Super League Finals Series Preview

Gladiators ready for NSW Super League round two of finals weekend
Like gladiators donning the layers of armour for their big show in the Colosseum, this weekend?s NSW Super League finalists are primed for the performance of their lives; with do or die the only option for two of contenders. The league?s highest finishers Bonnyrigg and Parramatta go head-to-head, with a berth in the grand final the victors? spoils. Down the road, Liverpool and Rockdale battle it out in a sudden death grudge match; the losers say goodbye for the year and the winners march on to next week?s preliminary final. Interestingly, this will be the third weekend in 2008 where all four sides were pitted together.
Bonnyrigg vs Parramatta, the plot thickens
It was almost inevitable that minor premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles and PCYC Parramatta Eagles would meet in the major semi-final, the first shot at a place in the September 21 grand final at Gabbie Stadium. Bonnyrigg Sports Club will be packed on Saturday night (7.30pm kick-off), and for good reason. These former first-flighters have gone at each other for two seasons, out-manoeuvring, counter-punching and niggling away at the other?s nerves. The outcome is that Parramatta is yet to beat Bonnyrigg in five Super League tries, including disastrously throwing away two-goal leads in two of their last three encounters.
The rivalry between the clubs exploded last year, Parramatta?s first run in the division, when two 0-0 regular season draws were trumped by a spectacular major semi-final. In a dramatic match, Parramatta led 2-0 but was eventually reduced to nine men, allowing Bonnyrigg to storm back behind three unanswered goals and pinch an unlikely grand final spot. The crowded Sports Club erupted in delirium. The White Eagles went on to beat the Northern Tigers 2-0 in the following week?s championship decider, and the Eagles were left to wallow in what could have been.
It appeared, though, that the harsh lesson had been missed when Bonnyrigg smashed a shell-shocked Parramatta 5-0 at Melita Stadium in round four earlier this year, superstar whiz kid Goran Subara knocking in a hat-trick. But if Eagles coach Jason Falzon has instilled one virtue in his young troops, it?s their strength of character. At the Sports Club in July, in a similar set-up to this Saturday?s crunch game, where pride was massively on the line, Parramatta attacked like men possessed from the opening whistle. The only thing they didn?t throw at the White Eagles defence was the cevapi stand behind goals (probably because they go down great after a tough game of football).
An early Ben Delicata strike was followed up by a missed Fred Graham penalty and Bonnyrigg?s first red card, but the Eagles led 2-0 at halftime when youngster Ray Miller slotted home just moments before the break. The home side had a second player sent off for elbowing Delicata minutes after the restart, and the large crowd was stunned. Title holders Bonnyrigg, at two goals and two players down, were in real trouble. But they don?t hand out trophies for simply turning up and the White Eagles showed their championship mettle when midfielder Daniel Willoughby and stalwart captain David Petrovic grabbed late goals to complete a heroic 2-2 comeback.
Bonnyrigg coach Blagoja Kulevski was ecstatic, while Falzon was livid his players went to sleep in the final half-hour. The two sides share some telling statistics this year with both able to hold their opposition to nil 11 times from 22 rounds. However, the Eagles have scored in all but two fixtures (one of them that 5-0 loss to Bonnyrigg), while the White Eagles have been held scoreless five times. Bonnyrigg lost twice in 2008, Parramatta lost four times, and the pair share almost identical goal differences at positive-27. The ironic part of their 2008 story is that it all counts for naught when the referee blows his whistle at 7.30pm on Saturday night. This will be a beauty!
Liverpool meets Rockdale and it?s do or die
They are the true dark horses of this year?s Super League, astonishing many yet surprising few, but this Saturday at Ernie Smith Reserve (2pm kick-off), only Bossy Liverpool or Rockdale City Suns will be left standing in the competition. While the majority of grand final votes went to Bonnyrigg and Parramatta at the start of the season, there was some suspicion of the solid build-up of Liverpool and Rockdale. Both had dreadful 2007 seasons, yet here they are just a fortnight away from title glory. Much could be said about the efforts of [Bossy coach] Mile Todorovski and [Suns mentor] Michael Grbevski in orchestrating their team?s achievements in 2008.
Then again, it could all boil down to the mountains of experience both clubs have in rebuilding and maintaining great football sides. Liverpool fell a win short of holding aloft the 2005 Super League trophy, with Rockdale winning it a year later. Last year?s horror seems to have served its purpose, with both clubs returning to finals action in 2008. But while they share some statistics ? both have enjoyed five shutouts this year, and both were held to nil less than eight times ? there are still many stark differences: Third-placed Bossy, with three more wins, had a goal-difference of positive-16, while the fifth-placed Suns finished on plus-4.
History is also on Liverpool?s side. After an early jump, in which Rockdale had secured two wins and two draws from the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Bossy has revelled in two victories this year. They stole a 2-1 win at Ilinden Sports Centre in round four, when golden boot Alex Canak struck in injury time, and followed it up with a plucky 2-0 win at Moorebank in July; Canak again getting his name on the scoreboard, following an early own goal by the Suns. Both teams would love one last thrust at the title, but only one can keep going in 2008 after this weekend ? with the task to beat either Bonnyrigg and Parramatta in their next match. What a game looms ahead!
Grade 20 finals
Rockdale?s youngsters can continue to celebrate their club?s return to finals football when they face minor premiers Northern Tigers in this Saturday evening?s major semi-final at Bonnyrigg Sports Club (kick-off 5pm). The Suns did extremely well to upset second-place finishers Central Coast 2-1 last weekend, but they will need to step up another gear altogether if they are to knock off the Tigers, who have only been beaten twice all year. The winner advances to the Gabbie Stadium grand final day, while the losers are assigned to next weekend?s preliminary final knockout, against either the Lightning or Eagles. Parramatta pipped Fraser Park 1-0 in last weekend?s sudden death fixture to set up Saturday?s minor semi-final against a fired-up Central Coast at Ernie Smith Reserve (11.30am start).
-By Daniel De Nardi