look to be in to much discomfort .

[stsae]

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/09/26/...2-grand-final/

[ROC181]

I believe we have the team to beat the Storm easily but what concerns me is the two idiots in the yellow jerseys. They turn a blind eye when Smiths on the field.

[ROC181]

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/09/26/...2-grand-final/

Good link STSAE! Which is a good reason to keep him in the team for the second half to close the game should we need him.

[Tommy Smith]

I believe we have the team to beat the Storm easily but what concerns me is the two idiots in the yellow jerseys. They turn a blind eye when Smiths on the field.

I feel as though the Slater robbery at the judiciary means that the Storm have used up all their goodwill with the refs. All of a sudden Billy already has his fairytale because he's playing. This might sound inconsequential but I believe it'll play a part in the refs psychology.

That and no one at the NRL cares for teams going back to back.

[ROC181]

I feel as though the Slater robbery at the judiciary means that the Storm have used up all their goodwill with the refs. All of a sudden Billy already has his fairytale because he's playing. This might sound inconsequential but I believe it'll play a part in the refs psychology.

That and no one at the NRL cares for teams going back to back.

When you look back at their game v sharks, why didn’t Sutton send Smith or Munster off for doing a tackle coming from an offside position to stop a try like Sutton did to Latrell when we played the broncos? I’m not sure about the psychological aspect. But is it because he fears Smiths approach? I suspect that because he’s safe in his job, it doesn’t matter if he’s seen as giving some dubious calls especially when it comes to the storm or Broncos. I’m expecting a few questionable calls to go the storms way and Sutton won’t give a crap.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

"That's it, Melbourne have already won"

Pull yourselves together.

The team did not come this far just to roll over and concede defeat. We managed to convincingly beat our biggest rivals without our best enforcer, our best attacking weapon and our best player seemingly crippled for half the game. Souths couldn't even score a try.

On Sunday, yeah - it WILL be a challenging game, Cronk won't be 100% fit (if he plays at all) and we won't be the favourites. I'm glad Slater is playing. There will be no excuses.

We are not expected to win, and due to that fact, it'll make the victory much, much better when we actually do. When the calls don't go our way and the odds aren't stacked in our favor, overcoming the adversity is what we do. And we do it well.

#EastsToWin

Good stuff Chris.

I couldn't believe some of the stuff I was reading last night, people boycotting Easts games when they have a choice. Be loud and proud and one of the crowd!

Go Easts!

[Mickie Lane]

Win or lose I just love the Roosters.
Robbo has done a superb job & I think will be rewarded with a victory.
Go EASTS.

[crikey chris]

So do I.

Also, as the jerseys they wear these days are so tight, in his tv interview he was wearing the full kit. Putting on a tight jersey with a stuffed rotator would of been absolute agony. Am I seeing this through Easts rose coloured glasses?

[Lauren]

"That's it, Melbourne have already won"

Pull yourselves together.

The team did not come this far just to roll over and concede defeat. We managed to convincingly beat our biggest rivals without our best enforcer, our best attacking weapon and our best player seemingly crippled for half the game. Souths couldn't even score a try.

On Sunday, yeah - it WILL be a challenging game, Cronk won't be 100% fit (if he plays at all) and we won't be the favourites. I'm glad Slater is playing. There will be no excuses.

We are not expected to win, and due to that fact, it'll make the victory much, much better when we actually do. When the calls don't go our way and the odds aren't stacked in our favor, overcoming the adversity is what we do. And we do it well.

#EastsToWin

Well said Chris. People were saying the same thing with Latrell out last weekend and look what happened.

[ism22]

"That's it, Melbourne have already won"

Pull yourselves together.

The team did not come this far just to roll over and concede defeat. We managed to convincingly beat our biggest rivals without our best enforcer, our best attacking weapon and our best player seemingly crippled for half the game. Souths couldn't even score a try.

On Sunday, yeah - it WILL be a challenging game, Cronk won't be 100% fit (if he plays at all) and we won't be the favourites. I'm glad Slater is playing. There will be no excuses.

We are not expected to win, and due to that fact, it'll make the victory much, much better when we actually do. When the calls don't go our way and the odds aren't stacked in our favor, overcoming the adversity is what we do. And we do it well.

#EastsToWin

I agree and if anything I quite openly think we are better than the Drizzle on paper (even without Cronk).

However, I think there is also a legitimate element of general distrust in the NRL's administration brewing (not juat here but amongst fans of other teams on FB...etc). We have just seen:
- 2 Of our rep players knocked out for key finals games over minor offences that they were essentially forced to plead guilty to on the basis that they'd miss a game if they didn't.
- Burgess getting off due to a rushed internal investigation (which the complainant refused to participate in - oh - maybe because the people they were complaining about were judging it?!?!?) The NRL then gave no further comment/recommendation
- Slater getting off for no good reason.
- An eye bleedingly stupid Dally M night where absolute randoms have been given awards above champions. It was seriously odd!

We can certainly win and the way we will win is if (like last week) we score 3 unanswered tries due to absolutely brilliant defence. Cummins can't call a Storm try if they never get over the line (hence why we are playing at grubbers - so there is no potential for bad decisions) and he can't disallow a Roosters try where it's blatantly obvious that nothing was wrong with us (e.g. the first Chooks try against Souffs looked like a training run, Souffs defence was so shyte). I think people just feel that (IMO legitimately) ~25% of every result comes down to the quality of the NRL's administration rather than ththe quality of play. IMO this is being reflected in the way teams play, which doesn't bring out the best footy from everybody.

[Chook Norris]

Fully agree, Chris. If we win, it'll be against the odds but the win would be even sweeter and more emotional.

I have not conceded defeat and i doubt our boys have either. We saw how good they've been under adversity during this finals series. The side will be able to rise again