You’ve probably been here before: you’re with a group of people who’re into sport and they’re talking about something that you don’t really understand. By this point, you don’t know if “Fullback” is a sports position, or the name of Nickelback’s greatest hits album, and you’re too afraid to ask how many litres of water are in a “Paul Gallen”.
It’s the end of the NRL (National Rugby League) season and lots of people are banging on about it – but you kind of just sit there when it comes up. Don’t despair, because we’re going to give you a crash course in how to sound like you know what’s going on for the rest of the finals series.
Let’s start by taking a look at the teams that are left in the NRL finals. There are two weeks left to play, and of the 16 teams in the competition, the four teams remaining are:
The Melbourne Storm
The Storm are the only Victorian team, and the most successful club of the last ten or so years. They are known for their composure in important games.
The Sydney Roosters
The Roosters represent the eastern part of Sydney, and are the defending premiers from last year. They’re also one of the oldest clubs.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs
Often called “Souths”, this is another club with a long history. For a lot of recent memory, they were real battlers, but that all changed when they won the 2014 grand final.
The Canberra Raiders
Sometimes called The Green Machine (not affiliated with those three-wheeled bikes that some kids had back in the day), The Raiders haven’t won a grand final in a long time. They last won in 1994, and haven’t made a grand final appearance since.
Ok, now that we know who’s left. Here are some buzzphrases to shock and impress people with your sporting expertise:
Show off with the below buzzphrases:
“I wonder if the Raiders and Roosters can make the most of their week off.”
The NRL finals is structured so that if a team finishes in the top four at the end of the normal season and they win their first game in the finals, they get a week off to rest. Historically, this often puts them in good shape to go on and make the grand final. This year, the Raiders and Roosters players all got a rest last week so will be feeling fresh.
“Wow I can’t wait from Cronk to come up against the Storm in the finals again.”
The Roosters’ halfback, Cooper Cronk, played over 300 games from the Melbourne Storm before switching over to the Roosters last year. Last time the Storm and Roosters played in the NRL finals, it was last year’s grand final, and Storm fans will be wanting to have revenge on Cronk’s team this week.
“Ricky Stuart will sure be angry if Canberra lose this week haha.”
The Canberra Raiders coach has a reputation for getting a bit cranky in press conferences when his team don’t win.
“I’m not sure Souths have the consistency to go all the way this year!”
The Rabbitohs have had a bit of a bumpy season. After a strong start, they’ve had slumps here and there and haven’t been able to fully regain their earlier mojo.
“The Rabbitohs really have gotten the better deal in their coach swap”
After last season, The Rabbitohs and The Brisbane Broncos basically swapped coaches. Souths’ coach, Anthony Seibold, went up to the Broncos and veteran Broncos’ coach, Wayne Bennett, came down to Souths. Brisbane had a decent season, but it’s The Rabbitohs who have really benefitted from the swap.
Good luck, and remember what you worked on at training.
